Where a cottage is rented out by a responsible agency they would certainly want to know if the tenants were causing any nuisance. It does make it more difficult if the owner is renting privately as he may not be as selective. If I were in your shoes, I would get in touch with the owner and let him know how his renters are behaving.

I have a note in my cottage manual that asks my guests to respect that there are neighbours and that loud noise is not acceptable. We actually ask our neighbours to let us know if they have any issues with our rental groups.

The majority of rental groups are respectful and I’m really sorry you’ve had this experience.

Calling the cops is useless, they give them a warning do nothing, next week it’s another family same issues.

Do I think regulation is required? Absolutely, with a 3 strike rule, (to be fair to the owner who feels renting a cottage is the only way 2 earn extra income) 3 strikes your done renting your property, sell it or use it. Hefty fines should be incurred as well. This hopefully will ensure a deceint tennant, and others paying taxes and morgages can enjoy their vacation property.

I may sound harsh thats because in the last 5 years the cottage across from me has been rented out since its purchase. (students in the wintertime 4 university, they r actually really good) Met the owner only 3 times in 5 years. A cleaning service cleans the cottage on Saturday afternoon and the next family moves in that night. Its a revolving door, yes some of the familys r ok and not all bad, but the BS for us regular cottagers is not welcomed.

Last year when I arrived one Friday night I found a renter with his boat tied up at my dock, I askd him what he was doing, he said going fishing, I said what r u doing at my dock, he said he had used it all week because their dock was full and no one was around here.

I hope u can now C how others feel about rental properties and perhaps let your renters know how cottage owners feel about them.

Fully agree….I was thinking more of something a cottage owner in New Brunswick related to me earlier in the year – her cottage did not pass the inspection because the bedroom was 6 inches too short. A property that looked beautiful in the photos I saw, but the owner isn’t going to knock out a wall, and thus the rental is lost to the market.

I vacationed twice this year, with two very different destinations. The first was a quiet cottage on the Crowe River where the loudest sound was the occasional bird call. The second was New York City, 1 block from Times Square, where the pigeons could ne’er be heard over the street traffic and sirens. Both vacations were absolutely fabulous in their own way, and I took advantage of a private rental in each case. I did not get hotel service, nor did someone make my bed every day (other than my wife or I). I can’t imagine it any other way though….Having a place to call your own for a week, complete with its own kitchen, living area etc. often presents a far better deal than a hotel. At the end of each vacation, I truly felt like I lived the life of the local rather than the tourist.

In each case, our expectations were pre-established and the “warts” simply added character to our temporary homes. I wonder if either place would pass the requirements set forth by the powers that be. Frankly, I doubt it, and that would indeed be tragic.

So, do owners need to raise their standards? Well, that’s good advice for anyone I guess….but I think a large part is managing the expectations of the tenant.

There is a darker side to this as well. As properties which do not pass muster are eliminated from the rental market, the only ones left will tend to be the more expensive ones. A family with only $700 to spend on a cottage just might not be so thankful of a government body who “protects” them from such properties, leaving only the $1000 and up cottages available. “Sorry kids, we can’t afford the cottage this year, but hey, that’s a good thing because maybe the owner wouldn’t have changed the sheets twice a week”.

We are careening down the path of a completely homgenized world….Stay at Holiday Inn, have your coffee at Starbuck’s, lunch at MacDonald’s, go to a local theme park….doesn’t matter where you are…the cottage, New York, Paris… Sometime it’s nice to know what your getting, but who among us doesn’t like surprises?