The reason I am sharing this personal information is in hopes the council understands the concern my family and I have when we are told our address and personal information (emergency contact or not) will be made public if we apply for the STR license. Our family has been through a series of traumatizing experiences over the last few years. 

Firstly, I was stalked by a man over a significant period. Police were involved and eventually a detective was assigned to my case and worked diligently to help me and find the person involved. 

For my safety I changed my name, telephone number and I eventually moved. 

A few years after that incident, my family and I moved again near Tiny Township. My child experienced systematic bullying at various schools throughout the area. The situation was so severe the police and school authorities were involved. We had to reach out for assistance from our local elected officials. My child was threatened with a switch blade during recess at one school and subsequently moved. At the next school he was jumped by 4 other boys in class, when thrown to the ground he was stabbed repeatedly with a blunt object, they kicked him and hit him repeatedly with a chair. Our only option following this incident was to drive my son to an out of district school, something very difficult and expensive for 2 working parents, but we did what we had to do for our sons’ safety. The reason for the bullying? According to the children involved… My Son Lived in a Nice Home. 

That was the life we experienced without having our personal details accessible on the world wide web, for anyone to view in the world. 

WHY WE STARTED TO SHORT TERM RENT 

Fast forward two years following the stalking and bullying, we found a cute cottage in Tiny Township with lots of potential. We thought it would be perfect as an escape from what we endured at our current home. With the help of a line of credit we spent lots of money updating the cottage while receiving many compliments from our neighbours and people walking by. The pride of ownership has helped our neighbourhood maintain or perhaps increase its property value. My family enjoys the cottage frequently and to help us afford this luxury we have turned to renting it short term throughout the year, generally less than 6 days at a time over the summer months. 

We have built strong friendships with our neighbours and feel very safe. 

Having a cottage has been life changing and a very positive experience. We have gone above and beyond to ensure our neighbours are not inconvenienced and that our cottage is well maintained. 

Responsible Hosts of Tiny – representing 100+ STR owners within the Township and growing every day.

IMPACT OF THE STR BYLAW ON OUR FAMILY 

You cannot imagine how paralyzing it is to live in fear for your family’s safety. We are renting out our second home intermittently when we are not using it. We are not a commercial business, we rent to pay bills, not for our sole livelihood. Our next-door neighbours on both sides (who we trust) have our phone numbers to contact us at any time (they never have) and that is all who needs our information (emergency contact or otherwise). 

An overwhelming fear and opening of wounds are flooding our emotions. 

Compounded with the financial burden we stand to experience if we are not able to rent our cottage or must submit to a rental restriction, we feel like we are drowning in an uncontrollable spiral of despair. The STR bylaw takes away our right for privacy, gives the township the unjust right to have full access to enter our private property (as opposed to a police officer requiring a warrant), infringes on the opportunity to rent to wonderful families who also create family memories while contributing to our local economy. 

The annual licence fee and unjustified components of obtaining one adds to the financial expense and stress of having the cottage. This coupled with rental restrictions (April – October) means: 

We will have to rent more under the existing bylaw! 

Why are people who rent out their properties no longer being treated as equal members of the community? This STR bylaw is taking away from our family time to enjoy our cottage. The bylaw exacerbates the problem the STR bylaw was intended to fix in the first place while concurrently compromising our safety!