Requirements for operating a short-term rental

All short-term rental operators must follow the below requirements to be approved for and maintain a licence.

Failure to comply with short-term rental licence requirements can result in penalties including:

  • Warnings 
  • Suspensions
  • Fines under the Municipal By-law Enforcement Act (ranging from $500 to $1,000)
  • Initiating a prosecution in Provincial Judges Court for not submitting the Accommodation Tax

General responsibilities

  • Maintain the following records and provide them to the City of Winnipeg upon request:
    • Number of nights a short-term rental was rented
    • Rental type – individual rooms or the entire dwelling
    • Names of customers who provided payments for each booking
    • Nightly and total price charged for the rental
  • Post your licence number on any online or physical advertisements publicizing the short-term rental.
  • Inform the City within 10 days of any change to the information that was provided during the application process.
  • Provide any other information or documents reasonably requested by the City.
  • Cease all operations immediately if your licence expires. Licences must be renewed annually.
  • Submission of a Winnipeg Police Vulnerable Sector Check with your application.
  • Receive approval from the Winnipeg Police Service Records Review Board as part of the application process.
  • Take bookings only through a licensed platform. The licence number must be on the listings within the platform. Booking privately or through any other advertising medium is prohibited.
  • Collect a 6% Accommodation Tax on all short-term rental bookings, to be paid to the City quarterly.
    • Some platforms (including Airbnb and Vrbo) allow this tax to be added through the booking process. Operators need to make sure they add the tax to each of their listings.
    • Accommodation Tax collected through a platform's booking process is not automatically paid to the City. Operators must take this step.

Limits

  • Limit the number of adults per bedroom to two. This does not include minors under 18 years of age.
  • Limit the short-term rental period to a maximum of 29 consecutive nights per booking.

Safety

  • Install and maintain fire safety equipment to include smoke alarms, fire extinguishers, and carbon monoxide detectors, and demonstrate that each are operative during annual inspections.
    • Smoke alarms must follow regulations set out in the Fire Prevention By-law 35/2017.
    • Fire extinguisher must be available and placed in the main area of the short-term rental.
    • Carbon monoxide detector must be installed in the main area of the short-term rental.
  • Provide guests with an emergency contact number and be available 24/7 to respond during the rental period. 
  • Review the Help Stop Human Trafficking (PDF, 274KB) information provided by the City of Winnipeg.

Post information

  • Post the emergency exit plan inside the short-term rental and provide to guests.
  • Print and display the Zero Tolerance for Human Trafficking (PDF, 205KB) signage in a visible location within in the short-term rental.
  • Post the following in a visible location at the entrance to the short-term rental while it is being rented (not required if the operator lives in residence):
    • Licence number
    • 24/7 phone number of operator

Inspections

  • Allow access to any City enforcement official to conduct an inspection upon reasonable notice at any reasonable time.
  • Inspections take place on weekdays, evenings, and weekends.

Bylaws

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