GTA’s municipalities short-term rental rules and regulations.
Short term rentals have been a hot topic for few years, highly debated on all levels of governments given our housing crisis, with the recent introduction of the federal government crackdown on illegal short term rentals starting January 1, 2024, we thought it would be a good idea to put together a list of rules and regulations by municipalities in the GTA region.
The enforcement of the rules has always been very questionable, let’s see if anything changes with the introduction of the federal funding to help the municipalities enforce the rules. The blog is written to provide the information regarding the rules and regulations, and not to debate the rights or wrongs of the short-term rentals nor the effectiveness of any enforcement.
AJAX – permitted and not regulated.
Per telephone conversation with the city rep the short-term rentals in Ajax are permitted and not regulated.
AURORA – permitted but regulated.
Permitted, the license is required and there are multiple regulations as per short-term rental by-law 6426-22
BRAMPTON – permitted but regulated.
Short-term rentals are permitted in the principal residence only up to a maximum of 180 days per calendar year.
-No more than three bedrooms are to be rented individually.
-The Property owner must have proof of Commercial General Liability Insurance.
-Annual license renewal is required.
City of Brampton provides more details here, and here is the link to by-law 165-2021 – short term rentals regulations.
BROCK – permitted and not regulated.
Short-term rentals are not regulated in Brock, they just need to follow other by-laws.
BURLINGTON – permitted and not regulated.
Per telephone conversation with the city official there are no regulations, and the short-term rentals are allowed.
CALEDON – not permitted.
Per conversation with the city’s by-law officer the short-term rentals are not allowed.
CLARINGTON – permitted and not regulated.
A 2017 report states the short-term rentals are not regulated and are allowed; we have not found any more recent updates.
EAST GWILLIMBURY – permitted but limited to Mixed Use Zones.
As per email below the email below short-term rentals are only permitted in Mixed Use Zones, link to interactive zoning map is also below.
Zoning - The Town of East Gwillimbury
GEORGINA – permitted but regulated.
The main requirements are that the property must be a single-family dwelling, needs to have a minimum 3 parking spaces plus one additional parking space per guest room. If these requirements are met the owner can apply for the license.
Please the Town of Georgina website for more details.
HALTON HILLS – not permitted.
Per conversation with the town the short-term rentals are not allowed.
KING – permitted and not regulated.
Per conversation with the town official short-term rentals are allowed and not regulated.
MARKHAM – not permitted.
As per email below Markham does not permit short-term rentals.
MISSISSAUGA – permitted but regulated.
Short-term rentals in Mississauga must be a principal residence of the owner, and the owner must obtain a license.
For more details please see the Mississauga website and the details of the short-term rentals by-law 0289-2020.
MILTON – permitted but regulated.
In Milton the operators must be licensed, and the property must be the principal residence of the owner. For more details please visit the city’s website.
NEWMARKET – permitted but regulated.
The city of Newmarket allows short-term rentals and lists multiple rules and regulations in order to obtain the license and run short-term accommodations. The main regulations are; one dwelling unit per lot, sufficient parking provided, must be the principal residence of the owner, restrictions for number of room rented and number of occupants. Please see the links for licensing details and by-laws.
OAKVILLE – permitted but regulated.
In Oakville only a principal residence may be used as a short-term rentals and the operator must be licensed, for more details visit the city’s website and the details of licensing by-law.
OSHAWA – permitted but regulated.
In Oshawa the operator must be licensed, and the main requirements are the property must be a principal residence, it limits the maximum number of days per year used for short-term rentals, limits the number of occupants per room. Please visit the city of Oshawa website for more information regarding the licensing requirements .
PICKERING – allowed and not regulated.
Per discussion with the city official there are no rules restricting short-term rentals in Pickering.
RICHMOND HILL – allowed and not regulated.
Per discussion with the city official there are no rules restricting short-term rentals in Richmond Hill.
SCUGOG – not permitted.
Per discussion with the city’s official short-term rentals are not allowed.
TORONTO – permitted but regulated.
City of Toronto is probably the most polarizing part of the GTA from the perspective of the short-term rentals with number of so-called condo ghost hotels, extreme number of homeless people and shortage of long term accommodation.
In Toronto short-term rentals must be licensed, are allowed only in owner’s principal residences. For more details please visit the city’s short-term rental website. If interested also have a look at our list of condos in Toronto allowing the short-term rentals.
VAUGHAN – permitted but regulated.
The city of Vaughan allows short-term rentals if the property is a principal residence of the owner, in order to be licensed, among other requirements, the owners and operators must obtain Municipal Accommodation Tax account number. For further information please visit the city’s website and details of short-term rental by-laws.
WHITCHURCH-STOUFFVILLE – permitted but regulated.
Stouffville allows the short-term rentals in the owners principal residence, the license is required. For more information please visit the city website as well as a very informative short-term rental FAQ.
WHITBY – permitted but regulated, info may not be up to date.
Whitby is the only location we haven’t been able to get an email, or a call answered to date, and the information available online isn’t clear or not very recent.
The Town of Whitby conducted a research and a survey going back to 2019 and concluded that the total number of days rented during the year can’t exceed 180 days. A staff report from 2019 indicates the short-term rentals are permitted but only in the areas where bed and breakfasts are allowed, the report considers three options (see pages 14 to 16 of the report) with further regulations being the most considered, we believe that none of the changes have been implemented to date.
Hopefully you will find the summary of rules and regulations of the short-term rentals’ requirements in different municipalities useful. The rules and by-laws change quite often, if you see some of the info is not up to date, please kindly let us know.
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