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Winnipeg Free Press
28-04-2025
- Business
- Winnipeg Free Press
Report urges city to accept federal funding for short-term rental rules enforcement
A year after the city imposed a licensing regime for short-term rental units, such as those listed on Airbnb and VRBO, new federal funding is poised to help crack down on anyone breaking the rules. A new report seeks city council approval to accept a grant of just under $770,000 over the next two years, which would boost enforcement of the units the city began licensing on April 1, 2024. But some neighbours of such properties say enforcement is falling short, so far. Craig, who asked that his last name not be used, said city rules haven't solved issues in his downtown building, where about one-quarter of all units are short-term rentals. 'Our quality of life is adversely impacted on a regular basis by these units,' he said. While wild parties are the most common problem, others include include domestic violence, hallway fights and at least one case of human trafficking, said Craig. 'There (are) people who are afraid to leave.… You don't want to leave your suite when there's people causing issues in the hallway. You're kind of trapped,' he said. The city's rules allow owners to operate one short-term rental unit, which must be their primary residence. However, permanent residents of Winnipeg, and corporations wholly owned by Winnipeggers, are permitted to rent out one primary residence and up to three short-term rental units they don't live at via a grandfather clause, as long as they owned the properties before Feb. 23, 2023. Craig said that means incidents can pile up at units with off-site owners and city bylaw officers often can't immediately respond. 'The bylaw needs to be enforceable to actually mean anything,' he said. Downtown resident Mike Diehl agreed. 'We (typically) don't know where the owners live, exactly, or how far away they are when something needs to be addressed. This is ghost hotel style,' said Diehl. 'You kind of wish there would be some… upper limit (in terms) of the number of short-term rentals that can exist in a building.' He welcomed the city's plan to add enforcement but said condo boards also need more power to prevent short-term rental operators from buying housing units. According to the city report, the federal government believes cracking down on non-compliant short-term rentals could help boost the country's supply of long-term housing. Coun. Vivian Santos, chairwoman of council's community services committee, said she hasn't personally received complaints about short-term rentals since city licensing took effect, though other councillors have. 'I think the enforcement part would really help. I know there have been complaints about some illicit, illegal activity,' said Santos (Point Douglas). The city plans to use the funding to identify any gaps in its bylaws, ramp up enforcement and better use technology to monitor the industry. Steps would include: adding an enforcement and policy analyst, a licensing enforcement inspector and an information technology programmer analyst; using new technology to detect bookings for unlicensed properties; and creating a new scheduling system to streamline inspections. 'I think it would be very helpful for the community bylaw enforcement team to have some temporary additional help,' said Santos. In Winnipeg, there are 679 active short-term rental licences in effect, while two licences have been removed for breaking the rules and 64 complaints have been made through 311 since licensing began, said city spokeswoman Pam McKenzie, in an email. The city's licensing program also imposed an accommodation tax on short-term rentals, which is currently set at six per cent. A full city report on short-term rentals is expected in June, said Santos. A spokeswoman for the short-term rental industry said she hopes more enforcement can help crack down on what she believes to be a small portion of operators breaking city rules. 'It only benefits us if the bad hosts are weeded out. The quicker, the better in my opinion,' said Melanie Mitchell, president of the Manitoba Association of Short Term Rental Owners. Mitchell said the industry provides jobs and needed accommodations. And while the federal government blames short-term rentals for taking up scarce housing units, Mitchell believes they have little impact on the overall supply. 'You could put them all out of business in one day and still have a huge housing supply issue in Winnipeg,' she said. Mitchell said it would be unfair for the city to rescind its decision to allow some existing short-term rentals to continue operating even though owners don't live on site. 'People made their business decisions based on being grandfathered (in), so that should be the end of that discussion. And the grandfathering criteria was so strict that cut out probably half of the short-term rentals in Winnipeg already,' she said. Council is expected to vote next month on accepting the federal enforcement funding and the proposed plan to spend it. X: @joyanne_pursaga Joyanne PursagaReporter Joyanne is city hall reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. A reporter since 2004, she began covering politics exclusively in 2012, writing on city hall and the Manitoba Legislature for the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in early 2020. Read more about Joyanne. Every piece of reporting Joyanne produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. 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New York Times
21-04-2025
- General
- New York Times
When Natural Disasters Hit, People With Disabilities Often Feel Them ‘First and Worst'
