Husain Haider | Contributor
Featured image: The Village is home to several Airbnb units, but may not be the only reason to blame for the increased prices of rental units. | Amir Yazdanparast
Airbnb is a couch surfer’s dream. The website connects short-term tenants to landlords directly. There are several units available in The Village.
Airbnb rentals doubled between 2014 and 2015, according to a City of Toronto report. A quick visit to the website will tell you why—the prices are cheap. Rooms can be found for as little as $50 a night.
Jeishan and his wife Veenuja have been offering up a room in their home since 2015. They promise a “Comfy BR @ York University, Toronto.” Their rating currently sits at five stars.
Jeishan, who declined to give his last name, says York students are great, adding that about a quarter of his clients are York students.
There are over 800 rooming houses in The Village, according to Lucy Wang, who lists rooms for rent in The Village.
Airbnb has recently been forced to defend itself amid allegations that their service raises long-term rental costs. The company’s head economist, Peter Coles, told The knows how to do,” adds Encalada.
Other changes she hopes to see include a migrant worker’s right to labour mobility to avoid getting tied to one employer, and that the government should immediately grant status upon arrival for migrant workers. This would mean ending the workers’ disposability when they get injured, sick or assert their rights.Globe and Mail last week that Airbnb simply does not have a wide-ranging impact after Toronto city officials starting working on restrictions that would govern the rental market.
Previously, Excalibur reported that hospitality employees were at the losing end of the bargain. The Fairbnb coalition said hotel employees were losing wages because of increased demand from the site.
Coles, a former assistant professor at Harvard Business School, said that the company studied 9,500 listings last year—Airbnb concluded that only about 760 adversely affected long-term rentals.
Wang has been providing student lodging for the past 12 years. She says that prices will go up next year, but not because of Airbnb.
She doesn’t believe that enough people use Airbnb to impact prices, though city policy certainly will. The fact that a subway station will be built within walking distance of The Village will likely have an impact on pricing, as well as rising utility prices and property taxes.
Wang is worried that tenants, especially workers who don’t attend class at York, will be priced out of The Village.
Wang alleges the city has purposefully delayed granting rooming house licenses, preventing homeowners from getting mortgages from banks. The city is asking landlords to install fire safety doors, a move she supports because it improves student safety. However, since the city has been dragging its heels granting rooming licenses, it’s impossible to receive the costly permits required to build separate entrances on second-floor and basement units.
