STANDARDS FOR SHORT-TERM RENTAL / BED & BREAKFAST AND TOURIST HOME
1 DEFINITIONS
1.1 Short-Term Rental / Bed & Breakfast means the operation of short-term commercial accommodation within a dwelling unit, including a Secondary Suite or a room(s) in or a portion of a dwelling unit for a period not exceeding 30 days, and the owner of the property is required to occupy the dwelling unit as their primary residence and be present on the premises during the operation of the Short-Term Rental / Bed & Breakfast. Refer to the definition of Primary Residence. Short-Term Rental / Bed & Breakfast does not include a hotel, hostel, motel, or Tourist Home.
1.2 Tourist Home means the operation of short-term commercial accommodation within a dwelling unit where the entire property is rented to only one reservation at a time for a period not exceeding 30 days and the owner of the property is not required to occupy the dwelling unit as their primary residence. Refer to the definition of Primary Residence. Tourist Home does not include a hotel, hostel, motel, or Short-Term Rental / Bed & Breakfast.
1.3 Tourist Home Rental Unit means the building or portion thereof and the entire premises contained in a certificate of title that are rented as a single reservation to a party who occupies either the entire building or a portion thereof and the entire premises for the rental period.
1.4 Primary Residence means the residence where a person normally resides and has control and management of the property by ownership.
2 STANDARDS
2.1 General Standards
(a) A Short-Term Rental / Bed & Breakfast and a Tourist Home may be allowed only in a
land use district where Short-Term Rental / Bed & Breakfast and/or Tourist Home are
specifically listed as uses – no other uses in any district shall be interpreted to be “similar
uses”.
(b) The Development Officer shall maintain an inventory by civic address and/or map of all Short-Term Rental / Bed & Breakfast and Tourist Home operations that have been issued a development permit and a business license. This inventory shall inform the
Development Authority’s decision in the case of discretionary use applications.
(c) The Development Officer shall notify the owners of all adjacent properties as well as
those within 100 metres (328 ft) of the subject property on both sides of the street in
which the subject property is located of the Development Authority’s decision to approve
a discretionary use Short-Term Rental / Bed & Breakfast or Tourist Home.
(d) The operator of a Short-Term Rental or Tourist Home shall be made aware through the issuance of a development permit of their responsibility to comply with federal and provincial legislation (e.g. Alberta Health, Safety Codes Act and Fire Code regulations)
and other municipal bylaws [e.g. the Community Standards Bylaw regarding the control
of wildlife attractants (e.g. by providing a bear proof garbage receptacle), restrictions on
noise, loud music or other disturbances, fire bans, and the requirement to obtain a
business license under the Business License Bylaw).
2.2 Separation Distance
(a) There shall be a minimum separation distance of 200 m between Tourist Homes in the
Residential R-1 to R-5 land use districts. The Development Authority shall not approve
a variance to the 200 m separation distance.
2.3 Maximum Occupancy and Number of Rental Units shall be determined as follows:
(a) for a Short-Term Rental / Bed & Breakfast:
(i) The Developmental Authority shall not approve a development permit for both a
Short-Term Rental / Bed & Breakfast and a Tourist Home on the same property.
(ii) During all times that a Short-Term Rental / Bed & Breakfast is rented to guests,
the landowner shall occupy either the principal dwelling unit or a portion thereof or
a Secondary Suite or one of the Duplex / Semi-Detached Dwelling units on the
property from where a Short-Term Rental / Bed & Breakfast is operated.
(iii) A Short-Term Rental / Bed & Breakfast operation may offer for rent more than one
rental unit in the operation in accordance with the definition established in this
Schedule, subject to complying with the parking requirements and restricting
occupancy to two guests per bedroom including one bonus room (e.g., the living
room with pull-out couch). The Development Authority shall not approve any
variance to the maximum occupancy standard or the off-street parking standard
for a Short-Term Rental / Bed & Breakfast.
(b) for a Tourist Home:
i) The Developmental Authority shall not approve a development permit for both a
Tourist Home and a Short-Term Rental / Bed & Breakfast on the same property.
(ii) In the R-1 to R-5 and the GCR-1, NUA-1, CRV and CSV land use districts, the Development Authority shall not issue a development permit for more than one
Tourist Home rental unit as defined in this Bylaw per certificate of title, regardless
of the number of approved dwelling units on the parcel (e.g. a Single-Detached
Dwelling, a Secondary Suite, a Duplex / Semi-Detached Dwelling, a Multi-unit
Residential Building or an Apartment Building).
