Short Term Rental Accommodations

A Premises is the property in which a short term rental accommodation is operating on and includes all legal buildings, structures, and features on the property. 

If you rent your property for over 28 consecutive days or are a hotel, motel, bed & breakfast, private camp, tent and trailer park, or rooming house, you are not required to obtain a STRA license.  

STRAs are not permitted to be operated out of non-habitable spaces, motor vehicles trailers, vessels (whether docked or not), and community housing. 

A cottage can be loaned to friends or family provided that it is not provided by way of concession, permit, lease, license, rental agreement or similar arrangement. 

 No

Given that there will be an influx of applications, we are unable to give an exact timeline for review at this time.

The Township will be working diligently to circulate applications to all relevant departments and review applications as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Owners are permitted to continue operating their STRA after they have applied, unless the Township has identified a concern.  

There is no mandatory inspection requirement within the by-law however, during the Township’s review of an application, if a concern is identified and an inspection is required, the Township will notify the owner. The owner will be required to pay an Inspection Fee depending on which division (Building, By-law or Fire Dept.) will be conducting the inspection. 

There may be circumstances where staff will be required to enter the dwelling of a STRA property to confirm compliance with the requirements of the By-law and/or other legislation. If entry is refused and staff cannot confirm compliance it may result in the application being refused.

In general, a property will be reviewed to ensure all permits related to an STRA application have had an occupancy certificate issued and file closed. 

If any open permits are discovered, inspections will be required, and the provisions of the building code in force at the time of the permit issuance will be applied. 

For example, regarding battery operated smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, these remain acceptable provided the building constructed predates the code requirement for hardwired smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.

In the event a building predates the Ontario Building Code, these buildings will be reviewed with life safety considerations primarily ensuring no element of the building is considered unsafe as outlined by the Building Code Act and Fire Code. 

No.

If you apply for your license by September 30, 2025, you will receive the 20% discount on your license fee and your license will be valid from November 1, 2025 until November 1, 2026.

Yes, these provisions only apply to Waterfront and R4 (Community Waterfront Residential) zoned properties that operate a short term rental accommodation and are only subject to dates between the Friday before Victoria Day weekend to the Tuesday after Labour Day weekend of each year: 

• All Waterfront and R4 (Community Waterfront Residential) STRA owners must take a one week break from renting (seven consecutive nights) during the summer months. 

• All Waterfront and R4 (Community Waterfront Residential) STRA owners are limited to accommodating only one rental group every six consecutive nights. There is no minimum or maximum number of nights per stay. 

If an application is refused, the owner will be notified and provided with an explanation. Owners will have the opportunity to bring the property into compliance with any regulations while their application is placed on hold. No rentals will be permitted until the license is issued.

If a STRA owner’s license is suspended or revoked, they will no longer be able to operate the STRA. The owner will be notified with an explanation and will be required to return the license.

Owners found advertising or operating a STRA without a required license could face a monetary penalty of $5,000 per day that the STRA is operated/advertised for. 

Yes, the Township can hold both the owner and renter responsible for any by-law contravention. Municipal Law Enforcement Officers have a variety of tools they can use to address by-law contraventions.

The Administrative Monetary Penalty System (AMPS) By-law provides officers with the ability to issue monetary penalties against property owners and renters if a by-law is contravened. To find out more information about AMPS, please refer to the Administrative Monetary Penalty System (AMPS) By-law. 

The Short Term Rental Licensing By-law provides officers with the ability to apply demerit points against an owner if a by-law is contravened. Offences carry various demerit points which expire after three years from the issuance of the demerit points. Once a property accumulates fifteen points within a three-year period, the license will be suspended, and the owner can no longer operate the STRA for a period determined by the Township. To find out more information about the demerit point system please refer to the Short Term Rental Licensing By-law, and review Schedule “B”.

Demerit points cannot be appealed until a maximum of 15 points have been incurred, and the license has been suspended.