Renting out a private parking spot in Toronto is illegal

Online services match private driveways to people needing parking. But it breaks city bylaws — and some say it’s time the city updated them.

Mariana Valverde, a criminology professor at the University of Toronto, has published a book on city bylaws and the need to overhaul them. A new issue, for instance, is the online rental of private parking spots in Toronto - illegal under its bylaws, which were written before the Internet age.
For $80 a month, you can rent a west-end driveway on College St. Or there’s an off-lane spot in the Annex for $100. A Yorkville driveway goes for $12 per day.
Kijiji, Craigslist and parkatmyhouse.com list dozens of available parking spots for rent in Toronto. The problem, however, is that renting out private parking is technically illegal in this city and could result in a $25,000 fine, although that’s unlikely.
Parking rental websites are among new services created by computer- and smartphone-savvy developers that enter legal grey areas in Toronto. And some people say it’s time the city updated those bylaws.

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