Section 1 to 11
Section 1 - Definitions
In this by-law,
“ABC fire extinguisher” means a first-aid fire extinguisher rated for ordinary combustibles, flammable liquids and electrical fires in accordance with the United States’ National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) classification system;
“accessory building” means a detached subordinate building that is devoted exclusively to a use normally incidental to the main use of the property;
“bed and breakfast” means a residential unit that contains rooms offered for transient accommodation for a period less than 30 consecutive nights, and may include spaces for the provision of meals and other connected services and facilities and:
- the remainder of the unit is the principal residence of the bed and breakfast operator which is not offered for transient accommodation; and,
- is not a hotel or a cottage rental;
“booking” means a commitment between a host and a person that a short-term rental will be available for that person's use for a specified period of time;
“Building Code Act” means the Building Code Act, 1992, S.O. 1992, c. 23, as amended, and includes any regulations passed under it;
“By-law Officer” means a person appointed by Council to enforce the provisions of this by-law and who may be referred to as an officer, inspector or municipal law enforcement officer;
“City Solicitor” means the City Solicitor of the City of Ottawa, or an authorized representative;
“Chief Financial Officer” means the Chief Financial Officer of the City of Ottawa, or an authorized representative;
“community housing” means non-profit rental housing or co-operative housing funded in whole or in part by a legally prescribed government program;
“Condominium Act” means the Condominium Act, 1998, S.O. 1998, c. 19, as amended, and includes any regulations passed under it;
“condominium corporation” means a corporation created under the Condominium Act;
“cottage rental” means the whole or part of a residential unit or mobile home that is used to provide transient accommodation for a period less than thirty (30) consecutive nights and:
- is not the principal residence of the operator;
- is not a bed and breakfast, rooming house, or hotel;
- is marketed or brokered through a short-term rental platform; and
- is located in an area authorized under Section 121B of the Zoning By-law, or any successor provision thereto;
“Dedicated Short-Term Rental” means a short-term rental which:
- has a legally established use as a hotel in accordance with the Zoning By-law prior to the coming into force of By-law 2021-106;
- does not meet the definition of “hotel” within this By-law; and,
- currently operates as a legally non-conforming hotel use for zoning purposes.
“Director” means the Director of By-law and Regulatory Services of the City of Ottawa, or an authorized representative;
“dwelling unit” means a residential unit that:
- is used or intended for use as a residential premises by one household and not more than three roomers or boarders; and
- contains no more than four bedrooms;
“guest” means a transient occupant of a short-term rental;
“host” means a person who operates or provides a short-term rental;
“host permit” means a permit issued under this by-law indicating authorization for a person to operate or provide a short-term rental at a specific municipal address;
“hotel” means a commercial use that provides transient accommodation for the travelling public within a set of 6 or more units or suites accessed by contiguous common space, all, including the contiguous common space, under a single ownership, and
- is not the principal residence of the operator;
- includes a motel, a motor hotel, and an apartment hotel; and
- may include desk service and/or accessory amenities such as but not limited to a restaurant or meeting rooms;
“housing co-operative” means a group of dwellings owned by a corporation established under the Ontario Co-operative Corporations Act, whereby the stockholders are solely the residents of the dwellings and the management of the dwelling is governed collectively by a Board of Directors;
“Insurance Act” means the Insurance Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. I.8, as amended, and includes any regulations passed under it;
“landlord” means the owner or operator of any rental unit as defined in Section 2 of the Residential Tenancies Act;
“market”, “marketed” and “marketing” means to offer for rent, promote, canvass, solicit, advertise, or facilitate a short term rental, but does not include the mere provision of a neutral space or location for such marketing in newspapers, bulletin boards, or online;
“mobile home” means a residence that is designed and manufactured to be transported on its own chassis and is equipped for year-round occupancy;
