Global Regulatory Notes (14)
Know the latest on STRs across the Globe. Canada; Orillia ON schedules enforcement; Owen Sound, ON eases restrictions; Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON pauses reform; West Kelowna, BC, Spain, Lanzarote review enforcement; Wales, UK's restriction receives backlash; Greece; Ho Chi Minh City. READ MORE.
Canada
Orillia, ON
Starting in 2026, Orillia will roll out a new per-bedroom licensing model for short-term rentals replacing its controversial flat $2,000 fee.
City council voted unanimously to adopt the revised structure, which sets the cost at $680 per bedroom, capping at $2,040. The change aims to make licensing more equitable and feasible for smaller hosts who previously found the flat rate unworkable. The policy shift comes after public pushback, especially from operators of one-room rentals like Rachel Edwards, who declined to register under the old model. Updates to Chapter 730 of the municipal code will take effect January 1, 2026.
Owen Sound, ON
Owen Sound is easing short-term rental restrictions in its downtown core, with council voting to allow non-owner-occupied STRs and remove the 180-day cap but only within the city’s Core Commercial (C1) zone.
The update follows a one-year review of the city’s licensing program, which began in 2024 to address complaints of large group rentals in residential areas. While the review found zero noise or nuisance complaints from licensed operators, enforcement efforts confirmed 25 unlicensed STRs. Council declined to extend these relaxed rules to the waterfront-facing Mixed Use Commercial (MC) zone, citing fairness concerns.
Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON
Niagara-on-the-Lake is hitting pause again on short-term rental reform. Council voted this week to defer any decisions on amending the town’s STR bylaw until October, extending the moratorium on new licences that’s been in place since December.
Coun. Wendy Cheropita introduced the deferral, citing the need for more community input on key questions like how many STRs the town should allow, how they should be distributed, and whether villas and cottages need special rules. The delay followed public feedback from three speakers, including a proposal to convert a former church into a villa, which council rejected.
West Kelowna, BC
In West Kelowna, concerns over weak enforcement of short-term rental bylaws are heating up again, especially around unlicensed high-end vacation homes.
At the July 22 council meeting, Councillor Garrett Millsap called out the “quite low fines” being issued and questioned whether enforcement is really working, especially for luxury properties charging thousands per week without a licence.
According to the city’s Q2 report, 11 STR owners received warning letters, five faced enforcement action, and $2,300 in fines remain unpaid. With only 12 licenses issued and more than double that number of applications filed this quarter, calls for stronger oversight and better follow-through are growing louder at city hall.
Spain
Spain’s new National Registry for Tourist and Seasonal Rentals could result in the delisting of more than 1.1 million unregistered short-term rental beds as early as August, with platforms like Airbnb required to remove listings that don’t display the new national registration number (NRA) within a 10-day grace period.
Despite 67% of STR properties already having local or regional licenses, only 13% had uploaded the required NRA by mid-July, according to travel data firm Mabrian. The registry, in effect since July 1, centralizes oversight and overrides local permitting, potentially impacting up to 87% of the country’s STR inventory if hosts don’t comply.
Lanzarote, Spain
As Spain heads into peak summer season, short-term rental demand remains high along the coast, with Lanzarote leading the Canary Islands at 89.3% occupancy for August.
Nationally, tourist home reservations are averaging 84.5%, slightly down from 84.9% last year, according to data from Rentalia. Mallorca tops the list with 98.4% of homes within 15 km of a beach already booked. Menorca, Asturias, and parts of Alicante and Almería also show strong figures. While Lanzarote holds steady, other Canary Islands like Fuerteventura (77.7%), Gran Canaria (75.9%), and Tenerife (75.2%) are tracking below the national average. The data points to continued pressure on tourist zones, reinforcing conversations across Spain about sustainable STR regulation and regional planning.
Wales, UK
New restrictions on second homes and short-term lets in Eryri (formerly Snowdonia) are stirring strong local backlash. As of June 1, the national park authority enacted an Article 4 Direction removing automatic rights to convert primary residences into holiday homes or short-term rentals, requiring full planning permission for such changes. A 15% cap on holiday and second homes is now in place in designated areas, subject to annual review.
Park officials say the move gives communities more control in high-pressure housing markets where some areas have seen up to 45% of properties converted. Critics argue jobs and economic decline, not housing, are the root cause of local hardship, and some see the policy as overreach that could depress property values without solving affordability. Others caution the restrictions could hurt the tourism-based economy, while some residents say the focus should be on building more affordable homes, not limiting demand.
Greece
The Greek government’s proposal to impose a €600 per-property annual fee on short-term rental companies has sparked a legal and industry backlash, with STAMA Greece labeling it a punitive measure that misrepresents the structure of the sector.
The draft law treats each rental as a business branch, a classification critics argue is incompatible with the digital, staff-less nature of STRs. The move also appears to contradict a recent Council of State ruling that declared a similar directive invalid. Unlike real estate agents or building managers, STR companies would bear an exclusive financial load, potentially leading to reduced listings, price hikes, or exits from the market.
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Ho Chi Minh City is rolling out a pilot program aimed at regulating the city’s booming short-term rental market, particularly the 13,000 Airbnb listings—over 60% of which are in apartment buildings.
The move follows concerns over legal ambiguity, tax evasion, and public safety, as Vietnam’s housing law neither permits nor prohibits STRs in condos. Under the pilot, apartment owners must gain consent from their building’s residents’ committee, contribute added fees, and follow strict rules, with violators facing fines or suspension.
🌐 Emerging Global Trends
As short-term rentals continue to reshape housing markets and tourism economies, governments at all levels are responding with new regulatory tools. From redesigned licensing systems to tighter zoning enforcement and national oversight, here are three key trends driving the next phase of short-term rental governance.
🏧 Flexible Licensing Structures Replace Flat Fees in STR Regulation: Municipalities are increasingly moving away from flat-rate licensing fees in favor of more nuanced, tiered systems that better reflect the scale of short-term rental operations. In Orillia, Ontario, the city is shifting to a per-bedroom fee structure, replacing its $2,000 flat fee with a $680-per-bedroom model, capped at $2,040. This change—effective 2026—responds to feedback from smaller hosts who found the previous structure inequitable. The trend signals a broader effort among cities to strike a balance between regulation and participation by making compliance more proportional and accessible.
🏠 Cities Are Targeting Enforcement and Zoning to Differentiate Between Tourist and Residential Zones: Across Canada, local governments are refining zoning laws and ramping up enforcement to separate tourism-driven rentals from long-term residential areas. Owen Sound is now allowing non-owner-occupied STRs and lifting day caps, but only within its downtown Core Commercial zone, aiming to limit disruptions in residential neighborhoods. Meanwhile, West Kelowna is under pressure to crack down on unlicensed luxury STRs, with councilmembers questioning the effectiveness of current fines and follow-through.
🕶️ Countries Push for Centralized STR Control as Local Gaps Persist: National-level interventions are gaining ground as countries look to bring coherence to fragmented local STR policies. Spain’s new National Registry for Tourist and Seasonal Rentals requires all listings to display a national registration number, with non-compliant properties facing delisting as early as August—putting over 1 million beds at risk. Similarly, Vietnam is piloting a regulation program in Ho Chi Minh City to address safety, tax, and zoning gaps in its booming STR sector. These moves point to a growing realization that national coordination is essential for effective oversight in countries where local systems alone can’t keep up with the pace and scale of the STR market.
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