Toronto’s shifting regulatory landscape for short-term rentals has left many investors reevaluating their strategies. As local governments impose stricter regulations on platforms like Airbnb, more property owners are searching for alternatives to short-term rentals. For real estate professionals, this presents a unique opportunity to assist clients in making a smooth transition while ensuring compliance with new laws. 

Being aware of alternatives means real estate professionals can guide clients when buying, or at other times, of other ways to gain significant income from a property.

Understanding the Shift in Regulations

Toronto’s regulations on short-term rentals restrict the use of secondary properties for short-term leasing, allowing only principal residences to be rented for up to 180 nights per year. This regulatory shift has prompted many landlords to convert their short-term rental properties to alternative rental models to avoid penalties.

As a real estate professional, it’s crucial to stay informed about these evolving regulations so you can provide accurate guidance to your clients. Helping them understand the limitations of short-term rentals and the benefits of alternative options allows you to position yourself as a trusted advisor in this changing market.

Market Analysis and Tenant Acquisition

One of the biggest concerns for landlords transitioning from short-term to mid- or long-term rentals is adjusting to a different market and rental structure. Conducting a thorough market analysis can help you provide data-driven insights on rental rates, vacancy trends, and tenant demand in various neighbourhoods, enabling your clients to make informed decisions.

Beyond setting competitive rental rates, helping landlords find suitable mid- or long-term tenants is another key part of the transition. By partnering with a property management service, you can then recommend reliable services for tenant screening, assistance with lease agreements finding alternative sources of income from the property, and more. You can offer comprehensive solutions to help your clients.

Ensuring Compliance with Local Laws

Any shift in rental type requires navigating various legal and regulatory frameworks. By helping your clients understand how different tenancy types and rental structures are governed by distinct rules, and guiding them on which regulations apply, you ensure they remain compliant and shielded from potential legal issues.

Real estate professionals can help further, by recommending professional property managers who are also familiar with local regulations for different tenancy types, to help ensure landlords remain compliant while handling screening, rent collection, maintenance requests, and other ongoing duties, to avoid costly legal issues.

Awareness of Less-Common Alternatives

Real estate professionals can also help their clients by making them aware of rental alternatives that go beyond well-known, mainstream options such as Airbnb or long-term individual leases. 

Alternatives that attract stable, high-quality tenants include corporate housing, film industry partnerships, and mid-term leases – a “missing middle” option that is in high demand among tenants seeking rental terms that fall between short- and long-term leases. These niches provide predictable, financially secure tenancy agreements that can yield consistent returns with less hassle. Partnering with a property management company experienced in these specialized markets, who have the appropriate connections to match a property owner with suitable rent arrangements, can make the process even smoother.

Mid-Term Rentals

Mid-term rentals are an option many property owners overlook. These rentals cater to tenants who need housing for durations longer than 28 days but shorter than a year, and typically cater well to some of these niche rental alternatives. They are particularly suitable for professionals on temporary assignments, families undergoing relocations, or students attending short-term programs. Mid-term rentals offer landlords the potential for a consistent income stream while bypassing many of the stringent regulations tied to short-term stays and the extensive commitments of long-term leases.

Corporate Housing

Corporate housing, for instance, is ideal for properties in business hubs like Toronto where executives or employees are frequently relocated or have extended temporary stays. Companies with relocation needs often seek high-end, well-maintained housing for their staff, offering guaranteed rental income backed by solid corporate financial arrangements. 

Niche Industries

Similarly, niche industries such as film production companies operating in key cities consistently require housing for their cast and crew during shoots. These industries are known for paying higher premiums compared to traditional rental markets and have the flexibility to accommodate varying lease terms.

For a real estate professional, recommending these alternatives, and being able to connect clients with a property management service that will facilitate these types of rentals, can differentiate their service offering.

Property Furnishing and Maintenance Services

Another consideration for landlords changing rental types is the state of the property itself. Executive furnished rentals and other mid- to longer-term rentals have higher expectations of furnishings. Upgrading from what might have been acceptable for an Airbnb may be necessary to cater to the higher demands of the new target audience. Cost-effective upgrades are possible that offer a good return on investment, however. 

A property management company with experience in furnished apartments and interior design services can help, both in staging and providing furnishings for the client on an ongoing basis.

Marco Property Management offers over 20 years of property management experience, ensuring owners’ properties are cared for as if they were their own, offering expert interior design and other services that can support real estate professionals and enable property owners to get the most out of their properties.

Marco specializes in managing medium- and long-term stays, facilitating leases to their clients in the film industry, and offering executive furnished rentals. They offer furnishing services and manage beautifully furnished homes for 28 days or more but less than a year, ideal for the needs of executive relocations and the film industry.