Occupancy Tax

Elisa2222
Level 2
Airdrie, Canada

Occupancy Tax

I own a condo in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, a city that is making it increasingly difficult to operate an Airbnb. Aside from higher costs for the mandatory Business License are a number of requirements that have forced a change my business model.

Chief among these are condo boards disallowing Airbnb rentals. Without board endorsement, I can’t secure the necessary Business Licence which means the end to third-party rentals.

I invested a ton of time to find a way to stay in business (at least in Alberta) and discovered the following:

-City Business Licences and corresponding Occupancy Taxes are ONLY applicable to short-term rentals defined as 30 days or less.

- Occupancy Taxes are collected at the provincial level and assumes that the accommodation type is mixed (all stay length durations) or short-term (30 days or less).

- Condo boards have successfully defended its legal position to refuse short-term rentals.

- Any stay that exceeds 30 days is considered LONG-TERM and moves beyond the jurisdiction of city and provincial ordinances .

- In other words, no Business License is needed, no Occupancy Tax is required, and Condo Boards can’t restrict this type of rental because this particular rental type right is protected at a federal level.

- As an owner, I have chosen to rent only on a long-term basis (a month minimum).  And have changed my settings to accommodate this approach.
Problem: It seems Airbnb hasn’t either fully investigated this reality or hasn’t promoted it as a viable option to being closed down by governments.

 

 

2 Replies 2
Elisa
Community Manager
Community Manager

Hi @Elisa2222 😊

Thank you very much for posting this in the community!

 

I suggest connecting with your Local Host Club here to meet people from your area.

 

I also mentioned some Hosts from your province in case they would like to read this: @Epi232 , @Harisa1 , @Jason2674.

 

Warm regards 🌻

 

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Please follow the Community Guidelines //Merci de jeter un oeil aux Principes du Community Center
Elisa2222
Level 2
Airdrie, Canada

Addendum to my earlier post: Hosts are NOT required to either have a Business Licence or remit Occupancy Taxes IF they focus exclusively on long-term rentals (defined as 31 days or more). This is a boon to hosts whose condo boards won't allow short-term rentals. The right of a condo owner to rent long-term is federally protected. Based on my correspondence with super host personnel, it seems that Airbnb  has not investigated this reality sufficiently. Note: this fact applies to Alberta, but I suspect is relevant to other provinces and a number of US states.