Short-Term Rentals

The Town of Drumheller distinguishes between principal, non-principal and non-resident short-term rentals. A principal residence is where you live the majority of the year and receive your mail. If you live in Town but do not live in the home you are renting, you will be classified as a non-principal residence. If you live outside of the jurisdiction and rent out a short-term rental in Town, you will be classified as a non-resident. 

A short-term rental (STR) is any dwelling, such as a house, room, or secondary suite, that is rented out for a period of twenty-eight (28) days or less. All individuals who offer a short-term rental for rent must have a valid Short-Term Rental Business Licence from the Town of Drumheller. This includes any short-term rental advertised on sites such as Airbnb, VRBO or similar websites.

Yes, a portion of a house can be rented as a short-term rental if you are a homeowner or have permission from the homeowner. You will still need to submit a Business Licence Application whether you live in the home or not. Please note, there is only one short-term rental permitted per parcel.

No, only one STR is permitted per property and only one party can rent out the STR at a time. This means a host cannot rent out separate rooms to separate guests under separate reservations, but can rent out multiple rooms as part of one guest reservation.

If you would like to operate multiple rentals on your property, you will need to apply for a Bed and Breakfast License. Multiple STRs in apartment buildings and condos may be allowed if you receive written approval from your landlord, condominium association, homeowner’s association or property management company, if applicable, and approval from the Development Authority. 

To protect the quality of our neighbourhoods. Multiple STRs per parcel are known to create issues with noise, lack of parking and disruptive behaviour.

The Town of Drumheller distinguishes between principal, non-principal and non-resident STRs. A principal residence is where you live the majority of the year and receive your mail. If you live in town but do not live in the home you are renting, you will be classified as a non-principal residence, and if you live outside of the jurisdiction and rent out a home in town, you will be classified as a non-resident.

The fees for each type are $245, $810 and $1,010 respectively.

Whole home rentals are the primary contributors to a reduction of housing stock and decrease in neighborhood quality. Whole home rentals decrease the availability of long-term rentals for guests and leads to empty neighbourhoods and unmaintained properties.

According to a report by Desjardins, there was a correlation between Airbnb activity and higher long-term rental prices across 19 Canadian cities with short-term rentals. And, a one-percentage-point increase in the share of Airbnbs was associated with a 2.3 per cent increase in rents for long-term rentals.

Whole home rentals are the primary contributors to a reduction of housing stock and decrease in neighborhood quality. The fee is intended to account for the amount of enforcement that is needed for each type of property and the anticipated impact on the community.

For example, a host in Vancouver renting out a full-home STR in Drumheller may result in greater safety and neighborhood quality concerns than if the host lived in Drumheller and rented out a full-home. This is because the person living in Drumheller is better able to address safety concerns and property maintenance issues as they arise. Likewise, there are even fewer concerns if the person lives in the home they are renting out.

Other businesses pay higher commercial property tax rates in order to support essential services like road maintenance, water, and waste management. In lieu of commercial property tax, the higher business license fee will be used to ensure STR hosts are contributing their fair share to town services. Additionally, some of the business license fee will be used to cover associated enforcement costs required to address neighborhood quality issues caused by STRs.

The cap on STRs has been implemented in order to manage STR growth and protect the quality of our neighbourhoods. Short-term rentals have increased exponentially over the past three (3) years, increasing by an average of 67% each year. This is three times (3x) higher than the number of new homes being built each year.

Implementing a cap on short-term rentals safeguards housing availability for long-term residents by preventing housing shortages, preserving affordability, and maintaining community stability.

If the cap limit on STRs has been reached, we encourage you to request placement on our waitlist. If an STR host chooses not to renew their license, we will contact applicants on the waitlist to give them the first opportunity to apply for a license. Principal STRs and non-principal STRs will be given priority when dispersing new STR licences, respectively. 

