Short-Term Rentals

As a Registrant/Owner of a STRA, it is your responsibility to abide by Short Term Rental B2025-024. The Terms and Conditions, which form part of the application and by-law, are also made for easy reference to aide in safety of guests and the surrounding community.

As a renter, it’s important to ensure an understanding of some general by-laws while visiting or vacationing in Trent Lakes. The By-law Summary, including emergency contact information, shall be posted in each STRA for easy reference to guests.

All registered STRA's must display the Municipal issued registration number in all advertisements.

When submitting an application, in addition to general information such as owner information, number of guests, responsible person information, the following documents will be required:

• Floor Plans, drawn to scale with a straight edge and legible.
• Two (2) pieces of government-issued identification (one must be photo ID) must be submitted by the Owner, and this includes each listed director or officer of corporations.
• In the case of a corporation a copy of Articles of Incorporation, and if there has been a change to the list of officers and directors, a current Corporate Profile Report.
• If available a sewage system permit.

It is legislated that all waste deposited at each transfer station in the Municipality of Trent Lakes must have originated from within the Municipality. All persons depositing waste at any of the transfer stations must provide a municipally issued access card. Registered STRA owners may purchase Cottage Kits for guests to allow entry and disposal of waste.

Municipal staff will review sewage records to ensure the adequacy (i.e. handling capacity) of the sewage system to support the dwelling and the number of guests accommodated for the STRA to reduce any negative environmental implications.

In the event Municipal staff are unable to retrieve sewage system records, it will become the responsibility of the applicant to provide confirmation of an approved sewage system which may require a new sewage system install.

Applications will be reviewed in the order in which they are received. Municipal Staff will review for completeness. For any applications deemed incomplete, the applicant will be asked to provide any required information.

Once an application is deemed complete, Municipal staff will review septic records for the applicant property. Once records are retrieved and maximum occupancy of guests is confirmed, an invoice for a completed STRA registration will be sent out. It is estimated an invoice will be issued 5 business days from the date of a complete application. Once payment in full is received by the Municipality, a registration will be issued.

In the event STR complaints are brought to the Municipality’s attention, the Municipality will contact the listed responsible person as a first step to rectify any concerns. A responsible person’s contact information is provided to the Municipality to aid in rectifying concerns and the responsible person shall be able to respond within 90 minutes.

Depending on the nature or severity of the concern, some situations may be escalated directly to Municipal Law Enforcement or Ontario Provincial Police.

A main component for the accountability of STRA owners is the demerit point system. STRAs that have suspected violations will be investigated. If an STRA is found to be in contravention of any by-law, owners and/ or renters may be issued a penalty notice. Any person has the ability to dispute these through the AMPS appeal process .Only after the penalty has been confirmed through this process will STRAs be assigned demerit points. Once a property has reached four (4) demerit points, it may lead to a registration being revoked. Penalty amounts and the demerit point system are based on level of severity to aid in promoting compliance.

·         At the time of registry all future bookings and advertisements must reflect the municipally approved occupancy.

·         A registered STRA may honour bookings for 2025 that were made prior to registration.

·         A septic certificate provides maximum water disposal flow rates based on the septic tank size and bed size as calculated by the number of bedrooms and fixtures or a total floor area for dwellings with more than 5 bedrooms.

·         The Ontario Building Code regulates 2 persons per bedroom as the calculation of sizing the septic system

·       Increasing occupancy over a septic’s capacity can seriously cause negative affects environmentally and deteriorate a septic from operating as designed

·         Where increased effluent is discharged into the system that exceeds the design of the system, the operation and function of the septic tank will not properly treat the effluent and there is a higher risk of solids entering the bed which will destroy the septic bed.  This will result in system failure and the system will need to be replaced in its entirety immediately.

·         Pumping the tank more frequently is not a practical solution as this action will have negative impacts on the processing of sewage by removing the bacteria in the tank that is present to treat the effluent. This will prevent the system to operate properly where bacteria is a required part of the treatment process. 

·         Example: A septic system is designed for daily sewage flows. 12 persons of water disposal for total of 3000 L a day puts a 2700 L tank at serious risk of failure and overflowing and damaging the septic bed.

·          one single-family dwelling per property can be registered  as a STRA

·         Maximum occupancy is solely on the capabilities of the septic system based on the number of bedrooms with 2 persons per bedroom as per the Ontario Building Code.

·         The Ontario Building Code regulates 2 persons per bedroom; therefore the by-law is consistent with the Ontario Building Code for the purposes of design and operation of septic system.

·         STRA bylaw was passed in March 4^, 2025, therefore all STRA are required to be registered immediately.

·         A registered STRA may honour bookings that were made prior to registry for the 2025 season only.

·         Yes, all persons contribute to water consumption and or disposal affecting the septic.

·         As described above, the septic system is designed on two persons per bedroom.  When the toilet flushes, the same amount of water exits the building into the septic system.

·         The number of STRA are not restricted.

·         Two pieces of government ID

·         Floor Plans

·         Completed Application

·         Septic System permit; if you do not have one, please apply for a STRA, and Municipal staff will complete a record search on your behalf

·         The Property owner is required to register a STRA.

·         Having a responsible person provides for the registered STRA owner to address any concerns directly with guests prior to involvement with the Municipality

·         Single residential dwellings may be registered in any permitted residential zone

·         To register a STRA the registration fee is $350.00 for the calendar year, and renewal of $250.00 for each year after.

·         The registry is is valid for the calendar year.

·         If an application is deemed complete with all supporting documents, the application will be processed within 5 working days

·         Most concerns are related to noise emanating beyond property lines, fires outside of permitted burn times, parking issues on private roads and dogs at large.

·         You may contact Municipal Office to submit a complaint at 705-738-3800 ext. 240 or submit a complaint online during regular business hours, Monday to Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm

·         After regular business hours, you may call 705-738-3800 ext. 311.

·         Owners need to obtain a burn permit, which is good for the season, if any fires are to occur on the property – even during permitted burn times.

·         The fire pit area needs to comply with the Municipality’s Open Air Burn and Fireworks By-law

·         Owners need to ensure their guests are informed on the regulations surrounding having fires in Trent Lakes.