FAIR RULES FOR SHORT-TERM RENTALS
Airbnb’s business model has evolved from a home-sharing platform for short-term visitors into a service that empowers the operation of unregulated ghost hotels, undermining housing security and affordability and impacting community safety.
The growth of the ghost hotel sector has created legal grey zones, providing cover for vendors who buy and rent burner homes. Short-term rentals are invading neighbourhoods, creating potential tax compliance challenges and adding new zoning, building code and security risks for townhouses, condo towers and apartments.
Airbnb’s impacts have given rise to coalitions in cities as diverse as Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Boston, Chicago, Lisbon, New York, Reykjavik, San Francisco, Santa Monica and Los Angeles – just to name a few. Many jurisdictions have responded with new rules and new enforcement strategies to improve the accountability of Airbnb and other home-share companies. Inspired by these success stories, we have brought this debate to Canada to make sure our governments keep pace with this global trend.
ABOUT FAIRBNB.CA
Fairbnb.ca is a not-for-profit that supports efforts to ensure short-term rental regulations in Canada protect housing security and community safety, convening voices from tenant organizations, the regulated hotel and B&B industry, property owners, academics and other concerned citizens.
Fairbnb was first launched as an informal coalition in Toronto through the leadership of unionized hotel workers, and has since supported efforts to win fair regulations across the country.
We’re calling for a robust, nationally-consistent policy framework to ensure home-sharing complies with fair, safe and respectful legislation – drawing on the experience of other countries and other cities. For the record: we are not seeking to ban true “home-sharing” through our campaign. If a resident or owner is legally renting a spare room or space in their principal residence in a legal, respectful and safe short-term rental, we have no objections and support Airbnb’s right to enable this practice.
If you support our goals, tell us that we have your support here.
Board of Directors
Fairbnb Canada Network is governed by a volunteer board of Directors.
Bahar Shadpour – Bahar Shadpour has been advocating for affordable housing and the rights of tenants across Canada for over a decade. She approaches her work through a rights-based lens where everyone should have access to affordable and secure homes. She is currently the Senior Manager, Regional Housing Policy at the United Way Greater Toronto.
Murray Cox -Murray is a multidisciplinary Australian-American artist and activist based in Newburgh NY, who uses visual, audio, spatial and data storytelling to explore themes of economic and racial equity. He is the founder of Inside Airbnb, a data activist project which uses data to help communities organise around the impacts of short-term rentals, and the Executive Director of the Housing Justice Data Lab, which uses data and maps to fight for the right to housing and the right to the city.
Lis Pimentel – Lis is a longtime community activist advocating for affordable housing, responsible development and good jobs. She is one of the founders of the Fairbnb Canada Network and the current Chair of the Board. Lis has been a union organizer and representative for more than 20 years.
Eric Swanson – Eric has a long history in the not-for-profit sector. He was the Executive Director of Generation Squeeze in Vancouver before he became a Principal of Third Space Planning, a Victoria-based planning consultancy that focuses on housing, childcare and climate change policy.
JJ Fueser – JJ has nearly 20 years of experience as a corporate researcher and strategic campaigner. She has worked with workers, investors and other stakeholders to encourage publicly traded corporations to become more sustainable, transparent, and accountable. JJ is the co-founder of Metstrat, a firm that provides research and campaign strategy to build equitable urban futures in a changing economy.
Thorben Wieditz – Thorben is an effective communicator, policy and research analyst and campaigner. He has worked on a variety of successful worker, community, and municipal campaigns to protect public assets, public infrastructure, and good jobs. Together with JJ Fueser, Thorben co-founded Metstrat and is the current Executive Director of Fairbnb Canada Network.
