Some residents fear infill developments are being used as temporary lodging homes.



Some multi-unit housing developments in Edmonton's Windsor Park neighbourhood. The city is looking at changes to better control the rental arrangements occuring in some city infill developments. (Craig Ryan/CBC)

Prompted by concerns from Edmonton residents about how some infill developments are being used, city councillors are considering changes to how lodging houses and short-term rentals are regulated.

The city’s urban planning committee on Thursday heard about current regulations around lodging houses, and citizen complaints about traffic, parking issues and disruptive behaviour around infill housing.

Lisa Drury, a senior planner with the zoning bylaw team, told councillors that the increase in row housing since the 2024 zoning bylaw renewal has some residents “questioning whether some row houses are being used as lodging houses or short-term rentals with high turnover.

“The volume of these types of residential arrangements were not anticipated as part of the new zoning bylaw,” Drury added.

According to the city, a lodging house is a building that contains four or more individually rented bedrooms, which may have shared bathrooms. They’re currently permitted in all residential buildings, from single-detached houses to multi-unit developments.

The city has proposed amending the regulation to lower the minimum number of individually rented bedrooms to three, down from four, and cap the total number of sleeping units at eight.

Renting three bedrooms would require proprietors to take out a business licence and fall under the city’s regulations and enforcement of lodging houses.

Lodging houses wouldn’t be permitted in row housing or multi-unit apartments in the city’s residential zone, as these developments by nature already house several people in the same building.

The proposed bylaw change would not allow lodging houses to exist within a secondary suite, such as a basement suite, the report added.

Infill developers in favour

The committee heard from several people at Thursday’s meeting who spoke in favour of stricter oversight.

Marty Pawlina, vice-chair of the infill committee at BILD Edmonton Metro, said the organization supports the bylaw changes to provide clarity and protect tenants.

“They do not hurt or target reputable operators who build compliant multi-family properties,” Pawlina said to the committee. "Updating these rules means we directly impact the unpermitted bad-faith operators who try to run stealth commercial properties in the shadows."

Anne Stevenson, Ward O-day’min councillor, said she believes that lodging homes, which typically offer lower rents than apartment units, are needed.

“The zoning bylaw is just not a tool for regulating people,” Stevenson said. “I don't think it's effective and I think it has a real risk of decreasing affordable housing options for students without meaningfully addressing community concerns.”

The city also proposes tightening the regulations on short-term rentals, which currently allow rentals for as little as one hour or as long as 30 days.

Changes to the business bylaw would increase the minimum rental period to 12 hours, and forbid lodging houses to be used as short-term rentals.

Council is expected to debate proposed zoning and bylaws changes at its July 7 meeting.

By Natasha Riebe