Is Airbnb Legal in Calgary? 2026 Rules, Permits & Taxes

Licence required

Yes

Taxes on a stay

11%

Fine for hosting without a permit

C$10,000

Listings showing a permit number

95%

Next rule change

Dec 31, 2026

Listing figures: AirROI, 12 months to September 2026. A number on a listing doesn't prove the permit or licence is valid, and a missing one doesn't prove there is none.

The rules in brief

Who needs it

Every host who rents all or part of a dwelling in Calgary for up to 180 consecutive days by listing it with a platform such as Airbnb or Vrbo, whether or not the host lives there. The licence holder is the owner or a person the owner authorizes in writing.^1,2,4,5,6,20

Issued by

City of Calgary, under Business Licence Bylaw 32M98

Valid for

One year from the date of issue; renewals can be completed 30 days before the renewal date, and a Primary or Non-Primary category is chosen again at renewal. Fees are non-refundable and non-transferable.

On listings

The number must appear on every listing

Platform checks

Platforms such as Airbnb hold a Calgary licence ($3,000 a year). They send the City a monthly list of Calgary listings with each host's name, address, licence number and nights rented, and must remove a listing when the City's Director asks.

Fees

Who qualifies

• Primary Residence class: the home is the applicant's main dwelling, where they live and conduct their daily affairs. Photo identification or proof of residence showing the address is required.
• Non-Primary Residence class: the owner, or a person with the owner's authorization, who does not live in the home. No new non-primary licence is issued while Calgary's purpose-built rental vacancy rate is below 2.5%, except for a home that held a licence before.
• Proof of ownership, or a letter of authorization from the owner if the applicant is a tenant or manager.
• A fire safety plan and a passed Calgary Fire Department fire inspection before the licence is issued.
• Liability insurance of at least $2 million from an Alberta-registered insurer that references short-term rental house sharing.
• A secondary suite must be approved and registered with the City first, and a suite that received Secondary Suite Incentive Program funds cannot be licensed for two years.
• No licence for a home designated as affordable housing, or non-market housing owned by a charity.
• Apartment and condominium units must comply with the condominium's bylaws.

How to apply

1. 1 Check that the property qualifies: any secondary suite is registered, condominium bylaws allow short-term rental, and you own the home or hold the owner's written authorization.
2. 2 Create a myID Citizen account at myid.calgary.ca; a myID Citizen account is required to create, renew or manage a short-term rental licence.
3. 3 Prepare a fire safety plan (floor plan with exits, windows, smoke and carbon monoxide alarms and extinguishers), photo identification or proof of residence for a primary residence, and liability insurance that references short-term rental house sharing.
4. 4 Apply and pay online at apply.calgary.ca/shorttermrentals, or in person at the Planning Services Centre.
5. 5 Once the City's file manager approves the fire safety plan, the Calgary Fire Department contacts you to book the fire inspection; the licence is issued after the property passes.
6. 6 Put the licence number in every advertisement, and post the emergency contact sheet and floor plan inside the home.

Permit rules

A City business licence is required

Renting all or part of a Calgary home to short-stay guests, for example through Airbnb or Vrbo, needs a City of Calgary business licence, whether the host rents a room or the whole dwelling.^1,2

Licence number in every advertisement

The valid business licence number must appear, readable, in any advertising for the rental, including the online listing.^1,3,7

Platforms hold a $3,000 licence and report listings monthly

Platforms such as Airbnb and Vrbo need a Calgary Short Term Rental Company licence costing $3,000 a year. Each month they give the City a list of Calgary listings with the host's name, address, licence number and nights rented.^1,3 Applies to: Platforms · In force since April 1, 2025

Platforms must remove listings the City names

When the City's Director asks, a platform must suspend or remove a Calgary listing from being advertised.¹ Applies to: Platforms · In force since April 1, 2025

Two licence classes: primary and non-primary residence

Since 1 April 2025 the licence type depends on whether the host lives in the home (Primary Residence) or not (Non-Primary Residence), not on the number of rooms. Both classes can host Airbnb guests.^1,3 In force since April 1, 2025

A home you do not live in can be licensed

The owner, or a person the owner authorizes, can hold a Non-Primary Residence licence for a home they do not live in. Calgary has no rule limiting hosting to a principal residence.^1,4 In force since April 1, 2025

New non-primary licences stop if vacancy falls below 2.5%

The bylaw bars new Non-Primary Residence licences while the purpose-built rental vacancy rate in the annual CMHC Rental Market Report is below 2.5%, except for a home that held a short-term rental licence before. The City's page cites a rate of 5.5%, so the pause is not in force.^1,3,9 Applies to: Non-primary residences · In force since April 1, 2025

