Short Term Rentals

1. Signed Declaration of applicable By-laws and regulations (included as a part of the form)
2. Proof of Property Ownership
3. Copy of Property Owner's drivers license
4. Proof of General Liability insurance of $2,000,000.00 (minimum)
5. Site diagram and floor plan to scale and dimension to include the following:
   • The location of all buildings and structures on the property
   • The location of wells, and all components of sewage systems
   • The use of each room
   • The location of smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, and early warning devices
   • The location of fire extinguishers
   • The location of records of tests and maintenance of smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, early warning devices and fire extinguishers
   • The location of all gas and electric extinguishers
   • The location of all entrances/exits to and from the buildings
   • The exterior decks and related site amenities including dimensioned parking spaces, and other buildings or structures on the property.

View an example of a Site Plan Drawing here (accessible version available upon request).

Since your Short Term Rental is a business it must be in compliance with the Building Code Act, Fire Protection and Prevention Act, Electricity Act and it must have proper insurance and water and septic capabilities. Please note that before submitting an application, the municipality recommends that Short Term Rental owners or operators recognize other applicable regulations that may impact their property.

For example, if your STR provides drinking water to the public and you do not get your drinking water from a municipal drinking water system, you may be the owner or operator of a Small Drinking Water System (SDWS). Per the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge (HKPR) District Health Unit, the owners or operators of these systems must meet the requirements laid out in Ontario Regulation 319/08 — to ensure that the water they are providing to the public is safe to drink. More information about the HKPR's SDWS requirements can be found here.

Kawartha Lakes does not maintain private wells or water systems. Property owners are responsible for all maintenance, repairs and water quality testing on any private well that you own. From the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge (HKPR) District Health Unit:

"If your business or premise provides drinking water to the public and you do not get your drinking water from a municipal drinking water system, you may be the owner or operator of a small drinking water system. The owners/operators of these systems need to follow the requirements of the Small Drinking Water System regulations — Ontario Regulation 319/08 — to ensure that this water is safe to drink.

Short Term Rentals, will be assessed by the HKPR District Health Unit using the definition of a 'Public Facility' under Ontario Regulation 319/08: Small Drinking Water Systems. Those that meet the definition of 'a place that operates primarily for the purpose of providing overnight accommodation to the travelling public,' will be subject to a risk assessment by a Public Health Inspector."

For more information please visit the HKPR's Small Water Drinking Systems page.

Please note that when your completed STR business application is received it goes through a number of steps:

• Staff may contact you to discuss the application details and confirm receipt. The application status will be pending.
• Applications that are missing documents/information may increase review and circulation time periods causing the application process and status to change to on hold until the required information is submitted. For example, information that will impact and delay the STR business license application process may simply be missing details such as who the responsible person will be, or ownership details. Also the application status will be changed to on hold, if the applicant requires septic system work or a building permit for compliance with the Building Code Act or for other regulation compliance.
• Next the business application is circulated for evaluation to municipal staff and external agencies for feedback. A fully complete application may be processed within four to six weeks (intake timing may reduce this time period). The circulation process automatically changes the status of your STR business license application to on hold.
• Upon completion of circulation, the demerit points will be reviewed and locations with existing points of seven or greater may impact the issuance of an STR license and the application could be denied. A denied status will be communicated directly to the applicant with appeal information.
• In the final stage, staff conduct a review and if the processes are complete the application will be approved, the status will be changed to L-Active and the applicant will be notified by email or phone call advising of the application approval.

Status changes are generally communicated to the applicant. However if you want to discuss your application, have not been contacted and wish to verify your status please contact the Municipal Law and Licensing Clerk by calling 705-324-9411 extension 1328, or emailing str@kawarthalakes.ca

The Municipal Law Enforcement and Licensing office is also open to the public, feel free to visit in person at 37 Lindsay Street South, Lindsay, Ontario, K9V 2L9

Please note that Short Term Rental owners or operators can be held accountable for the actions of their guests. If a Municipal By-law is broken, By-law fines can be charged to the individuals who violated the regulation and inspection fees can be charged to the property owner. See the inspection fees listed above.

Bonfires can be an important part of the cottage experience, but remember that they can also be dangerous. Kawartha Lakes Fire Rescue Service implements a Burn Ban if the weather conditions make fires unsafe. Be sure to visit the Fire Burn Bans, Permits and By-Laws page to view the current Burn Ban status and view other important rules and regulations before doing any open air burning. 