A principal residence STR consists of rooms rented out within someone's residence, or the rental of a secondary suite or accessory suite on someone’s property. As principal residence STRs are used as a principal residence for the majority of the year, they do not contribute to the reduction of housing stock or the decrease in neighbourhood quality to the same degree as non-principal and non-resident STRs (see FAQ #6). By encouraging the efficient use of our housing inventory, we are aiming to increase affordability and neighbourhood quality within the Town of Drumheller.

Yes, just like any other business license, the STR business license will need to be renewed on an annual basis. Each year, Town staff will send out a notice in January asking current license holders if they would like to renew their business license, with any additional requirements for renewal. The license holder will have until March to confirm their renewal.

If they do not confirm renewal by this date, the license will be offered to potential applicants on the waitlist or members of the general public.

If an applicant complies with the requirements of the Good Host Guide and the Town of Drumheller bylaws, renews their license on an annual basis and pays the appropriate fees, they will not lose their business license.

Bylaw 06.23 states that the Chief Administrative Officer may refuse, suspend, or revoke, a license if:

1. The applicant or licensee fails to comply with the requirements of this Bylaw;
2. The applicant or licensee fails to comply with the provisions of the Community Standards Bylaw, any other Bylaw of the Town, or any applicable Statute of the Province of Alberta or the Government of Canada;
3. The license has been issued in error; or,
4. The Chief Administrative Officer has reasonable grounds to believe that operation of the Business poses a danger to the safety, health or welfare of the general public.

“Conspicuous location” means any area in the STR that is visible to guests and in a high traffic area. We recommend posting the Home Escape Plan, Business License Number and Emergency Contact Information next to the front entrance and on the back doors of the sleeping areas. However, this location will be unique to your individual home.

All the safety requirements are listed in the Good Host Guide. Before completing your application, you are required to read and agree that you understand and will abide by the requirements of the Good Host Guide.

The Town of Drumheller has tried to strike a balance between safety and cost to the host. These recommendations are in line with the requirements of the Alberta Fire Code and best practices for commercial accommodation. If you are unable to meet the minimum requirements of the Good Host Guide you will not be issued an STR business License.

Fines for noncompliance are listed in Section 17 and Schedule “A” of the Business License Bylaw 06.23. 

An STR can operate in any approved residential home or “Dwelling Unit,” as defined in the Land Use Bylaw. If you live in an approved residential home, you will likely be able to operate an STR in this home. During your application process, administrative staff will confirm if your home is eligible to host an STR. Please note that RVs or campers located on your property cannot be used to host as STR.

Hotels, campgrounds and BnBs are not classified as STRs, and therefore, do not need to acquire an STR business license. However, they do require a general business license and are subject to different regulations and requirements. For more information, please see https://www.drumheller.ca/do-business/start-a-business. 

You will be required to provide some form of home-sharing insurance or short-tern rental insurance. Home-sharing insurance is any form of insurance that is specifically for individuals who rent out their home on a short-term basis. We recommend you speak to your insurance broker regarding this type of insurance.

Most homeowner’s insurance policies exclude coverage for any “business use” of your home. Although online brokers such as Airbnb and VRBO provide $1 million USD of liability coverage, it does not cover damage to you or your property by the guest. If a guest starts a fire in your kitchen, you could be without coverage from either your homeowner’s insurance or your online broker. Therefore, the Town requires some form of home-sharing or short-term rental insurance in order to protect people and property in the Valley.

This will depend on your application. All applicants will need to read and agree to follow the regulations of the Good Host Guide prior to being issued a license. All applicants are required to consent to a possible inspection of their STR as part of their license application. For the vast majority of applicants, an inspection will not be necessary. However, if administration receives significant complaints from guests or believes that the STR host is not meeting the safety requirements of the Bylaw and Good Host Guide, The Town reserves the right to undertake an inspection of the STR.

You must receive written approval from your landlord, condominium association, homeowner’s association or property management company, if applicable.

No, it is the responsibility of the applicant to determine if they meet the requirements to operate a STR before an application. Please review the Bylaw and the Good Host Guide thoroughly before making an application.