Changes are Coming to Oakville Rental House Agreements

Published October 16, 2018 at 11:24 pm

Renting short-term in Oakville may become harder in the near future.

Renting short-term in Oakville may become harder in the near future.

According to the town of Oakville, as of Nov. 1, all short-term accommodations that offer rentals for less than 28 days will need a licence in order to operate. 

Operators and/or companies will need to apply for a licence. In order to do so, they will need to do the following:

  • Confirm which category of licence they require.

–       Operator (applicant is the one responsible for the short-term accommodation)

Or,

–       Company (platform advertising for operators)

  • Ensure all requirements relating to their licence class has been met including:

–      Property Owner/Tenant Consent form (complete if you wish to operate a short-term accommodation but are a tenant of the property)

–      Property management and parking plan

–      Property layout

  • Complete the application and all requirements and bring them, along with your supporting documents and payment, to Enforcement Services located at town hall on the main floor.
  • Only fully completed applications will be accepted. It may take up to 10 days for you to receive your licence.
  • Once a licence has been issued you will be required to renew the licence on an annual basis.

For a full list of application requirements visit operator application.

For more information please review the by-law for details.

On March 19, 2018-Council approved the zoning amendments and the licensing by-law.

Some new points of the new rules include:

  • Short-term accommodations are allowed in most housing types.
  • A short-term accommodation host must be the principal resident.
  • A short-term accommodation operator must obtain a town business licence for $237/year.
  • Companies such as Airbnb also have to be licenced with the town.

In addition, these new regulations will allow three units within a bed and breakfast, up from two, to create fairness in the short-term accommodation and bed and breakfast markets.

Until now, short-term accommodations in the town were only allowed in approved hotels and bed and breakfasts.

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