Short Term Rental Permit for In-Law Suite in Ottawa, Canada

[Ben6105]

Has anyone had any success in getting a Short Term Rental permit from the City of Ottawa for an in-law suite? The business permitting office is refusing to grant a permit because they are choosing to interpret my in-law suite as a secondary dwelling unit and therefore not valid for short term rentals (they "helpfully" suggest that I should get a tenant and rent out for 30+ days). The suite is used by family for many months of the year so I have no intention of renting it out, nor do I even want to have a permanent resident (and all the added risks that entails).

[Rebecca]

Hey there @Ben6105 👋

I hope this message finds you well. If you head to the search bar at the top of the page and type in 'Ottawa', it should bring up some post from Hosts in the local area. I think there's already some posts about STR's there too. 

Let me know how you get on, 

Rebecca 🌟

[Marie-Eve42]

@Ben6105 Hi! Did you ever find out anything helpful about your situation? Were you able to find a way to make it work with the City?

[Ben6105 · Accepted solution]

Hi @Marie-Eve42 , I eventually got it processed through the licensing office, after several months of follow ups, and finally having to submit a complaint to the city. It may not apply to your situation, but the solution we agreed to was for the city to issue a Cottage Rental permit instead. This is effectively the same thing as a Short Term Rental permit, but applies to secondary dwelling units in rural zoning.

In case this could apply to you too, there's no separate application process, you'd submit the STR application all the same, but make it clear on your first interaction with them (they email you), that you are requesting a cottage rental permit instead.

[Marie-Eve42]

@Ben6105 Interesting! Thanks for the tip!! I found it hard to find out exactly what is meant by “primary residence” as per the City. I finally learned that you need to have access to the area you are renting directly from your main residence. I am not familiar with the guidelines for these forums, is there a way we can chat privately? 

[Ben6105]

@Marie-Eve42 Primary residence is the dwelling that you inhabit yourself on a regular basis. "Access directly" from your main residence is a bit misleading. My in-law suite is accessible directly from within my house via an interior door, however as it is a self-contained unit (kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, living area, and exterior entrance) the city qualifies it as a separate dwelling.

[Ben6105]

I don't see a way for us to chat privately, however if you click my user ID, you can click to see my Airbnb profile, and from there you can view my listing and send me an inquiry.

[Bhumika]

Hi @Ben6105 @Marie-Eve42 , I wanted to share that you can also discuss it privately in a chat by sending a direct message through "Send message" button in each other's profile. Hope this tip helps you both to communicate further easily🌻