No licences for affordable housing

Calgary does not issue a short-term rental licence for a home designated as affordable housing, or for non-market housing owned or administered by a charity.^1,3 In force since April 1, 2025

A secondary suite must be registered first

A secondary or backyard suite can be licensed only if it is approved, compliant and registered with the City before the licence application.^2,5

Incentive-funded suites cannot be licensed for two years

A secondary suite that received money from the City's Secondary Suite Incentive Program cannot be licensed as a short-term rental for two years after receiving the funds, unless the funds are returned in full.¹⁵ Applies to: Secondary suites · In force since June 3, 2025

Tenants need the owner's written authorization

A host who does not own the property must give the City a letter of authorization from the owner before the licence is issued.^5,7 Applies to: Tenants and managers

Condominium bylaws decide whether a condo can host

The City no longer asks for condo board consent, but a condo or apartment host must comply with the condominium's bylaws and must check whether they allow short-term rental. Disputes are settled with the condo board.^3,5 Applies to: Condominiums and apartments · In force since April 1, 2025

Stays of up to 180 consecutive days count as short-term

Since 1 April 2025 the licence covers rentals of up to 180 consecutive days that are listed with a platform, which brings medium-term stays under the same rules. Calgary sets no minimum stay.^1,4 In force since April 1, 2025

No annual night cap

The City's licence categories limit bookings at a time, people per room and consecutive days, and Calgary publishes no limit on nights per year for either class.^1,4

Fire inspection before the licence is issued

Every short-term rental must pass a Calgary Fire Department inspection before a licence is issued. Deficiencies must be fixed before approval, and booking the inspection before permits are complete can mean extra cost and a failed inspection.^2,4

Smoke alarms, carbon monoxide alarms and an extinguisher

The fire safety plan shows the smoke alarms, carbon monoxide alarms and fire extinguishers. Interconnected smoke alarms are required in each dwelling unit, and a 2-A rated portable extinguisher is required on each storey tenants can reach.^5,8

Every guest room needs an egress window

A host cannot offer, or let a guest sleep in, a room without a window that opens to the outside for escape. Rooms in multi-storey apartment and condo buildings follow the building's own fire safety standards instead.^1,3

At least $2 million of liability insurance

The licence holder must be the policy holder, with cover from an Alberta-registered insurer of at least $2 million that references short-term rental house sharing.^3,5 In force since January 1, 2024

Two guests per room

A host cannot allow more than two guests per room, not counting children under 12, whatever the size of the room.^1,3,7

One booking at a time

A host cannot rent separate rooms to separate guests under separate reservations at the same time, but can rent several rooms under one reservation.^1,3

A 24-hour emergency contact posted inside

The name, phone number and email address of an emergency contact who can be reached around the clock must be posted in a conspicuous place inside the home, together with the floor plan.^1,3,7 In force since January 1, 2024

Keep a record of every paid guest

A host keeps an electronic record in English of each paid guest's full name, email address and length of stay, and gives it to a licence inspector on demand.^1,3

The licence can be revoked for nuisance

The City's Director can refuse, revoke or refuse to renew a licence where the property is run in a way that causes a nuisance or disturbs neighbours, measured against the Community Standards Bylaw.¹ In force since January 1, 2024

The owner on title answers for the licensee

The registered owner of the property is responsible for an offence by a licensee or anyone running the business there, as though the owner had done it.¹

Renewal inspections are risk-based

Renewing licences are ranked by risk by the Calgary Fire Department, so a renewing host may or may not receive an annual fire inspection.⁴ Applies to: Renewals

Median nightly rate, booked nights

US$105

Taxes on that night (11%)

US$12

Guest pays, before Airbnb and cleaning fees

US$117

What the host still handles

• The City of Calgary Short Term Rental business licence, before listing.
• A tourism levy account with Alberta Tax and Revenue Administration (TRACS portal) if you collect full or partial payment from guests yourself, for example on a direct booking; Airbnb collects and remits the levy on bookings it takes payment for.
• A GST/HST account once your taxable sales pass the $30,000 small supplier limit; Airbnb collects GST for hosts who are not registered.^{12,13,14,17,18,19}