“Municipal Accommodation Tax” means the municipal accommodation tax applicable on the purchase of accommodation as provided for in By-law 2019-252, A by-law of the City of Ottawa to establish the Municipal Accommodation Tax and to repeal By-law No. 2017-401, as amended;
“Municipal Act, 2001” means the Municipal Act, 2001, S.O. 2001, c. 25, as amended, and includes any regulations passed under it;
“motor vehicle” includes an automobile, recreational vehicle, motorized boat and any other vehicle propelled or driven otherwise than by muscular power;
“occupier” means any person over the age of eighteen (18) years in possession of the property, and may include a lessee;
“Ontario Co‑operative Corporations Act” means the Co-operative Corporations Act, RSO 1990, c. C.35, as amended, and includes any regulations passed under it;
“Ontario Fire Code” means O. Reg. 213/07: Fire Code under the Fire Protection and Prevention Act, 1997, S.O. 1997, c. 4, as amended;
“overcrowding” means occupancy of a property in excess of the limits established by the Property Standards By-law;
“oversize dwelling unit” means a residential unit that:
- is used or intended for use as a residential premises by one household and not more than three roomers or boarders; and
- contains more than four bedrooms, but no more than 8 bedrooms;
“PIPEDA” means the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, S.C. 2000, c. 5, as amended, and includes any regulations passed under it, or any successor statute thereto;
“Planning Act” means the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.P.13, as amended, and includes any regulations passed under it;
“principal residence” means:
- the residential unit that is owned or rented by a natural person, alone or with others, where the natural person is ordinarily resident and makes their home and conducts their daily affairs, including, without limitation, paying bills and receiving documentation related to identification, taxation and insurance purposes, driver’s licenses, income tax returns, medical plan documentation, vehicle registration and voter registration; or similar information; and
- where the natural person has no other property designated as such within the City of Ottawa or any other jurisdiction;
"proof of insurance" means a certified copy of a policy of insurance or a Certificate of Insurance that shows the proof of liability coverage as required by this By-law issued by a company authorized to carry on the business of insurance in the Province of Ontario in accordance with the Insurance Act, and such insurance policy shall contain an endorsement to provide By-law and Regulatory Services with thirty (30) days prior written notice of cancellation or of a material change that would diminish coverage;
“property manager” means any person who serves as an agent to a host for the purposes of managing advertising, bookings, guest services, property maintenance, or other services related to a short-term rental;
“Property Standards and License Appeal Committee” means the Property Standards and License Appeal Committee established by the Council of the City of Ottawa pursuant to By-law No. 2002-189, being a by-law of the City of Ottawa respecting the licensing, regulating and governing of certain businesses, as amended;
“Property Standards By-law” means the Property Standards By-law of the City of Ottawa (By-law No. 2013-416), as amended, or any successor by-law thereto;
“Provincial Offences Act” means the Provincial Offences Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.33, as amended, and includes any regulations passed under it;
“rental unit” means any living accommodation used or intended for use as rented residential premises, as defined in Section 2 of the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006;
“Residential Tenancies Act, 2006” means the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, S.O. 2006, c. 17, as amended, and includes any regulations passed under it;
“residential unit” means a self-contained set of rooms located in a building, designed to be lived in by one or more persons, and which contains sleeping, kitchen and bathroom facilities that are intended for the exclusive use of the residents of the unit;
“rooming house” means a residential unit, other than a group home, retirement home or converted retirement home, that:
- is not used or intended for use as a residential premises by a household; or
- is used or intended for use as a residential premises by a household and more than three roomers or boarders; or
- contains more than eight bedrooms;
“short-term rental” means transient accommodation in the whole or part of a residential unit for a period of less than thirty (30) consecutive nights, and:
- is marketed or brokered by a short-term rental platform;
- is not a rooming house or hotel; and,
- includes a bed and breakfast, a cottage rental, and a Dedicated Short-Term Rental as defined in this by-law.