(iii) On a parcel in any land use district except the C-1 and C-2 districts where a
development permit for a Secondary Suite had previously been issued, the
Development Authority shall, as conditions of approval:
(A) require that those portions of the building and premises that are not rented
as part of the approved Tourist Home rental unit (e.g. either the Single-detached Dwelling or the Secondary Suite), shall remain unoccupied during the rental period of the Tourist Home; and/or
(B) require that the building or portion of the building that is designed as a
Secondary Suite shall not be operated as a Secondary Suite unless the
development permit for a Tourist Home is surrendered and revoked; and/or;
(C) require that the entire property / building is rented as one Tourist Home
rental unit for a single reservation.
(iv) On a parcel in any land use district except the C-1 and C-2 districts where the
principal building is a Duplex / Semi-Detached Dwelling owned under a single
certificate of title, the Development Authority shall, as a condition of approval,
require that both units in the Duplex / Semi-Detached Dwelling are rented as one
Tourist Home rental unit for a single reservation pursuant to the Tourist Home
maximum occupancy standards established in this Bylaw for the applicable land
use district, and that the separate rental of one or both Duplex / Semi-Detached
Dwelling units under the Residential Tenancies Act shall require that the
development permit for a Tourist Home is surrendered and revoked.
(v) A Tourist Home in any land use district where it is listed as a use shall comply with
the maximum occupancy standards stated in the table below, in addition to the
applicable parking standards. The maximum occupancy shown in the table below
is the maximum number of guests over the age of two that may be advertised for
rental accommodation, subject to the ability to accommodate the off-street parking
requirement as stated in Schedule 6 and a maximum of 2 guests per bedroom
including one bonus room (e.g., the living room with pull-out couch). The
Development Authority shall not approve any variance to the maximum occupancy standard or the off-street parking standard for a Tourist Home.
| Land Use District | Maximum Occupancy |
| Residential R-1 to R-5 | 6 |
| Comprehensive Village Districts | 8 |
| Grouped Country Residential - GCR-1 Non-Urban Area - NUA-1 Retail Commercial - C-1 Drive-In Commercial - C-2 |
Based on the number bedrooms and the site conditions to comply with the off-street parking requirements |
(c) for Short-Term Rental / Bed & Breakfasts and Tourist Homes
(i) The number of rental unit(s) and bedrooms in and the maximum occupancy of the
Short-Term Rental / Bed & Breakfast or the Tourist Home, as provided for in this
Schedule, shall be stated on the application form and included as a condition of
approval in the development permit. The Development Authority may limit the
number of rental units and/or reduce the maximum occupancy of a Short-Term
Rental / Bed & Breakfast or a Tourist Home established in the above standards on
a case-by-case basis, based on considerations stated in this Schedule.
2.4 Recreational Vehicles: A recreational vehicle shall not be used as accommodation for the landowner / operator, other residents of the property or for the guests in a Short-Term Rental / Bed & Breakfast or a Tourist Home.
2.5 Parking
(a) The off-street parking standards for a Short-Term Rental / Bed & Breakfast or Tourist
Home shall be in accordance with Schedule 6, Section 8 of this Bylaw, and the parking
of all vehicles, including recreation vehicles, utility trailers and ATV trailers shall not be
allowed on the street, regardless of the provisions in other municipal bylaws (e.g. for
landowner on-street parking or the recreational vehicle of the landowner).
(b) The Development Authority shall not approve a variance to the off-street parking
standard for a Short-Term Rental / Bed & Breakfast or a Tourist Home in any District that
is not within the Historic Commercial Areas Overlay District.
(c) In the R-1 to R-5 and the CSV land use districts, the vehicles of guests visiting the renting guests of a Short-Term Rental / Bed & Breakfast or a Tourist Home may be parked on the street for the duration of the visit, subject to other provisions in this Schedule.
2.6 Guests Visiting Renters
(a) In the R-1 to R-5 and the CRV and CSV land use districts, guests visiting the renting
guests of a Short-Term Rental / Bed & Breakfast or a Tourist Home shall not exceed the
number of people that can be reasonably accommodated in two passenger vehicles
including a mini-van, and such visitors shall not become de facto renters or occupants
of the Short-Term Rental / Bed & Breakfast or the Tourist Home, i.e. the guests shall not
be allowed to stay overnight in the rental unit.
2.7 Work Crews and Home Occupation – Class 2
(a) In the R-1 to R-5 and the GCR-1, NUA-1, CRV and CSV land use districts, a Short-Term
Rental / Bed & Breakfast or a Tourist Home shall not be rented for any period of time to
or occupied by a person or by a work crew, where such person or work crew:
(i) requires bringing a commercial vehicle (other than a standard passenger
vehicle/truck which is the person’s employment vehicle) or equipment to the
premises; or
(ii) requires using the premises for any portion of an occupation that is reasonably
categorized as a business, including a Home Occupation – Class 2 (except the landowner who has complied with the provisions of this Bylaw regarding Home Occupations).