• Hosting without the licence, or breaking any rule of the Business Licence Bylaw, is an offence: on conviction in court the fine is $300 to $10,000, with up to one year in jail if the fine is not paid.¹
• Hosting without a licence carries a $1,000 specified penalty that can be paid on a violation ticket.¹
• Each listed short-term rental offence (room without a window, more than two guests per room, overlapping bookings, no licence number in the ad, no emergency contact, no guest record) carries a $1,000 fine on conviction.^1,3
• Carrying on business while the licence is suspended or revoked carries a $3,000 specified penalty.¹
• Repeat convictions of the same provision within 24 months carry a minimum fine of $600 for the second and $900 for the third or later.¹
• The City's Director can refuse, revoke or decline to renew a licence for a property run in a way that causes a nuisance.¹
• At the City's request a platform must suspend or remove a listing, so an unlicensed Calgary listing can be taken down.¹
• Alberta tourism levy: a penalty may be charged for filing a return late, and interest runs on late payments.¹²

1. December 31, 2026 Upcoming
   Secondary Suite Amnesty Program ends

   Homeowners who register an older secondary suite under the City's amnesty before 31 December 2026 avoid development permit charges and registration fees. A suite used for short-term rental must be registered with the City before the licence application.^5,16

2. April 1, 2026
   Alberta tourism levy rises from 4% to 6%

   The 6% rate applies to accommodation booked after 31 March 2026, which lifts the combined levy and GST on a Calgary stay from about 9% to about 11%.^12,18

3. January 2026
   2026 fee schedule raises the fire inspection fee to $117

   The 2026 schedule keeps the licence fees at $172 and $131 for a primary residence and $510 and $260 for a non-primary residence, and sets the fire inspection fee at $117, up from $114 in 2025.^6,9

4. June 3, 2025
   Incentive-funded secondary suites barred from licensing for two years

   A secondary suite that received Secondary Suite Incentive Program funds cannot be licensed as a short-term rental for two years after receiving the funds.¹⁵

5. April 1, 2025
   Primary and non-primary licences, 180-day definition and platform licence

   Licences are issued as primary or non-primary residence, the definition covers stays of up to 180 consecutive days, platforms such as Airbnb pay a $3,000 annual licence, condo board consent is no longer required and affordable housing cannot be licensed. A pause on new non-primary licences applies only if the vacancy rate falls below 2.5%.^1,3,4,9

6. December 17, 2024
   Council approves the Business Licence Bylaw amendments

   Calgary City Council unanimously approved the amendments, which took effect on 1 April 2025. Administration was also asked to explore a short-term rental property tax subclass for non-primary residences.^3,10

7. October 1, 2024
   Online brokers collect the Alberta tourism levy

   From 1 October 2024 online brokers such as Airbnb that collect payment register for, collect and remit the tourism levy, and hosts who take payment themselves do the same.^12,19

8. January 1, 2024
   Fire safety plan, ownership proof and insurance rules begin

   Changes approved by Council on 6 June 2023 took effect for new and renewing licences: a fire safety plan, proof of ownership or owner consent, liability insurance of at least $2 million and a posted emergency contact.^1,3

Estimate what a Calgary home could earn

1. 1. Business Licence Bylaw 32M98 (office consolidation) · City of Calgary
2. 2. Operate a short-term rental · City of Calgary
3. 3. Short-term rental business licence - rules and regulations · City of Calgary
4. 4. Short-term rental business licence changes · City of Calgary
5. 5. Short-term rental business licence - application requirements · City of Calgary
6. 6. 2026 Business Licence Fee Schedule · City of Calgary
7. 7. Rent a short-term rental · City of Calgary
8. 8. Fire Safety Inspection Requirements (short-term rental checklists) · City of Calgary, Calgary Fire Department
9. 9. First phase of short-term rental business licence bylaw amendments now in effect · City of Calgary Newsroom
10. 10. City Council approves amendments to Business Licence Bylaw for short-term rentals · City of Calgary Newsroom
11. 11. Short Term Rentals (open data) · Open Calgary, City of Calgary
12. 12. Tourism levy · Government of Alberta
13. 13. Who needs to register for GST/HST · Canada Revenue Agency
14. 14. GST/HST for digital-economy businesses: Overview · Canada Revenue Agency
15. 15. Secondary Suite Incentive Program · City of Calgary
16. 16. Secondary suites and backyard suites · City of Calgary
17. 17. About Tax and Revenue Administration · Government of Alberta
18. 18. Tax collection and remittance by Airbnb in Canada · Airbnb Help Centre
19. 19. Alberta: laws and regulations for hosts · Airbnb Help Centre
20. 20. Calgary: laws and regulations for hosts · Airbnb Help Centre