Important things to remember:
• Fire pits may be no more than 60 centimetres diameters and must be 15 metres from buildings and 5 metres from property lines
• Fire pits must not be under any vegetation such as trees or overhangs like porches
• Fire pits must be attended at all times
• Smoke cannot disrupt people on neighbouring properties
• Water must be readily available to extinguish the fire

Kawartha Lakes is beautiful – and we want to keep it that way. Proper disposal of garbage and recyclables is essential to keeping our community and waterways clean.

Always:

• Ensure garbage is disposed of in clear bags
• Separate fiber and container recyclables
• Ensure waste is not disposed of in waterways such a lakes or rivers

Visit the Waste and Recycling page to learn more about proper disposal of waste and waste collection days and to view the Municipal Waste Calendar.

For everyone’s safety, roadways and road access must be kept clear to ensure residents, visitors and emergency vehicles have access to properties.

Parking should occur entirely on the property that you are visiting, however, if parking use of the roadways occurs please be considerate of your neighbours. Ensure vehicles are parked legally on roadways and are parked on the correct property. To learn more visit the Roads and Parking page.

Municipal By-law Enforcement can respond to noise complaints along with local Police Service.

Please be sure that you’re respecting your neighbours by following the following noise By-laws:

• Amplified noise such as stereos is prohibited from 11pm to 11am
• Yelling, shouting or the playing of musical instruments is prohibited from 9pm to 7am
• Persistent noise made by any pet, such as a dog barking, is prohibited at all times

If you’re bringing your dog along to your Short Term Rental property, please ensure that they are under care and control at all times, and that they don’t wander on to neighbouring properties. 

As part of Firework By-Law 2007-236. You do not need a permit to use consumer fireworks on the following dates, or the 1 day preceding or the 1 day following:
a) Victoria Day
b)  Canada Day
c)  Family Day
d)  Indigenous Peoples Day
e)  Labour Day
f)  New Years Eve

Requirements to follow when using consumer fireworks include:

• Children shall not discharge fireworks
• Fireworks may not be discharged into any motor vehicle, building or structure
• Fireworks shall be discharged a minimum of 30 metres from any structure or property line
• Fireworks may not be discharged during a burn ban

Visit the Fire Services page to read the full By-law, for firework permit applications, and for important guidelines on fireworks safety.

The Property Standards By-law focuses on the maintenance and occupancy of property in the municipality. 

Visit the By-laws page to review the Property Standard By-law.

Kawartha Lakes does not maintain private wells or water systems. Property owners are responsible for all maintenance, repairs and water quality testing on any private well that you own. From the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge (HKPR) District Health Unit:

"If your business or premise provides drinking water to the public and you do not get your drinking water from a municipal drinking water system, you may be the owner or operator of a small drinking water system. The owners/operators of these systems need to follow the requirements of the Small Drinking Water System regulations — Ontario Regulation 319/08 — to ensure that this water is safe to drink.

Short Term Rentals, will be assessed by the HKPR District Health Unit using the definition of a 'Public Facility' under Ontario Regulation 319/08: Small Drinking Water Systems. Those that meet the definition of 'a place that operates primarily for the purpose of providing overnight accommodation to the travelling public,' will be subject to a risk assessment by a Public Health Inspector."

For more information please visit the HKPR's Small Water Drinking Systems page.

As of December 1, 2023, if you live near a Short Term Rental and you've been experiencing things such as loud parties, trespassing, violation of occupancy limits, parking issues, or anything else, you can now report your issues at any time to our 24/7 STR Hotline and/or Online Form.

Residents can either call the number listed below to get their complaint in or they can visit the online form:

Call: 705-990-2497
Use the online form: 24/7 STR Hotline 

Reporting through these channels will help us to monitor Kawartha Lakes' Short Term Rental units for non-compliance and possible By-Law infractions. Which in-turn, will help us to ensure that Short Term Rentals are following all of the rules that they have to follow in order to remain licensed. 

Any questions about the hotline or online form can be directed to str@kawarthalakes.ca

Next steps for the implementation of the new Short Term Rental (STR) Licensing Program have started. Once program details are finalized, more information on how to register your STR will be circulated.