As 75-mile-an-hour winds whipped black smoke across the sky, I stood in my kitchen, worrying about what it would take to evacuate. My husband had packed up the medications, arm and knee braces and heating pads I needed to manage my debilitating, chronic pain. But now what? It was Jan. 8 in Los Angeles. There were 100,000 people under evacuation orders, and every hotel and Airbnb was booked. I had nowhere to go, no refills remaining on one of my medications and no idea how bad my pain would become if I missed a scheduled medical procedure. Fires, floods, hurricanes and other natural disasters are hitting harder than ever. And when they do, people with disabilities often feel the impact 'first and worst,' said June Isaacson Kailes, a disability policy consultant in Los Angeles. An estimated 1.3 billion people, or 16 percent of the world's population, has experienced significant disability. Despite facing a higher risk of injury or death than those without disabilities, however, 84 percent of people with disabilities worldwide report feeling unprepared. 'Your survival depends on having a plan and knowing how to carry out that plan,' said Mike Diehl, an amputee and former firefighter in Middletown, Ohio. Here is how to make one. Ask for help ahead of time. Start by knocking on your neighbor's door and talking about what you can do together in an emergency, suggested Germán Parodi, an executive director of the Partnership for Inclusive Disaster Strategies, a nonprofit organization. In many cases, it is neighbors, not emergency workers, who carry out rescues, explained Mr. Parodi, who is quadriplegic and worked in Puerto Rico to assist people with disabilities who were affected by Hurricane Maria in 2017. Alison Freeman, a clinical psychologist who is deaf, learned after the L.A. wildfires that her apartment building issued announcements about emergencies only via loudspeaker and that building staff members would not be permitted to leave the first floor and alert her in person during an evacuation. After that, she said, 'I took it upon myself to connect with other residents to see who'd be willing to check in on me.' Be proactive with your doctors, experts said. Ask for extra medication refills so that you have an emergency supply on hand, and discuss how to manage possible treatment disruptions. If you depend on electricity — whether for a powered scooter, oxygen or refrigerated medications — contact your power company before disaster strikes. They may be able to put you on a priority restoration list. Plan where you'll go. Tyler Lima-Roope, who is 27 and lives in Los Angeles, relies on his power wheelchair and other medical devices to live and function. As wildfires threatened nearby neighborhoods earlier this year, he worried about finding a place that could support his extensive needs, including specialized equipment to help him move from his bed to a wheelchair or shower chair. 'Having to go somewhere at the drop of a dime is really hard for someone in my situation,' Mr. Lima-Roope said. Experts suggested creating a list of possible places to evacuate that you know can accommodate your needs, and keeping the necessary contact information on hand. If you need accessible transportation, arrange this ahead of time with someone you know or with a disability resource agency in your area. This is essential, experts said, because emergency rescue teams are stretched thin during disasters. And know when you'll leave. Search online for your city or county emergency alert system, and sign up for it. Opt in to receive Wireless Emergency Alerts, and consider downloading apps from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the American Red Cross, which work with screen readers and flash notifications for those with vision or hearing impairments. Weather radios from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration can also send alerts using tone, lights, vibrations or text displays. If your disability affects how quickly or safely you can evacuate, consider leaving before an order is issued. Because Mr. Diehl knows that gathering and loading his supplies into the car could take precious time in an emergency, he keeps them ready to go. 'I'm prepared to get myself out of a bad situation before it becomes so dire that I need a rescue,' Mr. Diehl said. Evacuating early may also be a good idea if you depend on medical devices that require electricity and power outages seem likely, said Elizabeth Bubel, a program manager at the American Red Cross. Do not wait until disaster is at your door to test your exit route. For tornado preparations, for example, practice how quickly you can reach your home's lowest, innermost room. If you have mobility limitations and work or live in a multistory building, rehearse using evacuation chairs with those who would help you in an emergency. Prepare a 'go bag.' Experts recommended using disability-specific checklists to build emergency kits for your home, work and car. If some of your daily essentials cannot be stowed in a bag ahead of time, pack what you can and make a list of what you'll need to grab in the moment, said Ms. Kailes, the disability policy consultant. And set yourself a semiannual reminder to make sure your backup medications are not expired. Experts also suggested creating a photo album or log on your smartphone listing any prescriptions or medical equipment, in case they have to be left behind when you evacuate and later replaced. After evacuating, I was lucky to return to a home that was still standing. I began unpacking the bag I had scrambled to fill, and then stopped. I left a few days' worth of clothes, medications and instant cold packs inside, for the next time I might need them.