2.8 Advertising and Apprising Renters and Guests of the Applicable Rules
(a) The Short-Term Rental / Bed & Breakfast development permit owner shall provide their personal contact information to the Development Officer. The Tourist Home
development permit owner shall provide to the Development Officer the name and phone number of a local person (an adult) who can respond to any complaints in person within a 30-minute contact time), and who is authorized to act as their representative. The owner of the Short-Term Rental / Bed & Breakfast operation or the Tourist Home shall
be required as a condition of approval to keep this information up to date throughout the lifetime of the Short-Term Rental / Bed & Breakfast or Tourist Home operation.
(b) The Short-Term Rental / Bed & Breakfast or Tourist Homeowner shall post their
development permit number and business license number and the approved number of
rental units and the maximum occupancy on all of their advertisements of the rental
property as a condition of development permit approval.
(c) The operator of a Short-Term Rental / Bed & Breakfast or a Tourist Home shall make
available to their guests a copy of this Schedule, the Community Standards Bylaw, the
Fire and Rescue Services Bylaw, and shall ensure that guests are aware of and adhere
to the rules established in those bylaws and posted fire bans in the area –
albertafirebans.ca.
2.9 Signage
(a) The landowner of the property on which a development permit for a Short-Term Rental / Bed & Breakfast or Tourist Home is applied for shall be required as part of submitting a complete development permit application and as a condition of the development permit to provide and maintain:
(i) In a residential district, one Home Occupation, Tourist Home and Short-Term
Rental / B&B Sign between 0.18 m2 (3 ft2) and 0.72 m2 (8 ft2), that shall not extend more than 1.5metres (5ft) above grade and shall be located in the front yard visible to the public; and
(ii) in a commercial district, a sign to the Development Officer’s satisfaction.
2.10 Compatibility with Neighbouring Parcels of Land
(a) The operation of a dwelling unit in a residential land use district as a Short-Term Rental / Bed & Breakfast or Tourist Home shall not alter or detract from the appearance or use
of the subject property as a residential property, or from the general character of the
immediate residential neighbourhood, and shall not unduly interfere with the amenities
of the residential neighbourhood or materially interfere with or affect the use, enjoyment,
or value of neighbouring parcels of land.
(b) In the Residential R-1 to R-5 and the GCR-1, NUA-1, CRV and CSV land use districts,
the Development Authority may deny a discretionary use development permit application for a Short-Term Rental / Bed & Breakfast or a Tourist Home, including for, but not limited to, the reason that other Short-Term Rentals / Bed & Breakfasts, Tourist Homes or Home
Occupations – Class 2 had previously been approved in the immediate neighbourhood
and that the addition of another in the same area will, in the sole discretion of the
Development Authority, unduly interfere with the amenities of the neighbourhood or will
materially interfere with or affect the use, enjoyment, or value of neighbouring parcels of
land – for example, as a result of concerns related to expected additional traffic volume,
parking of vehicles, late night noise, etc.
2.11 Temporary Nature and Expiry of a Short-Term Rental / Bed & Breakfast and Tourist Home Development Permit
(a) The development permit for a Short-Term Rental / Bed & Breakfast or Tourist Home
shall be temporary, and the period for which it shall be valid and during which the use
may be operated shall coincide with the period during which:
(i) the original applicant for and holder of the development permit continues to be the
landowner; and
(ii) the landowner holds an active Business License; and
(iii) the development permit complies with the standards established in this Schedule,
as these standards may be amended from time to time.
(b) For greater clarity:
(i) In the event that the property is transferred to a third party the development permit
shall expire, and a new development permit application by the new landowner shall be required to continue the use; and
(ii) if the Business License lapses, is transferred to another person, or is revoked for
any reason, the development permit shall expire, and a new application shall be
required to reinstate the development permit and subsequently the business
license; and
(iii) at the annual renewal of the business license, if this Bylaw has been amended
regarding the standards for Short-Term Rentals / Bed & Breakfast or Tourist Home
since the initial issuance of the development permit or since the previous business
license was issued, the initial development permit shall expire and the applicant
for the business license is required to obtain a new or revised development permit
in compliance with the revised standards – i.e. a “non-conforming” Short-Term
Rental / Bed & Breakfast or Tourist Home shall not be operated without renewing
the development permit to comply with amended standards and conditions.
2.12 Contraventions, Fines and Penalties
(a) Contraventions/violations of this or any other municipal bylaw by the operator of a Short-Term Rental / Bed & Breakfast or a Tourist Home or by their guests shall result in the issuing of fines and penalties to the perpetrator (i.e. either the landowner or the guests as may be applicable), pursuant to the Fees Rates and Charges Bylaw. Refer to the Administration part of this Bylaw.