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Get My Free Estimate →All six require a licence or registration, and all six require the property to be your principal residence. Toronto: $390, 180 nights entire home, plus a six per cent accommodation tax. Mississauga: By-law 0289-2020 from 13 January 2021, $283, 180 days. Brampton: By-law 165-2021 from 8 July 2021, $150.00, 180 nights. Burlington: By-law 01-2025 from 1 May 2025, $300, 183 days. Oakville (By-law 2018-045) licenses the platform as well as the operator and Vaughan (By-law 158-2019) permits stays up to 29 consecutive days — and neither has an annual cap I could locate, only a limit on single-stay length. Maximum court fines run to $100,000 in Mississauga and Brampton.
Every municipality in the west GTA now regulates short-term rentals. Not one of them is a free-for-all, and the assumption that the rules stop at Toronto’s border is wrong.
All six municipalities below require a licence or registration, and all six require the property to be your principal residence. The real difference is the annual cap: Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton and Burlington all cap the year at roughly 180 days — while Oakville and Vaughan have no annual cap at all, only a limit on how long a single stay can run.
The comparison
| Toronto | Mississauga | Brampton | Oakville | Burlington | Vaughan | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| By-law | 613-2018 | 0289-2020 | 165-2021 | 2018-045 | 01-2025 | 158-2019 |
| In force | Registration opened Sept 2019 | 13 Jan 2021 | 8 Jul 2021 | 2018 | 1 May 2025 | 1 Jan 2020 |
| Required | Registration | Licence | Licence | Licence — operator and platform | Licence | Licence |
| Annual fee | $390 | $283 | $150.00 | Not published | $300 | Not obtainable |
| Principal residence only | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Annual cap | 180 nights entire home | 180 days | 180 nights | None found | 183 days | None found |
| Single-stay limit | under 28 days | max 30 consecutive | under 28 consecutive | ≤28 consecutive | ≤28 consecutive | ≤29 consecutive |
| Max court fine | — | $100,000 (min $500) | $100,000 (min $500) | $25,000 / $50,000 | Provincial offences plus penalties | $5,000 / $10,000 |
The principal residence rule is the one that catches investors
Every municipality in that table restricts short-term rentals to a principal residence. Toronto defines it as “where you live and the address you use for bills, identification, taxes and insurance”.
That single rule removes the entire “buy a condo and put it on a booking platform” model across the west GTA. If you do not live there, you cannot licence it — anywhere in the six. This is the fact most worth knowing before buying an investment property on projected nightly revenue.
The Toronto baseline
Registration is $390 annually and valid for one year from approval. A six per cent municipal accommodation tax is collected on all rentals under 28 consecutive days. The entire-home cap is 180 nights per calendar year; renting up to three bedrooms within your principal residence is uncapped.
Set fines published by the City: $1,000 for failing to register, $1,000 for operating an unregistered rental, and $700 for exceeding the 180-night limit, with late renewal fees from $11.27 to $160.69 depending on how overdue.
Where the outliers are
Oakville licenses the platform as well as the operator — the only one in the group to do so — and its maximum fines are lower, at $25,000 for a first offence and $50,000 for a subsequent one for an individual.
Burlington is the newest, in force 1 May 2025, at $300 with a 183-day cap.
Vaughan permits the longest single stay at up to 29 consecutive days, and like Oakville has no annual cap that I could locate.
Two gaps I am not going to fill with a guess. Oakville does not publish its short-term accommodation licence fee on its own pages. And Vaughan’s fee could not be obtained at all — vaughan.ca returned HTTP 403 to automated retrieval and renders JavaScript-only pages otherwise. That is a fetch block, not evidence that no fee exists. Both should be confirmed with the municipality directly.
Before you buy on short-term rental income
- Confirm you will actually live there. All six require it, and it is verifiable against your bills, identification, taxes and insurance.
- Check the annual cap, then rebuild the projection on the capped nights rather than the full year.
- Check the single-stay limit — 28, 29 or 30 days depending where you are.
- Add the accommodation tax where one applies. Toronto’s is six per cent.
- Confirm the condominium’s own rules. A municipal licence does not override a declaration or a rule restricting short-term occupancy.
- Remember the tax side. Operating without a required licence can now disallow deductions against the rental income entirely.
Buying somewhere on projected short-term rental income?
Rebuild the projection on the capped nights, not the calendar, and confirm you can satisfy the principal residence requirement — because in all six of these municipalities you cannot licence a property you do not live in. If the numbers only work at full occupancy, they do not work. Send me the property and the projection and I will tell you honestly which municipality’s rules apply and what they do to the arithmetic.
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Frequently asked questions
Do I need a licence to run a short-term rental in Mississauga?
Yes. Mississauga’s Short-Term Rental Accommodation Licensing By-law 0289-2020 came into force at 12:01 a.m. on 13 January 2021. Licensing is required, the annual fee is $283, the property must be a principal residence, and there is a cap of 180 days per year with a maximum of 30 consecutive days per stay. The maximum court fine is $100,000 with a minimum of $500.
Can I short-term rent an investment property in the GTA?
Not in any of the six municipalities compared here. Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Oakville, Burlington and Vaughan all restrict short-term rentals to a principal residence. Toronto defines a principal residence as where you live and the address you use for bills, identification, taxes and insurance. The practical effect is that the model of buying a separate property purely to place it on a booking platform is not licensable anywhere across this area.
Which GTA municipalities have no annual night cap?