“short-term rental platform” means any person who, for compensation, markets or brokers the booking, reservation, rental or listing of a short-term rental on behalf of a host by means of a website or digital application;
“Smoking and Vaping By-law” means the Smoking and Vaping By-law of the City of Ottawa (By-law No. 2019-241), as amended, or any successor by-law thereto;
“social housing” means non-profit rental housing or co-operative housing funded in whole or in part by a legally prescribed government program;
“tenant” means a person who pays rent in return for the right to occupy a rental unit, as defined in Section 2 of the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006;
“trailer” means any vehicle designed to be attached to and propelled by a motor vehicle and is capable of being used by persons for living, sleeping, working or eating, even if the vehicle is made fast or its running gear is removed, and is not a mobile home;
“unlawful residential unit” means a residential unit that was constructed or altered in contravention of the Building Code Act, or that does not meet the requirements of the Zoning By-law; and,
“Zoning By-law” means the Zoning By-law of the City of Ottawa (By-law No. 2008-250), as amended, or any successor by-law thereto.
Section 2 - Interpretation
- In this by-law:
- person may refer to a natural person, partnership, or corporation, as the context requires;
- any references to words in the plural include the singular, as applicable, unless used with a number modifying the term;
- the reference to a day in this by-law shall mean a calendar day, unless the by-law specifically indicates otherwise;
- a reference to one gender includes the other;
- the Schedule annexed to the by-law is declared to form part of the by-law; and
- headings are for reference only and shall not affect the meaning or interpretation of this by-law.
- The provisions of the by-law are severable. If any provision, Section or word is held to be invalid or illegal, such invalidity or illegality shall not affect or impair any of the remaining provisions, Sections or words.
- Where notice is sent by registered mail pursuant to this by-law, the date of service is deemed to be two business days following the date of mailing to any address within the City of Ottawa and five (5) business days for addresses in any other jurisdiction.
- Any email sent in accordance with this by-law shall be deemed to have been received by the addressee on the day that it is sent.
Section 3 to 5 – Provision of a short-term rental
Section 3
No person shall operate or provide a short-term rental without first obtaining a host permit under this by-law.
Section 4
No person shall market or provide a short-term rental to a number of guests that is in excess of the overnight guest limit established in Section 18.
Section 5
No person shall market, provide, or operate a short-term rental in:
- an accessory building;
- a motor vehicle or trailer;
- an unlawful residential unit;
- community housing;
- a residential unit that is not a principal residence, with the exception of a cottage rental or a Dedicated Short-Term Rental as provided under this by-law; or
- a building or unit where short-term rentals have been prohibited under Part V of this by-law.
Section 6 to 8 - Marketing short-term rentals
Section 6
No person shall provide or market a short-term rental utilizing a short-term rental platform that is not registered in accordance with this by-law.
Section 7
No person shall provide or market a short-term rental without prominently displaying in each advertisement or listing:
- the serial number of the host permit issued to the residential unit; and
- the maximum overnight guest limit as established by Section 18 of this by-law.
Section 8
No person shall fail to remove an advertisement for a short-term rental that is prohibited under this by-law within seventy-two (72) hours of becoming aware of the prohibition or receiving notice to do so by the Director.
Section 9 and 10 - Insurance and indemnification
Section 9
- Every short-term rental platform, property manager or host is required to maintain insurance as specified in Part II, Part III, and Part IV, respectively.
- No person who is required under this by-law to maintain insurance shall fail to keep the policy in force for the period for which the permit or registration, as applicable, is in effect inclusive of any renewal period.
- Any lapse in maintaining the insurance coverage required in this by-law invalidates any permit or registration issued under this by-law.
Section 10
Any person holding a permit or otherwise registered under this by-law shall indemnify and save harmless the City of Ottawa from any and all claims, demands, cause of action, loss, costs, or damages that the City of Ottawa may suffer, incur or be liable for resulting from the performance of the person as set out in the by-law whether with or without negligence on the part of the person, the person's employees, directors and agents.
Section 11 - Information collection
The collection, use, disclosure, transmission, retention, and destruction of personal information by any host, property manager or short-term rental platform must be conducted in accordance with the requirements of PIPEDA.