Less than two years after townships in Haliburton County adopted new rules for short-term rentals (STRs), three of four lower-tier councils are contemplating major changes to the file.
Algonquin Highlands, Dysart et al, Highlands East and Minden Hills all adopted a new bylaw regulating STRs in 2024. New rules came into effect that October, with municipalities requiring those looking to rent out vacation properties to first secure a licence with their local township.
Elected officials said the purpose of the bylaw was to shore up safety, with the licensing process requiring property owners to meet various safety standards and guidelines before being allowed to rent their space. There’s also a financial benefit for municipalities, via application fees and a new municipal accommodation tax (MAT).
Highlands East was the first to initiate a review earlier this year, with mayor Dave Burton saying his council is “very willing to look at the bylaw. We understand it does need a bit of tweaking, and we will certainly do that.”
The township’s STR clerk and enforcement officer, Stacey Brown, told council June 23 that staff have identified several operational, interpretive and enforcement challenges that warrant refinement.
“Feedback from internal administration, the appeals committee process, and ongoing enforcement experience has highlighted opportunities to improve clarity, consistency and overall effectiveness of the bylaw,” Brown said.
Staff are recommending a transition away from the current demerit point system for those who break the rules, which Brown said, “has proven administratively burdensome and difficult to apply consistently.” She pitched transitioning to a more streamlined administrative monetary penalty (AMP) model when it becomes available.
Highlands East is also looking to add definition for water access dwellings, while requiring provisions for dedicated docking space and parking requirements associated with the number of bedrooms.
Next councils to drive change
It looks as though the township will also continue with a public-access dashboard, so people can see the short-term rental address and registration number online.
A revised bylaw would also clarify structures to include features such as hot tubs and saunas.
CAO Brittany McCaw told council the program had a $6,059 surplus in 2025, so it did not cost taxpayers anything other than staff time.
Meanwhile, in Minden Hills, mayor Bob Carter said he expects his staff to provide a STR update to council this summer. He noted staff have been asked to speak to other townships to see what their experiences have been to see how the program can be run more efficiently.
“We’re trying to determine what’s working and what’s not and go from there,” Carter told The Highlander in the spring.
Last Tuesday (June 23), Dysart et al held a public meeting to decide whether to amend its rules to allow secondary residential spaces on a property to be rented out as short-term rentals. When council, in 2022, updated its zoning bylaw to allow accessory dwelling units (ADU) to be built on rural properties, it was decided then those units should be geared towards long-term rentals rather than short-term.
Last May, council said it wanted to move ahead with allowing short-term stays in ADUs, against the advice of township planner Jeff Iles. In bringing the file back last week, Iles said his opinion hasn’t changed.
“Staff questions whether the proposal is good planning and whether this benefits the community as a whole,” Iles said. “Staff are of the opinion this will impact our growth potential and long-term housing supply for the municipality.”
Iles said the provincial government’s reasoning for changing rules in its More Homes, More Choice bill in 2019 was to create 1.5 million new homes across Ontario by 2031 and that, by allowing ADUs to transition to STRs, council would be going against that.
In a public survey completed this year, Dysart asked people if they were in favour of allowing STRs in ADUs – 73 per cent of respondents said they were not.
Coun. Pat Casey said he supported allowing STRs in ADUs in town and rural areas, but not on the water. He said many landlords are opting to leave properties vacant right now, rather than rent out long-term given issues some have had with problematic tenants. He feels STRs give those owners a chance to make some money.
“The rental market has definitely soured… I did some digging and counted at least 50 rentals that have gone by the wayside [in Dysart] over the past 10 years,” Casey said.
The proposed change was shot down, though council was keen to ensure property owners wanting to rent out a secondary unit short-term be given the opportunity to plead their case. Iles said people can apply to make requests of council that can be considered on a case-by-case basis.
It’s status quo in Algonquin Highlands as far as mayor, Liz Danielsen, is concerned. She feels the current rules are working well in her township.
“We haven’t had any major concerns raised and really haven’t had any kind of substantive discussion about STRs,” Danielsen said. “It’s always a good idea to do a bit of a review every once in a while, especially with something so new… but given that we’ve lost our planner and are in the process of hiring a new one, I would think it’ll be the new council before there’s any changes considered.”
Danielsen confirmed Algonquin Highlands is the only township in the County that currently allows STRs in ADUs.
Dysart plans to run a public consultation later this year to gather more feedback, with Casey calling for an annual review of the STR file. Deputy mayor Walt McKechnie said, given a municipal election is four months away, this was one for the township’s new council to pick up come fall.
