Cornwall: questions buyers ask
What public rules cover short-term rentals in Cornwall?
The City's Municipal Accommodation Tax By-law 2018-039, as amended by By-law 2024-102, and section 3.5 of Zoning By-law 2022-001 on bed and breakfast establishments.
Sources checked October 29, 2026
The rule in Cornwall
Cornwall by-law 2018-039 (as amended by 2024-102): a 5% Municipal Accommodation Tax applies to stays of fewer than 30 nights in any place of accommodation, a dwelling unit included (By-law 2024-102); the zoning by-law permits a bed and breakfast of up to five guest rooms only as an accessory use to a single-detached house.
From Cornwall by-law 2018-039 (as amended by 2024-102), checked 29 Oct 2026
- The recordShort-term rentals
- Where to read itBy-law 2024-102; By-law 2018-039 and 2 more
- The free check reads itPick “Rental and short-term rental rules”
What the record shows
By-law 2018-039 has charged a Municipal Accommodation Tax since 1 June 2018 on accommodation provided for a continuous period of less than 30 nights in a hotel, motel, inn, bed and breakfast, resort, hostel, dwelling unit or any place in which accommodation is provided. By-law 2024-102 raised the rate from four to five per cent from 1 January 2025, and the provider shows the tax as a separate item on every invoice or receipt.
The zoning by-law permits a bed and breakfast only as an accessory use to a single-detached house, secondary to its use as a home and without changing its residential character, with at most five guest rooms or suites and stays of no more than 28 consecutive days. The City's business licence page lists its licence categories. The by-laws are the public rule. How a particular home is used is a separate question.
Where to read it yourself
- By-law 2024-102: the amendment raising the Municipal Accommodation Tax to 5% from 1 January 2025 (PDF)
- By-law 2018-039: the Municipal Accommodation Tax by-law and what it covers (PDF)
- Zoning By-law 2022-001, December 2025 office consolidation: section 3.5, bed and breakfast establishments (PDF)
- Business Licences: the City's licence categories under Business Licence By-law 2025-041
What OfferDue covers in Cornwall
Rental and short-term rental rules is in the free check as a summary of the City's by-law, from our hand-kept table, linked to the City'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
Public-record information, not legal, financial, insurance or inspection advice. Records change and can be incomplete, and this page describes the records, not any particular home. What we cover, city by city.