Airbnb owner tells hearing he lives at Sunnyside Drive house '2 or 3 days a week'

The owner of a north London house listed for rent on Airbnb told a city hall licensing tribunal Thursday that he lives at 167 Sunnyside Dr. "two or three times a week" between his frequent travel outside of London for work. 

Jithin Das, a realtor who owns the five-bedroom house near Masonville Mall, has appealed a city decision to not renew his licence under the city's short-term accommodation bylaw. 

A hearing of that appeal was held in a city hall committee room, with three witnesses appearing via video conference in front of hearings officer Don Bryant. 

Central to the appeal is the question of whether or not Das lives at the house. The city's short-term accommodation bylaw restricts licenses for short-term rentals to properties where the owner resides. 

Das told the tribunal he frequently travels outside of London and Canada for his work as an investor and realtor.

"Wherever I travel, I have only one primary residence in this whole world and that is 167 Sunnyside Drive," he told the tribunal. 

City refused rental licence renewal

The tribunal heard that Das was first issued a short-term rental accommodation licence for the property in October of 2023. However, by the time it was up for renewal in January of this year, there had been multiple complaints from neighbours about noisy parties and questions about whether Das actually lives in the house. 

"In addition to the property being disruptive from time to time, the main focus here is the primary residence," said Nicole Musicco, the city's head licensing officer at the time of the licence refusal. 

Based on neighbours' testimony and an investigation by city bylaw enforcement officers, Musicco said it's the city's position that Das does not live in the house. 

Bylaw enforcement officer Christina Koch told the tribunal she visited the property twice to investigate in response to complaints from neighbours about noise, parking and concerns that Das doesn't live there. On the first visit last September, a cleaner answered the door. There was no answer when Koch went back in January of this year. 

Neighbours say owner didn't deal with large gathering

The tribunal also heard from Annette Campbell, a neighbour who lives two doors down from the house. She said the house has been the site of numerous noisy late-night parties over the past two years.

"It's marketed in such a way to attract large groups," she said, referring to the house's Airbnb listing. "The large groups are here to celebrate … they don't really care about the impact on the neighbours." 

Campbell said a party last September which made headlines when scores of young women lined up down the street for a sorority event "was the straw that broke the camel's back." 

"Busloads of women were dropped off and [Das] didn't come to deal with it," said Campbell.  "We just never know who's going to show up. It's very disruptive to the community atmosphere here." 

Das said he's married and that his wife and children reside in London at a different address.

He told the tribunal he's willing to sell the property "at any time." It's currently listed for sale on Realtor.ca for $1,149,900.

"I do not want to run this Airbnb business," he said, but also added, "I cannot sell this property for a loss."

Following the sorority event fallout, he amended the listing to make it clear disruptive parties aren't allowed, he said. 

In her closing arguments articling student lawyer Sydney Sleiman, acting for the city, explained the bylaw requires the licence holder to "habitually reside" at any property licensed for short-term rentals. She said the requirement is in place to minimize nuisances and complaints that short-term rentals sometimes trigger. 

"The appellant has said they are frequently travelling; they are frequently away for work. I would argue that this does not mean the applicant is habitually resident at the property," said Sleiman.

Listing still posted on Airbnb

The house's listing on Airbnb remains active, showing bookings well into the summer months. 

CBC News reached out to Airbnb to ask if the listing would be removed if Das's appeal fails. 

A spokesperson said all enforcement actions rest with the city. The spokesperson said they encourage all property owners to be good neighbours and follow local laws.

Bryant said his decision would be issued through the city clerk's office, but no timeline was given for when that decision might be made.