Commercial leasing lawyer Robert Eisenberg spoke with Cottage Life magazine about the cottage rental ban in Ontario which was implemented on April 4, 2020 under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Act stated that short-term rentals booked after April 4 can only be provided to individuals in need of housing during the emergency period. Violating this regulation is hefty, and can cost individuals up to $100,000 and corporations up to $10,000,000.
There has been confusion around the wording in the act, whether the April 4 date refers to the date the reservation was made or the date of the stay.
“Logically, one would think that it applies where the date of the stay is after April 4 and not whether the reservation was booked after April 4,” says Robert.
“Allowing a person to go occupy a short term rental booking during the state of emergency simply because it was booked prior to April 4 would undermine the purpose of the regulation: closing non-essential businesses and preventing the spread of COVID-19 in Ontario.”
Visit cottagelife.com to read the full article which was published on June 3, 2020: “Cottage rentals suffer financially under ban as market demand soars“