Oakville and Vaughan, on the material I could locate. Oakville’s By-law 2018-045 limits a rental period to not more than 28 consecutive days and Vaughan’s By-law 158-2019 to not more than 29 consecutive days, but neither publishes an annual cap equivalent to Toronto’s 180 nights, Mississauga’s 180 days, Brampton’s 180 nights or Burlington’s 183 days. Confirm with the municipality before relying on that, since an absence in published material is not the same as a confirmed absence in the by-law.
What does a short-term rental licence cost in the GTA?
Toronto charges $390 annually for registration, Mississauga $283, Brampton $150.00 for an application or renewal, and Burlington $300. Oakville does not publish its short-term accommodation licence fee on its own pages. Vaughan’s fee could not be obtained: vaughan.ca returned HTTP 403 to automated retrieval and renders JavaScript-only pages otherwise, which is a fetch block rather than an absence. Both should be confirmed directly with the municipality.
What are the penalties for an unlicensed short-term rental?
They vary widely. Mississauga and Brampton both set a maximum court fine of $100,000 with a minimum of $500. Oakville sets $25,000 for a first offence and $50,000 for a subsequent offence for an individual. Vaughan sets $5,000 and $10,000 respectively. Toronto publishes set fines including $1,000 for failing to register, $1,000 for operating an unregistered rental and $700 for exceeding the 180-night limit. Separately, section 67.7 of the federal Income Tax Act denies deductions in respect of income from a short-term rental operating without a required registration, licence or permit.
Does Toronto charge a tax on short-term rentals?
Yes. The City states that a municipal accommodation tax of six per cent is collected on all rentals under 28 consecutive days. Registration itself costs $390 annually and is valid for one year from when the application is approved.
Related reading
- Toronto multi-tenant house licensing: the register a buyer can search
- The Toronto tree by-law: $100,000 per tree
- Lead pipes: Ontario’s legal standard is twice the federal guideline
- Property standards orders: the 14 days that decide everything
Sources
Every figure on this page traces to one of these, and each was read on 1 September 2026. Primary sources only — statute, regulation, and the government or agency that administers the rule. Where I could not verify something from a primary source, the page says so instead of guessing.
- Short-term rental operators and hosts — City of Toronto. City of Toronto, date modified 12 August 2026. Registration fee $390 annually, a municipal accommodation tax of six per cent on all rentals under 28 consecutive days, short-term rentals permitted only in principal residences, an entire-home cap of 180 nights per calendar year, and up to three bedrooms rentable in a principal residence for unlimited nights. Set fines include $1,000 for failing to register, $1,000 for operating an unregistered rental and $700 for exceeding the 180-night limit. Accessed 1 September 2026.
- Short-term rental accommodation licensing — City of Mississauga. City of Mississauga, By-law 0289-2020, in force 12:01 a.m. 13 January 2021. Licensing required, annual fee $283, principal residence only, a cap of 180 days per year with a maximum of 30 consecutive days, and a maximum court fine of $100,000 with a minimum of $500. Read 2 September 2026. Accessed 1 September 2026.
- Short-term rental licensing — City of Brampton. City of Brampton, By-law 165-2021, in force 8 July 2021. Licensing required, application or renewal fee $150.00, principal residence only, a cap of 180 nights per calendar year and rentals of fewer than 28 consecutive days, and a maximum court fine of $100,000 with a minimum of $500. Read 2 September 2026. Accessed 1 September 2026.
- Short-term accommodation licensing — Town of Oakville. Town of Oakville, By-law 2018-045, consolidated to 28 March 2022. Licensing required of both the operator and the platform, principal residence only, rental periods of not more than 28 consecutive days, and no annual cap located. Maximum court fine $25,000 for a first offence and $50,000 for a subsequent offence for an individual. The licence fee is not published on the Town’s pages. Read 2 September 2026. Accessed 1 September 2026.
- Short-term rental licensing — City of Burlington. City of Burlington, By-law 01-2025, in force 1 May 2025. Licensing required, fee $300, principal residence only, a cap of 183 days per year and rentals of not more than 28 consecutive days. Read 2 September 2026. Accessed 1 September 2026.
- Short-term rental licensing — City of Vaughan. City of Vaughan, By-law 158-2019, in force 1 January 2020. Licensing required, principal residence only, rental periods of not more than 29 consecutive days, and no annual cap located. Maximum court fine $5,000 for a first offence and $10,000 for a subsequent offence for an individual. The fee could not be obtained: vaughan.ca returned HTTP 403 to automated retrieval and renders JavaScript-only pages otherwise, which is a fetch block rather than an absence. Accessed 1 September 2026.
- Income Tax Act section 67.7, non-compliant short-term rentals. Justice Laws Website, read 2 September 2026. Denies deductions in respect of income earned from a non-compliant short-term rental, applying to amounts of income earned after 2023 and pro-rated by the number of days in the year the rental was non-compliant. Subsection 67.7(4) overrides the normal reassessment limitation periods. The provision uses a ninety day threshold for short-term rental, which is different from both the one month threshold for GST/HST on rent and the sixty day threshold for residential complex status. Accessed 1 September 2026.
About the author — Jatin Dua, Broker of Record
I’m the Broker of Record at RE/MAX Quantum Realty, 799 The Queensway in Etobicoke, and I work with buyers and sellers across the west GTA. Municipal by-laws are where a lot of real estate goes wrong — the rules differ from one side of a boundary road to the other, the fees change on dates nobody announces, and the consolidated PDF on a city website is often months behind what council actually passed.
Everything below is quoted from the municipality’s own by-law or page, with the date that source carries, so you can check it against the current version rather than take my word for it. Where a published document is out of date, or where a figure simply is not published anywhere, the page says so. connect@jatindua.com or 437-987-1925.