There is a lot of misinformation online about short-term rental regulations in Toronto. We see many people under the impression that short-term rentals are "banned" or "illegal".
We also see people who think that its possible for a single person to apply and operate multiple short-term rentals in Toronto.
As a short-term rental property management company in Toronto, we have worked diligently with the city over the last 5 years to understand the Toronto Airbnb regulations, giving us a unique insight into how the city operates.
Myth 1: Short-term rentals are banned in Toronto
Short-term rentals are permitted in Toronto.
Myth 2: An individual can have multiple STR licenses in Toronto
It is not possible for one person to hold and operate multiple short-term rental licenses in Toronto.
The City of Toronto requires that you apply for a short-term rental license. The only requirements to obtain the license are that the address you are applying for matches the address on your drivers license, and that you have a valid credit card to pay the $375 fee. If you are in a condo, you must ensure your building allows for short-term rentals, or you could face penalties and or fines from your Condo Corporation.
Short-term rental licenses are limited to 1 per person, as the address on the license you apply for must be your primary residence, and you can only have 1 primary residence (one address on your drivers license).
Failure to notify the city that you have changed your primary residence (after obtaining a short-term rental license) is accompanied by a fine and your license will be revoked, without appeal.
The city reviews drivers license and primary residence data weekly, so no, obtaining a short-term rental license and then attempting to change your primary residence to apply for a second license will not work.
Also note that hotels are excluded from short-term rental licensing and can list on all short-term rental platforms for unlimited nights, as hotels have their own regulations.
The Numbers
From 2021 to 2023 1,100 owner-operators listed a different mailing address for their property tax bills, indicating a violation of principal residence rules
The city bylaw considers a short-term rental any booking that is less than 28 nights. You are only allowed to accumulate a maximum of 180 nights of short-term rental bookings per calendar year, this resets every January 1st.
What Happens if I Exceed 180 nights?
If you rent your property for more than 180 nights short-term in a calendar year, your license will be suspended and you will receive a fine of $700.
There is no appeal process, it is extremely important you track your short-term rental usage especially if you are listed on multiple platforms, as these platforms do not communicate with each other and will not know how many nights you have used. At Park Place Properties, we use proprietary tracking software to ensure we are accurately tracking your short-term rental license usage on all the platforms you are listed on. We audit these reports manually every quarter to ensure all of our clients are not exceeding 180 nights.
The Numbers
From 2021 to 2023 approximately 1,438 STR operators rented their entire home for more than the allowed 180 nights.
How can I Bypass the 180 Night Rule?
To bypass the 180 night restriction in Toronto you need to apply for a shared room short-term rental license (instead of an "entire home"). This license grants you the ability to rent out short-term year round, with no restrictions. The only caveat is that you will need at least two bedrooms in your property, as one bedroom will be designated for you as you will be living in the property.
The city's bylaw office has a data sharing agreement with Booking.com and Airbnb that allows them to access short-term rental data pertaining to your license. Specifically, the city has access to all booking data for reservations that are less than 28 nights.
Any bookings you take that are over 28 nights in length are not provided to the City. The City does not share this data with any other government agencies like the CRA, this is strictly to monitor license usage and ensure operators have a valid license and are not renting out for more than 180 nights in a calendar year.
The city also conducts short-term rental inspections, at random, to ensure that the unit is your principal residence which is a key requirement under Municipal Code Chapter 547. Inspectors are mostly focused on situations where:
The host (you) doesn't actually live at the property
The property is being run by someone who doesn't live in Canada
The space doesn't meet fire and safety standards
The city will ask for documentation to verify that the property is your permanent residence, as well as do a walk through of your space to ensure the property meets all safety regulations, like having working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, the unit has a fire extinguisher/emergency exit plan visible to guest, etc.
Q4 of 2025 the city is releasing an API (Application Programming Interface) that registered short-term rental companies like Airbnb and Booking.com must use to verify the registration information of short-term rental operators to reduce the number of non-compliant listings.
The city also requires that you charge and collect at 8.5% Municipal Accommodation Tax on all bookings that are less than 28 nights. This amount needs to be remitted quarterly through the cities MAT tax remittance portal, luckily Airbnb does this for you, so there is no need to collect and remit unless specified otherwise.
Booking.com does not remit MAT tax for you, so you must ensure you have MAT Tax enabled on your listing to collect and remit to avoid any fines or penalties from the city, this is not done for you automatically.
The online platforms that allow short-term bookings in Toronto have mandatory licensing restrictions. Before you can price your short-term rental unit for nightly stays, you must have a valid short-term rental license saved to your listings profile. Without a license, these platforms will limit all bookings to a minimum of 28 nights.
The online booking platforms provide a portal for the city to access. The city can then download booking data, audit license information, and track the amount of short-term rental nights you have used.
Airbnb has enhanced compliance measures built into their platform to help manage and track the short-term rental nights you have booked. They will show you the number of nights you have booked short-term and the remaining short-term nights available.
Important - Booking.com does not track your nights used, but they do report it to the city. If you are listed on Airbnb and Booking.com, ensure you are tracking the short-term rental nights on Booking.com manually to ensure you do not exceed 180 nights.
If you do not have a short-term rental license, you will not be able to list on any of the online booking engines. There is no way around this. We never advise anyone to use unregulated platforms to bypass short-term rental bylaws like Kijiji, Facebook Market Place, or Craigslist. These platforms carry significant risk as you are not protected by on platform insurance like Aircover and if you are reported to the city you can incur fines up to $4,700.
The Numbers
We found at least 250 potentially unregistered or illegal short-term rentals advertising on platforms like Craigslist, Kijiji, and Facebook
Below outlines the offences that you can commit as a short-term rental operator in the City of Toronto. It is important to note that the city may resolve cases through education, and won't always issue a fine for violating a bylaw.
Offence | Fine ($) |
Failing to register a short-term rental | $1,000 |
Advertising, facilitating or brokering an unregistered short-term rental | $1,000 |
Failing to remove a listing for an unregistered short-term rental | $1,000 |
Renting or advertising property that is not a principal residence | $1,000 |
Advertising a short-term rental without a registration number | $1,000 |
Renting an entire unit for more than 180 days | $700 |
Failing to provide evidence of a principal residence | $700 |
Discriminating based on enumerated ground | $500 |
Refusing to serve a person accompanied by a service animal | $500 |
Failing to notify the City of a change in licensing or registration information | $400 |
Failing to provide emergency contact information to a guest | $400 |
Failing to provide information regarding 9-1-1 service to a guest | $400 |
Failing to provide a diagram of exits from the building | $400 |
Obstructing an authorized inspection | $400 |
Making a threat or reprisal for participation in a public process | $300 |
Making a threat or reprisal against an unlicensed business | $300 |
Fail to keep complete transaction record for 3 years | $300 |
Failing to provide transaction records within 30 days of a request from the City | $300 |
Failing to report non-compliance with screening criteria | $300 |
