Kijiji, Craigslist and parkatmyhouse.com list dozens of available parking spots for rent in Toronto. The problem, however, is that renting out private parking is technically illegal in this city and could result in a $25,000 fine, although that’s unlikely.
Parking rental websites are among new services created by computer- and smartphone-savvy developers that enter legal grey areas in Toronto. And some people say it’s time the city updated those bylaws.
“It’s a problem to have bylaws that are either never enforced or completely unrealistic or based on how things were before the Internet,” said Mariana Valverde, a criminology professor at the University of Toronto, who has written about the city’s bylaws. “It’s a basic principle of the rule of law that citizens should know what the rules are that govern them.”
Erin Jonah, a 26-year-old student who recently moved to Toronto, rented a parking spot online through parkatmyhouse.com for her parents when they visited.
For $50, she received five days of underground parking near Bay and Grenville Sts. She wasn’t aware she and the renter were treading in a murky legal area.
“I don’t know … who it’s hurting,” she said. “I don’t understand why it would be illegal.”
Jonah is not even sure whether the man who rented out the spot to her owns or leases it.
Renting out a private driveway or underground parking spot to the public breaks several bylaws, said Elizabeth Glibbery, acting director of investigations at the city’s municipal licensing and standards branch.
“As soon as you start renting it out, you’re now entering into a licensing, business-type agreement,” she said.
The fine for a conviction, she said, could reach $25,000 for an individual’s first offence and $50,000 for a corporation.
It’s a “complaint-based” law, said Glibbery, who couldn’t recall it being enforced recently in regards to parking rentals.
Last year there were 361 notices to comply issued for “front-yard parking” issues. Six of these files were sent to prosecution but none were related to parking rentals.
Glibbery said her department simply enforces the rules; it can’t change them. It’s up to city council to do that.
“With any kind of innovative service, the existing legislation is always dragging behind,” said Alex Stephany, president of U.K.-based parkatmyhouse.com. In Britain, at least one municipal council has come out in favour of private parking rentals.
The U of T’s Valverde said the burden of pushing for change falls on city council. One drawback to antiquated, complaint-driven bylaws is they can be applied arbitrarily: if, for instance, a neighbour “has an axe to grind,” she said.
It would be to the city’s advantage to update its parking bylaws and address issue such as congestion, she said.
When it comes to short-term rentals arranged through websites like Airbnb.com, the rules regarding parking are convoluted — in part because the zoning bylaws that govern it date from pre-amalgamation and haven’t been harmonized across the city.
Investigations manager Gus Michaels said it comes down in some parts of Toronto to whether zoning and fire safety requirements are being met. But other areas — for instance, North York — do not allow lodgers, so to rent to guests through Airbnb or another online service is “probably not permitted,” he said.
In a statement, Airbnb spokeswoman Rachel Carr said rental rules “vary widely by city” and its users agree to comply with all applicable laws in their locale.
Michaels said he’s not sure if any Airbnb users have ever got in trouble with Toronto bylaws. But he expects enforcement and bylaws will eventually evolve to cover new rental patterns.
“I’m sure we’re going to come across more things that don’t fit the mould,” he said.
One area in which the city has applied existing regulation rules is the taxi industry.
Uber, a company that uses a cellphone application to connect customers to licensed taxis and limos, was slapped with 25 bylaw infraction charges last year. Unlike similar services, including Hailo, Uber doesn’t have a taxi brokerage license.
“The laws are outdated,” said Uber general manager Andrew Macdonald, who has vowed to fight the charges. “I don’t think they account for new technology and ways of connecting customers.”
Original Article
Source: thestar.com
Author: Carys Mills
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