While Staff work on finalizing those details, here is the anticipated STR program implementation timeline for the rest of the year:

Soft Rollout: June 2023

• STR By-law finalized
• STR Application (form and intake process) finalized
• Enhanced complaint tracking begins
• Communications and marketing awareness campaign planning
• STR webpage updated
• Initiate Vendor Support Call Centre

Phase 1: July to August 2023

• Complete guidance and educational documents for STR owners
• Launch updated licensing and complaint tools
• Liaise with owners and start to register them
• Collect location data and begin STR mapping work
• Budget allocation
• Hire STR support staff
• Office space and equipment allocation for new staff

Phase 2: September to October 2023

• Launch STR call centre and 24/7 complaint line
• Utilize mapping and location data gathered in Phase 1 to engage STR owners for licensing purposes using compliance notices
• Train new staff
• Issue STR Business Licenses to registrants

Phase 3: November to December 2023

• Review the STR policy, by-law and processes
• Analyse collected STR data
• Invoice any offence fees to owners

Full Program: January 2024 onwards

• Council will be provided with a progress report by March 30, 2024
• The report will potentially include any recommended program or by-law changes based off of the data that gets collected throughout the remainder of 2023  

Although Staff will be sticking to the above timeline as closely as possible, please note that the implementation timeline is subject to change.

At the June 20, 2023 Regular Council meeting, Council adopted a new By-Law and approved a soft rollout for a licensing program. The changes are being put in place to ensure the health and safety of all renters and residents. The new program and By-law will allow the municipality to respond to concerns quickly, and to ensure that owners are taking responsibility for the safe and respectful use of their properties.

Details on the public consultation, task force recommendations and more are available on the municipality's engagement website: www.jumpinkawarthalakes.ca/short-term-rentals

The Short Term Rental survey closed on February 15, 2023. Thank you to all of those that filled out the survey. We had over 1000 replies making it one of our most filled out surveys ever!

Survey results have been posted in the Documents section on the Short Term Rental Jump In page. View the survey results here.

Please note that there will be a drop-in Public Information Session where the community can come to see the results of the survey, read the highlights of the new draft By-law, ask questions about the survey or draft By-law, and learn what comes next for Short Term Rentals in Kawartha Lakes (key upcoming Council dates, how to sign up for a deputation, etc.)

Public Information Session 1 Details:
Date: Tuesday February 28, 2023
Time: 4pm to 7pm
Location: City Hall, Victoria Room, 26 Francis St., Lindsay, ON

In the Summer of 2022, City Staff were tasked with monitoring and tracking complaints regarding Short Term Rentals in the City of Kawartha Lakes with the goal being to bring a report to Council by March 31, 2023.

Along with the complaints and feedback that the municipality continues to receive and track, the municipality invited the public to provide input regarding Short Term Rentals across the municipality in the form of a survey.

The survey closed on February 15, 2023.

Visit the Short Term Rental Jump In page to view the project page, survey results, and key upcoming dates.

At the June 4 Committee of the Whole, Council received an update on Short Term Rentals in Kawartha Lakes. Presented by Municipal Law Enforcement, this update included information about ongoing public education campaigns, how many calls are received about Short Term Rentals and more. Council moved to continue with monitoring Short Term Rentals and implementing an education campaign.

Read the full presentation here.

Council made a decision on short term residential rentals in the City of Kawartha Lakes at the August 14 Council Meeting. Council adopted the first option of the Short Term Rentals Follow Up Report to continue to monitor short term residential rentals and implement several amendments to City by-laws to enable Municipal Law Enforcement to better respond and track issues arising at these properties.

Read the full news release in our newsroom.

City staff have completed an extensive review of short term residential rentals in the City of Kawartha Lakes and will be providing an informational report to Council on the June 19 agenda on the outcomes of the review and proposed options for Council consideration.

Read the full news release in our newsroom.

The City’s Municipal Law Enforcement and Licensing Division hosted a Short Term Rentals Public Forum and invited residents to attend.

Read the full news release in our newsroom.

At the October 10 Council meeting, Council received a staff report on the implications of regulating short term rental accommodations and made the decision to proceed with public consultation on the matter. Staff will bring back a report on other options including costs by the end of June  2018.

Read the full news release in our newsroom.