Interested in an airbnb in Oakville?
Single bedrooms are going for as little as $75 a night, while a two-bedroom “luxury condo” in the Uptown Core is listed for about $200 a night.
But what you generally can’t tell from most listings is whether the property is approved by the town for short-term rental use.
That may change in the coming months, as Oakville is set to crack down on unlicensed short-term rental accommodations.
Thanks to a $897,000 grant from the federal government, Oakville will hire three temporary new staff members to enforce its rules on accommodation rentals of less than 29 days.
The aim of the grant is to “protect new and existing units in the long-term housing inventory stock by helping municipalities improve enforcement of their short-term rental regulations,” according to a staff memo to town councillors.
In 2018, Oakville passed a bylaw to govern short-term rentals, including bed-and-breakfast establishments, but excluding hotels, hospitals or arrangements that don’t involve payment.
The bylaw requires that the host of a short-term rental space be the property’s principal resident.
To obtain a licence, which must be renewed annually at a cost of $282, operators must submit:
- Identification related to the owner
- An ownership deed and floor plan for the property
- Inspection reports on the property’s electrical and HVAC systems
- Proof of $2 million in liability insurance
- An updated criminal reference check
- Information on where the property is being advertised
The town’s website says a license number must be posted in all ads and displayed prominently in the rental space.
The town also requires third-party booking platforms like Airbnb to obtain an annual licence at a cost of $46,300, although town staff say none have ever been issued.
In 2023, Oakville issued 50 operator licences. That grew slightly to 54 in 2024. A total of 81 charges for violation of the short-term accommodation bylaw have been issued since 2019.
Charges typically result in fines of $300 to $500, according to Selena Campbell, the town’s director of municipal enforcement services.
CozyCozy.com, a platform claiming to aggregate all short-term rental platforms, lists about 25 Oakville properties.
Most are available through Airbnb, with a handful listed on Booking.com. There appear to be no VRBO listings in Oakville.
Cambell told town councillors that prospective renters can check the licensing status of a listed property with the town’s municipal enforcement office.
The federal grant will allow the town to hire two municipal standards investigators and a supervisor to lead enforcement efforts over the next two years. A public education program will also be created.
While the town conducted a public survey on short-term accommodation issues last spring, it declined to release the results, saying that they “are still being reviewed” and will be reported on later this year.
A review of the town’s short-term accommodation bylaw is planned for this year.