"Principal residence" means a dwelling unit owned or rented by an individual person, either alone or jointly with others, where the individual person is ordinarily resident, and which is shown as the primary residence on the individual's income tax filing or other government records.
STR Neighbours
Short-term rentals have been identified as an important resource for:
- local tourism;
- contract workers; and
- people transitioning to the area.
Through the short-term rental licensing program, there is an expectation that short-term rentals are operated responsibly in our community and that visitors are respectful of their neighbours.
This page is dedicated to providing resources and information to help residents if there are issues with a nearby short-term rental.
Resources for Neighbours
- By-law Enforcement can be contacted at enforcement@owensound.ca or 519-376-1440 ext. 1905
- Police Services can be contacted at 519-376-1234 for non-emergencies or 9-1-1 for emergencies
Relevant highlights of the short-term rental licensing program
Definition of principal residence
Typically, but not always, enforcement begins with education on the first visit by an officer to a short-term rental, followed by enforcement.
An officer includes any person authorized by the City to enforce by-laws, including by-law enforcement officers and police officers.
A short-term rental licence will be revoked where the short-term rental has three or more violations in a six-month period or four or more violations in a calendar year. A violation means that an officer has attended the property, determined that there has been a contravention of a law or by-law and issued a ticket, order or other penalty.
Tickets may be issued to both occupants and operators of short-term rentals for violations.
Short-term rentals must comply with set occupancy limits, which are based on two (2) people per legal bedroom, plus two (2) additional people up to a maximum of eight (8) people.
Parking for short-term rentals can be on-site at the location of the short-term rental and off-site in City parking lots or on-street parking stalls.
The number of parking spaces available on-site at a short-term rental is determined during the application process. Parking spaces must be hard-surfaced and measure at least 2.65 m x 6 m. Vehicles that cannot be accommodated at the short-term rental need to legally park elsewhere.
All short-term rentals must be kept in a clean and sanitary condition with adequate measures for the storage and disposal of waste. Adequate measures for the storage and disposal of waste can include a self-enclosed building, structure or container that is located outside of the short-term rental, which is of sufficient size to store the waste generated by the premises.
Garbage and recycling bins are to be placed at the curb by 7:00 a.m. on collection day. All garbage must have a City bag tag.
Short-term rentals are allowed to operate for a maximum of 180 days per year.
Contact Us
808 2nd Avenue East,
Owen Sound, ON
N4K 2H4
Phone: 519-376-1440
Email us
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