What public rules cover short-term rentals in Oshawa?
Schedule Q of Licensing By-law 122-2024 and the zoning rules it enforces, as explained on the City's short-term rental page, and the City's Municipal Accommodation Tax By-law.
Sources checked October 28, 2026
The rule in Oshawa
- A licence, permit or registration is needed
- Only a home someone lives in
- Up to 180 a year
Oshawa by-law 122-2024, Schedule Q: short-term rentals need a City licence and are limited to the operator's principal residence, for stays under 28 consecutive days and up to 180 days a year; a 5% Municipal Accommodation Tax applies.
From Oshawa by-law 122-2024, Schedule Q, checked 28 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's page says every operator needs a licence, under Schedule Q of Licensing By-law 122-2024, and that zoning requires a short-term rental to be the operator's principal residence, rented for less than 28 consecutive days and no more than 180 days in a calendar year, with no other rental use in the same dwelling unit. In a two-unit house only the unit the operator lives in may be used. The licence costs $100 plus a $50 application fee; an applicant shows $2 million of liability insurance and passes an inspection, and a home rented by the room may rent no more than two rooms, with at most two occupants in each.
A 5% Municipal Accommodation Tax has applied since 1 October 2024 to stays of 30 days or less, including licensed short-term rentals. The by-laws are the public rule. Whether a particular home holds a licence, and whether a condominium's own rules allow the use, are separate questions the by-laws don't answer.
Where to read it yourself
- Short Term Rentals: the City's page on licensing, principal residence, the 180-day limit and fees
- Municipal Accommodation Tax: the 5% rate from 1 October 2024
What OfferDue covers in Oshawa
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.