In a council meeting Tuesday, Halifax regional council approved regulations for short-term rentals, like Airbnb, and is giving residents until Sept. 1 to adjust.

Coun. Shawn Cleary, for District 9 Halifax West Armdale, is in favor of regulating short-term rentals, but said the draft package presented to the council will have negative impacts on community members and students.

"The way staff has done it is by zone. If you have a commercial zone, or a mixed-use zone, like the urban core, our zoning for commercial uses would be things like the center zones and the corridor zones," said Cleary.

These places in Halifax would be on Robie Street, Quinpool Road, Gottingen Street, Agricola Street, and a number of other transit-oriented places.

"In order for you to have a legal short-term rental, you would either have to reside in the unit. You would only be able to rent out bedrooms in it, while you are there, kind of like a bed and breakfast, if you live in a residential area. If you live in commercial or mixed-use areas, then you would be able to rent out the whole unit or what's called a whole home," explained Cleary.

He said most jurisdictions regulate Airbnb by the number of days.

This decision may impact students studying in Halifax who are renting places for eight-month contracts or the duration of their semesters, while a lot of landlords prefer a 12-month lease.

"With Airbnb, I know a number of landlords that contacted me who have students for eight months of the year, and allow the students to just sign that fixed term lease for the month and then they Airbnb the unit for four months while the students aren't living there. But in a residential zone, that will no longer be allowed," he added.

Cleary said this would lead to a situation where landlords who rent to a family for a 12-month lease, and reduce the number of student rentals in Halifax.

He added that the province has implemented several initiatives to address the housing crisis, and the population growth.

"When I first became a counselor six and a half years ago, the population of Halifax was just over 400,000. Now it's 480,000," he said.

According to Cleary, the province builds about 2,500 units per year but would need 7,500 to bring the vacancy rate up to a balanced level.

However, he added that Nova Scotia does not have enough developers, contractors and laborers to work at this time. He said creating initiatives that support tradespeople, such as community colleges and trades programs will strengthen and help the community over the years.

Listen to the full interview below: