Short-Term Rental Enforcement Fund Program (Canada)

A short-term rental refers to the rental of any type of residential dwelling unit (e.g., houses, secondary suites, accessory dwelling units, apartments, condominiums) that is facilitated by digital platforms such as Airbnb, Booking.com, or TripAdvisor and Expedia and their respective subsidiaries (e.g., FlipKey and VRBO). The purpose of the STREF is to limit short-term rentals that take away units from the long-term rental market across the country.

The STREF provides grant funding to municipalities and Indigenous communities with existing strict regulatory regimes to support the local enforcement of short-term rental restrictions in an effort to make more long-term housing units available in Canada. This includes supporting the planning, implementation, enhancement, and review of short-term rental enforcement and compliance measures as well as increasing short-term rental enforcement and compliance capacity.

Funding Information

• The Government of Canada will provide $45.9 million over three years, starting in 2024-25, to support the enforcement of restrictions on short-term rentals.
• The maximum level of financial support approved per project will not exceed $4.8 million over three years. The minimum funding allocation in year one will be set at $100,000 to ensure applicants with smaller populations can cover the higher costs associated with the planned enforcement and compliance activities in the jurisdiction.

Eligible Activities

• The following activities are eligible under the STREF:
  • Activities designed to support the planning, implementation, improvement and review of short-term rental enforcement and compliance measures, including:
    • Raising awareness and educating the public
    • Managing complaints systems
    • Managing licensing, permitting or registration systems
    • Conducting investigations and inspections
    • Issuing warnings, bylaw offence notices or tickets
    • Supporting legal proceedings
  • Activities designed to increase short-term rental enforcement and compliance capacity, including:
    • Procuring or developing software and digital tools
    • Procuring identification, monitoring, and compliance processes from compliance companies
    • Recruiting additional enforcement and compliance personnel
    • Providing staff training
    • Developing, testing and scaling new innovative tools, resources and processes
    • Developing partnerships and agreements, including with other levels of government and short-term rental platforms

Eligible Costs

• The eligible costs under the STREF include:
  • Wages and mandatory employment related costs (MERCs) for project staff
  • Staff training and professional development costs
  • Procurement of enforcement and compliance services
  • Professional fees, including researchers and IT providers
  • Subset capital costs such as software, IT supplies and solutions, excluding any building, construction, etc.
  • Overhead costs up to a maximum of 7% of total project expenses under HICC grant funding, which are central to the recipient’s operations and directly related to support eligible activities as outlined in the Funding Agreement (including postage, telephones, IT maintenance and head office support)
  • Printing and communication
  • Transportation costs associated with investigations of suspected non-compliant Short-term rentals
  • Translation, including to Indigenous language

Ineligible Costs

• The ineligible costs under the STREF program include:
  • Costs incurred before project approval and any expenditures related to contracts signed prior to project approval
  • Cost incurred for cancelled projects
  • New construction, or expansion of physical assets and costs for purchasing or leasing land, buildings and other facilities; real estate fees and related costs
  • Financing charges, collateral on mortgage financing, and loan interest payments, including those related to easements (e.g. surveys)
  • Legal fees and mediation/alternative dispute resolution fees except for costs incurred to support legal proceedings related to short-term rental enforcement and compliance

Eligibility Criteria

• To apply, your organization must fall within one of two categories:
  • Municipalities (including upper-tier municipalities, which are regional municipalities formed by two or more lower-tier municipalities)
  • Indigenous governing bodies including but not limited to:
    • A band council within the meaning of section 2 of the Indian Act
    • A First Nation, Inuit or Métis government or authority established pursuant to a Self-Government Agreement or a Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement between His Majesty the King in right of Canada and an Indigenous people of Canada, that has been approved, given effect and declared valid by federal legislation
    • A First Nation, Inuit or Métis government established by or under legislation whether federal or provincial or territorial that incorporates a governance structure

Ineligibility Criteria

• Ineligible applicants include:
  • For-profit organizations
  • Provinces and Territories
  • Federal entities, including federal Crown corporations.

For more information, visit Government of Canada.