Is Airbnb Legal in Cape Town? 2026 Rules, Permits & Taxes

Permit

Not required

Taxes on a stay

None

Active Airbnb listings

16,100

Next rule change

Jul 1, 2027

The rules in brief

Issued by

None today. The City of Cape Town would issue the registration number if its draft Short-Term Letting By-law is adopted.

Valid for

Not applicable until the by-law is adopted. Under the draft, a registration number stays valid until the owner de-registers the property or the City cancels it, for example on a transfer of ownership or because the data was false.

On listings

No number needed on listings

Platform checks

No platform checks a City number today. Under the draft by-law, booking platforms would have to collect the registration data, show the City-issued number on every listing and remove listings without a valid number, and a listing using a cancelled number would have to come down within 10 working days.

Who qualifies

• Zoning: the City states that the Municipal Planning By-law allows short-term letting, so no zoning change or land use approval is needed to list a home.
• Bed and breakfast in Conventional Housing zoning: the host lives on the property, with no more than 3 rooms and 6 paying guests.
• Guest house (more than six guests): a consent use approved by the City.
• Sectional-title buildings and estates: the body corporate or homeowners' association rules apply on top of City rules.
• Proposed registration: covers all properties listed on a booking platform, and the property must be identified by address, erf number and municipal account number.

How to apply

1. 1 The City has not opened a registration system, so there is nothing to apply for yet.
2. 2 Under the draft by-law, the owner or operator supplies the property's address, erf number, municipal account number and any supporting evidence, through the booking platform or a City system.
3. 3 The City checks the data against its records and issues one registration number per property to both the owner and the platform, and the number must appear on every listing.
4. 4 Meanwhile, check your property's rates category: the City asks hosts who let a home mostly for short stays to approach it now.

Permit rules

No City permit or registration yet

The registration system is a draft. The Short-Term Letting By-law was open for public comment from 5 August to 5 October 2026, and the City plans to table the updated by-law for Council adoption early in 2027, so no City permit or registration number is required today.⁵

Proposed: registration number on every listing

The draft by-law would require the owner or operator to register the property before listing it and to show the City-issued number on every listing. The City would issue one unique number per property after checking the registration data. It is not yet in force.^1,5

Proposed: platforms must remove unregistered listings

Under the draft by-law, booking platforms would have to remove listings that do not show a valid registration number and share availability and occupancy data on registered properties with the City. Hotels, guesthouses and bed and breakfasts must register but need no data sharing.⁵

Airbnb reports to SARS on request

Airbnb is legally required to give the South African Revenue Service a limited amount of transaction data when SARS asks for it.¹⁸

Zoning allows short-term letting

The City says its Municipal Planning By-law allows short-term letting, so listing a home needs no zoning change.⁵

Bed and breakfast: the host lives on the property

In Conventional Housing (R1) zoning a bed and breakfast is an additional use right exercised by the occupant. The proprietor must live on the property and the dominant use must stay a dwelling house.² In force since October 1, 2025

Guest house: consent use

A guest house, which is a lodging establishment above bed-and-breakfast size, is a consent use in Conventional Housing zoning. It needs the City's approval before opening, and the City's guidance puts the line at more than six guests.^2,8

Body corporate and estate rules

Body corporates and homeowners' associations may set their own rules for short-term letting inside their buildings. The City does not regulate this, so a flat or estate home can be barred even where the City allows letting.⁵

No night cap

The City sets no limit on the nights a home can be let. It says its aim is fair treatment on property rates, not to restrict short-term letting.⁵

Transient stays: up to 30 consecutive days

The City's planning scheme defines a transient guest as someone staying on a land unit that is not their permanent home for no more than 30 consecutive days at a time. Airbnb's help page for South Africa describes the same 30-day limit for Cape Town.^2,18

Bed and breakfast: up to 3 rooms and 6 guests

A bed and breakfast, or a home letting rooms to lodgers, may use no more than 3 rooms per land unit and host no more than 6 paying guests at any time. Guest rooms may not become separate self-catering dwelling units.^2,8

Bed and breakfast: no events, one small sign, on-site parking

Weddings, receptions, conferences and training are not permitted from a bed and breakfast. Only one small un-illuminated sign is allowed, on-site parking must be provided, and the City can require more parking if it finds the provision insufficient.² In force since October 1, 2025

Commercial rates above 50% availability

Under the 2026/27 Rates Policy, approved on 29 June 2026, a primary residence used or available for short-term letting for more than 50% of its annual room nights is commercial accommodation and pays commercial rates. At 50% or less it stays residential.^5,6 In force since June 29, 2026

A second home let commercially is commercial accommodation

The 50% test applies to a primary residence. A property that is not used as a primary place of residence and is used for commercial short-term letting is commercial accommodation whatever its availability, as are guest houses, bed and breakfasts and self-catering lets.^5,6 In force since June 29, 2026

How the 50% is measured

Total annual room nights are the number of bedrooms multiplied by 365. The City counts the nights each bedroom is listed as available on a booking platform over any 365-day period, past and future, not the nights actually booked.^5,6 In force since June 29, 2026

Commercial rate: 2.41 times the residential rate

The Rates Policy sets the business and commercial rate at 1:2.41 against the residential rate-in-the-rand, so a property reclassified from residential to commercial pays 2.41 times the rate on its municipal valuation.⁶ In force since June 29, 2026

Over 50% availability loses the residential reduction

The Rates Policy gives owners of primary residences valued below R8,000,001 a reduction of R605,000 on the value that is rated. A property used or available for short-term letting for more than 50% of its annual room nights does not qualify for it.⁶ In force since June 29, 2026

