What public rules cover short-term rentals in Ajax?

By-law 85-2026, passed on August 11, 2026, sets the maximum occupancy of a short-term rental property at two guests per bedroom plus two more, to a maximum of twelve guests at any one time; the owner or operator and children under 12 are not counted. It bars advertising a property for more people than that. It takes its meaning of a short-term rental from the Town's Zoning By-law, applies whether or not the use is permitted there, and says it authorizes no use the zoning doesn't permit.

Under By-law 09-2025, a 5% Municipal Accommodation Tax has applied since April 1, 2025 to accommodation bought for 28 consecutive days or less, and the Town's guidance for providers says short-term rental operators who rent through a service such as Airbnb or VRBO collect and remit it themselves. The by-laws are the public rule. Whether a particular home is used as a short-term rental is a separate question.

• 85-2026: Short-Term Rental Maximum Occupancy: the Town's notice of the by-law, with the PDF
• By-law 85-2026: the occupancy limit and its definitions (PDF)
• Municipal Accommodation Tax By-law 09-2025: the five per cent rate from April 1, 2025 (PDF)
• Accommodation providers: frequently asked questions: the Town's guidance for hotels and short-term rental operators (PDF)

Rental and short-term rental rules is in the free check as a summary of the Town's by-law, from our hand-kept table, linked to the Town's page. The full report adds the home-business rule. Neither says how a given home is used.

Free check: pick “Rental and short-term rental rules” See the sample report