Hamilton: questions buyers ask
What public rules cover short-term rentals in Hamilton?
The City's short-term rental licensing program, approved by Council in January 2023, and Municipal Accommodation Tax By-law 22-209.
Sources checked October 16, 2026
The rule in Hamilton
- A licence, permit or registration is needed
- Only a home someone lives in
Hamilton by-law 07-170: short-term rentals are limited to the operator's principal residence, with one licence per operator; a 4% Municipal Accommodation Tax applies.
From Hamilton by-law 07-170, checked 5 Oct 2026
- The recordShort-term rentals
- Where to read itShort-term rentals; Municipal Accommodation Tax
- The free check reads itPick “Rental and short-term rental rules”
What the record shows
The City defines a short-term rental as all or part of a dwelling unit rented to the travelling public for less than 28 consecutive days. Its licensing program covers operators and the platforms that list them, and allows a short-term rental only in a licensed operator's principal residence, one licence per operator, which the City says rules out commercial and multi-listing operators. An entire-dwelling licence brings a property standards inspection of each unit and a fire department review before the licence is issued.
The Municipal Accommodation Tax, under By-law 22-209, is 4% on stays of 29 nights or less, collected for the City by the Ontario Restaurant Hotel and Motel Association. The by-laws are the public rule; whether a particular home holds a licence is a separate question.
Where to read it yourself
- Short-term rentals: the City's licensing page: definition, principal residence rule, inspections
- Municipal Accommodation Tax: By-law 22-209 and the 4% rate
What OfferDue covers in Hamilton
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 confirms a licence for a given home.
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.