When a rates category changes

The City assesses property use on a rolling 365-day period. A property found listed more than 50% of the time is reclassified at the next supplementary valuation, effective from the date the threshold was exceeded. The City says category changes are foreseen only from 1 July 2027.⁵ Takes effect July 1, 2027

Proposed: grace period after adoption

The draft by-law gives owners, operators and booking platforms a grace period to comply with the registration and listing duties after it is promulgated. The City Manager would declare the length and the start of platform data sharing by public notice.¹

Escape route plan in sleeping rooms

Under the City's Community Fire Safety By-law, a guest house or similar occupancy used by transient persons must display an escape route plan in every room designed for sleeping, whatever its size.³

Business licence and food certificate if you serve meals

A host who supplies meals, such as breakfast, needs a City business licence, and preparing or selling food needs a Certificate of Acceptability from the City's Environmental Health service. Self-catering lets without meals do not trigger either.^9,10

VAT base changes after 28 days

For a registered VAT vendor, VAT applies to the whole all-inclusive charge on a stay of 28 days or less. On a stay longer than 28 days only 60% of the all-inclusive charge is subject to VAT.¹³

National code is guidance only

The national Draft Code of Good Practice for Short-Term Rentals is non-binding guidance issued while the Tourism Act is reviewed. It asks hosts for smoke detectors, liability insurance and a contact person for neighbours, but it is not law and sets no licence.^14,15 In force since March 2026

What the host still handles

• VAT with SARS once taxable supplies pass R2.3 million in any 12 months
• The correct property-rates category with the City: hosts who let a home mostly for short stays are asked to approach the City now
• A City business licence if you supply meals, and a Certificate of Acceptability to prepare or sell food
• A City short-term letting registration number once the draft by-law is adopted^{6,7,11,12,16,17}

• Using land in a manner other than the Development Management Scheme permits is an offence under the Municipal Planning By-law, punishable by a fine or imprisonment of up to 20 years, or both. The by-law sets no fixed rand amount.²
• Administrative penalty: a person who rectifies an unlawful land use can be charged a penalty of up to 100% of the municipal valuation of the area used unlawfully, set by the Municipal Planning Tribunal or proposed as a standard penalty by the City Manager.²
• A person convicted who carries on the same conduct commits a continuing offence: a fine or imprisonment of up to three months, or both, for each day.²
• Draft Short-Term Letting By-law (not in force): advertising or listing a property contrary to the by-law, or failing to show a valid City registration number, would be an offence punishable by a fine or imprisonment of up to six months, or both.¹

1. July 1, 2027 Upcoming
   City foresees moving identified properties to commercial rates

   The City foresees starting to move identified properties to commercial property rates from 1 July 2027, effective from the date the 50% threshold was exceeded and based on registration and platform data.^5,7

2. August 5, 2026 Not in force
   Draft Short-Term Letting By-law opened for public comment

   Public comment on the draft by-law ran from 5 August to 5 October 2026. The City plans to update the draft and table it for Council adoption early in 2027, with a grace period for owners to adapt.⁵

3. June 29, 2026
   2026/27 Rates Policy approved with the 50% availability test

   The Special Council approved the 2026/27 Rates Policy, which classes a primary residence used or available for short-term letting for more than 50% of its annual room nights as commercial accommodation, using a 365-day window of past and future listed availability.⁶

4. February 9, 2026
   City announces a draft Short-Term Letting By-law

   The City said a draft by-law would go to public participation to improve compliance with its Rates Policy, and called it a compliance measure rather than a new tax. It encouraged short-term letters to approach the City now about the correct rates category.⁷

5. October 1, 2025
   Municipal Planning Amendment By-law, 2025 takes effect

   The amendment lets the Council prescribe standard administrative penalties for planning contraventions and updated the bed and breakfast conditions, including on-site parking and the rule that the proprietor lives on the property.²

Estimate what a Cape Town home could earn

1. 1. Short-Term Letting By-law, 2026 (draft for public comment) · City of Cape Town
2. 2. City of Cape Town Municipal Planning By-law, 2015 (consolidated, with the Development Management Scheme) · City of Cape Town
3. 3. Community Fire Safety By-law, 2002 (as amended) · City of Cape Town
4. 4. Western Cape Land Use Planning Act 3 of 2014 (as at 23 June 2021) · Province of the Western Cape (copy hosted by LawLibrary)
5. 5. Short-term Letting in the City of Cape Town: Frequently Asked Questions (updated August 2026) · City of Cape Town
6. 6. Annexure 5: Rates Policy 2026/2027 (approved by Special Council 29 June 2026) · City of Cape Town
7. 7. Proposed Short-Term Letting By-law aims to improve Rates Policy compliance for commercial-scale short-term letting · City of Cape Town Media Office
8. 8. Home based business · City of Cape Town
9. 9. Apply for a business licence · City of Cape Town
10. 10. Apply for a certificate of acceptability · City of Cape Town
11. 11. Value-Added Tax · South African Revenue Service
12. 12. What is the new Threshold for VAT Registration? · South African Revenue Service
13. 13. VAT 411 Guide for Entertainment, Accommodation and Catering · South African Revenue Service
14. 14. Minister Patricia de Lille invites public comment on draft code of good practice for short-term rentals · South African Government (Department of Tourism)
15. 15. Code of Good Practice for Short-Term Rentals (draft) · National Department of Tourism
16. 16. Tax considerations on short-term rentals in South Africa (2026 tax guide) · Airbnb
17. 17. Levy FAQ · Tourism Marketing South Africa (TOMSA)
18. 18. Responsible hosting in South Africa · Airbnb Help Center