Today, September 10, 2020, the City of Toronto launched a new online registration system for short-term rental operators who are renting their homes on a short-term basis for a period of less than 28 consecutive days. Registration for short-term rentals needs to be completed online.

Operators are only allowed to short-term rent their principal residence:

–  This is the residence where you live and the address you use for bills, identification, taxes and insurance.

–  You can only have one principal residence at a time, therefore you cannot legally run more than one short-term rental.

You can short-term rent in any housing type, for example house, apartment or condominium. However, you should ensure that you are allowed, by your condominium or landlord, to short-term rent your residence.

Registration is a mandatory step to legally rent out homes for short-term stays. To continue short-term renting, current operators must be registered by December 31, 2020. Future operators will be able to register on an ongoing basis, but must do so before short-term renting their homes.

The City also requires short-term rental companies to obtain a licence from the City in order to carry on business in Toronto. A short-term rental company is any company facilitating or brokering short-term rental reservations online and receiving payment for this service, such as Airbnb, Expedia and Booking.com. The City is currently working with short-term rental companies on the licensing process and more information is available on the City’s website.

The City continues to respond to issues on a complaint basis. Residents can contact 311 to report issues related to short-term rentals, such as noise, waste and concerns that people are renting homes that are not their principal residence, and the City will investigate accordingly.

The City will continue to educate the public on short-term rental rules, encourage operators to register their short-term rentals, and work with companies to ensure compliance with the licensing rules. The City will take enforcement actions against short-term rental operators that are not registered or are not following the rules. Enforcement action will also be taken against companies that allow unregistered operators to list on their platform or contravene the bylaw.

Read news release here.