New survey shows Canadians believe short-term rentals have negative impact on housing affordability, majority want increased regulations

OTTAWA, ON, Oct. 23, 2024 /CNW/ - According to a recent survey conducted by Nanos Research, a majority of Canadians think short-term rental properties have a negative or somewhat negative impact on both housing availability and rent prices in Canada.

"In a climate where housing affordability is top of mind for Canadians, short-term rentals are linked to the issues of housing availability and increased rent prices," said Nik Nanos, Chief Data Scientist at Nanos Research "Canadians want to see more restrictions on commercial short-term rentals."

The survey reveals that nearly three quarters of Canadians believe short-term rental properties negatively impact housing availability (51% negative; 23% somewhat negative) and just over seven in ten believe they negatively impact rent prices (44% negative; 27% somewhat negative).

Additionally, Canadians are twice as likely to think rent prices in their neighbourhood would go up (47%) rather than stay the same (23%), which is a noticeable increase compared to 2018 where Canadians were just as likely to believe they would stay the same (31%) than go up (28%). The impact on community safety is also seen as negative with two in five Canadians who believe short-term rentals have made communities in Canada less safe (43%) rather than have no impact on safety (34%).

In fact, there is strong support Canada-wide for limiting commercial short-term rentals with over three in five Canadians that support (39%) or somewhat support (23%) limiting commercial short-term rentals. Support is also strong among younger Canadians, with nearly two thirds of Canadians aged 18-34 (64%) who support or somewhat support limiting commercial short-term rentals.

Finally, local politicians who want increased regulation of short-term rental platforms are more likely to see a positive impact on electoral prospects than a negative one. Canadians are over twice as likely to say to say they would be more likely (38%) rather than less likely (15%) to vote for a local politician if that politician decided that there needed to be more control over online short-term rental platforms.

About the Research

This project was commissioned by the Hotel Association of Canada and the research was conducted by Nanos Research. Nanos conducted an RDD dual frame (land- and cell-lines) hybrid telephone and online random survey of 1,058 Canadians, 18 years of age or older, between September 29^th and October 2^nd, 2024, as part of an omnibus survey. The margin of error for this survey is ±3.0 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

To view the full report, the tabulations and methodology, please visit the Nanos Research website at nanos.co.

About Nanos

As one of North America's premier market and public opinion research firms, we put strategic intelligence into the hands of decision makers. The majority of our work is for private sector and public facing organizations and ranges from market studies, managing reputation through to leveraging data intelligence. Nanos Research offers a vertically integrated full service quantitative and qualitative research practice to attain the highest standards and the greatest control over the research process.

About HAC

The Hotel Association of Canada is the leading voice of the Canadian Hotel & Lodging industry, bringing legislative solutions to industry challenges. We deliver targeted advocacy to address Canada's hotel workforce shortage, for fair rules for the sharing economy, and for sustainability solutions for the hotel industry across Canada. For more information, please visit www.hotelassociation.ca. 

SOURCE Hotel Association of Canada

Nanos Research, Nik Nanos, Chief Data Scientist, 613-234-4666 x237, [email protected]