Owen Sound’s new short-term rental (STR) licensing system is now in effect.
The city’s bylaw regulating STRs was implemented today (Friday, March 1). It requires all short-term rentals — such as Airbnbs, VRBOs and bed & breakfasts — in Owen Sound to have a licence to operate.
The licensing bylaw doesn’t apply to hotels, motels or campgrounds.
Some of the new rules for short-term rentals in Owen Sound include a cap of 180 days per year they can operate, an eight-person maximum per unit each stay and a restriction requiring an STR to be within a principal residence of an owner.
Bed & breakfasts are exempt from the annual days-rented cap and the eight-person per stay limit, but still require a licence.
A public online registry of licensed short-term rentals is available on the city’s website.
