Canadians turning part of their homes into Airbnb units to cover their mortgage

Canadians facing ever increasing house prices — and debt — are turning to short-term rentals to make ends meet, according to a new survey.

AltusGroup, which provides real estate research, said its FIRM survey from the summer of 2016 found four per cent of all households had used a short-term rental accommodation service in the past year. The number rises to seven per cent for those with a mortgage.

“There has been a lot of speculation lately about potential investor involvement in short-term accommodation rental services like Airbnb,” said Altus in its release. “But focusing on households rather investors, how extensive is the practice of short-term rentals of space in principal residences?”

Altus noted impact is even greater among millennials, those under 35 years of age, living in Canada’s four largest cities — Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary and Montreal. In large cities, 15 per cent of all millennials said they used a short-term accommodation service to rent out part of their homes. Millennials in those cities, who also had a mortgage, rented out space short-term 22 per cent of the time.

Even renters seems to taking advantage of the demand for short-term accommodation. In large cities, 12 per cent of renters 35 and under reported they had used a short-term accommodation rental service to rent out part of their home.

Among the general population, four per cent of all renters across the country had sublet part of their home.

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