Governments Must Stop Telling Property Owners What To Do

The Saturday Huddle is a weekly column that features opinion, analysis, and reflections on Huddle stories, podcasts, and business news in the region. Derek Montague is a Huddle reporter based in Halifax.

If there is one thing I’ve come to believe more and more over time, it’s that property owners in Canada don’t have the rights they deserve. Part of that is by design. When Pierre Trudeau and his colleagues were drafting the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, property rights — like the ones that exist in the United States — were debated but not recognized in the same way.

This has led to circumstances over the years where people who have owned land for decades, if not generations,  having it expropriated. For the government to take your land, it must prove that it needs it for a project that is for the greater good. This often means highways and other large-scale public projects. You must also be financially compensated.

But there are times when land can be taken away for the whims of private companies. There are examples in the Maritimes of expropriation for the sake of mining companies. Take this case from 2013 where a family was given $300,000 so their land could be used for gold extraction.

Last year, Huddle told the story of Premier Blaine Higgs’ government passing a law that let mining companies simply walk onto farmland for the sake of mineral exploration — without permission from the land owner.

Of course, these are some of the more extreme examples. More common examples happen at the municipal level. In our world of NIMBYs and curmudgeon city councillors, we are constantly being told what we can and cannot do on the land we spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on. This is true both commercially and privately.

In Halifax, the restrictions are becoming more and more unfair. There is no better example than the new, heavy restrictions on Airbnbs.

Now, you can only rent out your house or apartment in the short term in residential zones in Halifax if it’s listed as your primary residence. This new law will affect as many as 73 percent of all Airbnb-type accommodations and could cost the local economy nearly $50 million.

Despite these staggering stats, council passed the law by a landslide 13-3 vote. During the public hearing before the decision, council hardly seemed phased by those heavy-hitting numbers. Most shocking of all is how the public doesn’t seem to care.

Unlike the late-night-pizza backlash — when council considered restricting corner stores because they were open late selling pizza — the public had no sympathy for Airbnb operators.

That is largely due to the unhelpful discourse that has developed during our housing crisis. Anyone who owns land to make money is seen by many as the bad guy. They are Scarface. But instead of peddling mountains of cocaine, they are selling overpriced shelter. Therefore, if the government gets heavy-handed, most will applaud.

Two years ago, there was another property restriction that is having consequences — this one handed down by the provincial government. The two percent rent cap was justifiable in the short term, but as the costs of upkeeping rental units have skyrocketed, the cap has remained inflexible.

I believe a rent cap can still be justified. I would argue it is needed. But there must be a way for landlords to raise rent to keep up with inflation and maintenance costs. Otherwise, smaller landlords will leave the industry.

This crisis was made by government. Yes, there are certain landlords out there who have been greedy, jacking up prices to unreasonable levels and renovicting tenants in cruel fashion. But governments at all levels have failed to invest in publicly owned housing for decades. Now that we are in emergency mode, governments at two different levels are telling small landlords that they must be the solution.

At the Halifax council meeting, this argument was brought up many times: Airbnbs are contributing to the housing crisis. If we eliminate short-term rentals, they will have to become long-term ones, adding much-needed housing stock.

If you look at the online discourse, this is the dominant focus — how Airbnbs are contributing to the housing crisis.

Even if this argument proves to be true, it is unjust to force property owners into being traditional landlords. I really admired the arguments made by Joline Dorey at that public meeting. She told council two things: she is a single mom trying to provide for her kids, and she will never convert her short-term rental into a long-term one.

“I feel that’s more of a distraction, to shift the focus on what is really causing the housing crisis. I feel that the report assumes that every [short-term rental] would convert to a [long-term one]. I’m a single mom of two working a full-time corporate job and I run my own consulting business. My Airbnb provides the extra income that I need to pay for my two children and our basic living expenses. Your recommendations would force me into a situation to sell.”

Now, to be fair, there are legitimate issues with the Airbnb market. For most of its existence, it has been an unregulated industry. There have been problems with residential buildings being used as party houses with disrespectful guests.

There is also the lost sense of community, with long-term renters no longer having long-term neighbours. I find this argument to be the weakest. We have been getting more and more detached socially for years. We are no longer like neighbours in old movies where we host barbeques every Sunday. It is very common to not socialize or even know the names of neighbours anymore. It’s sad but true.

But I do believe there is a middle ground for the other issues around noise, litter, and all-around bad behaviour: fine the Airbnb owner over these disturbances. That will quickly force them to vet their guests more and have stricter rules.

As for concerns over Airbnb’s contribution to the housing crisis, there is a middle ground for that as well. Institute a special tax on short-term rentals. Use the tax money and the aforementioned fines for public and nonprofit housing.

I know we are in dire straits with housing (I’m a renter myself who can’t afford most apartments), but I don’t believe in constantly telling property owners what they can and cannot do with the land they spent so much money on. The main solution will be to have housing that is well outside of the open market.