# Summary

- Link: https://dearsouthafrica.co.za/coct-short-term-letting/summary/
- Published: 2026-08-10T14:40:00+02:00
- Author: dearSA

_Advert_

_Advert – scroll down_

[ have your say](https://dearsouthafrica.co.za/coct-short-term-letting/#havasay)

The City of Cape Town has officially opened public consultation on the draft Short-
Term Letting By-Law, 2026. Running alongside the recently updated 2026/27 Rates 
Policy, this proposed By-Law creates a binding municipal framework to identify, 
register, and monitor all properties offered for short-term tourist accommodation
across online platforms such as Airbnb, Booking.com, and Vrbo.

While the City frames the By-Law as a necessary mechanism to ensure rate-paying 
fairness between dedicated commercial holiday lets and traditional hotels or guest
houses, the proposal introduces major regulatory and financial shifts for property
owners, property managers, and online booking platforms within Cape Town.

### _The Core Mechanism:_

[Mandatory Municipal Registration](https://dearsouthafrica.co.za/coct-short-term-letting/summary/#1738150189952-44103674-e29d31d9-c3be5520-25438952-acba)

Every property advertised on a booking platform—whether a single spare room, granny
cottage, holiday flat, guesthouse, or hotel—must obtain and display a unique, City-
issued short-term letting (STL) registration number.

[Platform Data Sharing](https://dearsouthafrica.co.za/coct-short-term-letting/summary/#1738150189975-5d0623dc-47dc31d9-c3be5520-25438952-acba)

Booking platforms are legally required to capture municipal account numbers, erf
details, physical addresses, and rolling live calendar availability/occupancy data,
and transmit this data directly to the City of Cape Town.

[The 50% Availability Threshold](https://dearsouthafrica.co.za/coct-short-term-letting/summary/#1738150854013-bb98f5fb-7d0931d9-c3be5520-25438952-acba)

If a property is listed as available for short-term letting for more than 50% of
its total annual room nights over any 365-day rolling period, the Municipal Valuer
will reclassify the property from Residential to Business & Commercial for property
rates purposes.

[Availability vs. Occupancy](https://dearsouthafrica.co.za/coct-short-term-letting/summary/#1738151172108-10076802-4d0031d9-c3be5520-25438952-acba)

The 50% calculation is based on listed calendar availability, not actual booked 
occupancy or income earned.

[Penalties & Enforcement](https://dearsouthafrica.co.za/coct-short-term-letting/summary/#1786363736195-dedc56a6-e239)

Listing an unregistered property, failing to display a valid registration number,
or continuing to list after cancellation constitutes a criminal offence liable to
a fine, imprisonment for up to 6 months, or both.

### _Core Guidance Questions for Participants (PAJA Aligned)_

When formulating your submission on the DearSouthAfrica portal, consider the following
administrative and policy questions:

[Measurement Method](https://dearsouthafrica.co.za/coct-short-term-letting/summary/#1786363799190-f960bc34-b683)

Is using listed calendar availability rather than actual booked occupancy an equitable
test for determining whether a residential home is being run as a commercial enterprise?

[Economic & Living Expenses](https://dearsouthafrica.co.za/coct-short-term-letting/summary/#1786363799237-e4d12125-91cf)

Does the 50% room-night threshold adequately protect ordinary residents who use 
short-term letting to supplement income against rising interest rates, inflation,
and municipal tariffs?

[Housing Market Impact](https://dearsouthafrica.co.za/coct-short-term-letting/summary/#1786363799289-8b0be952-cdd7)

Will shifting dedicated short-term rentals onto commercial property rates encourage
owners to return properties to the long-term residential rental market, or will 
it simply drive up tourist accommodation prices?

[Data Privacy & Oversight](https://dearsouthafrica.co.za/coct-short-term-letting/summary/#1786363799334-d56a72a2-473f)

Does compelling online platforms to transmit live account and calendar data to municipal
databases strike the correct balance between regulatory oversight and constitutional
privacy rights (POPIA)?

[Proportionately of Fines & Criminalisation](https://dearsouthafrica.co.za/coct-short-term-letting/summary/#1786363799393-73e2ede4-586f)

Are criminal penalties (fines or up to 6 months imprisonment) appropriate for administrative
non-compliance regarding listing numbers?

### _Questions and answers_

[What is the draft Short-Term Letting By-Law, 2026?](https://dearsouthafrica.co.za/coct-short-term-letting/summary/#1763554389233-fdb8fee6-6da45520-25438952-acba)

It is a new local municipal regulation proposed by the City of Cape Town to establish
a formal system for registering, monitoring, and enforcing rules on properties advertised
for temporary holiday or transient letting on online platforms.

[Why is the City introducing this By-Law now?](https://dearsouthafrica.co.za/coct-short-term-letting/summary/#1763554389265-aa09206a-77665520-25438952-acba)

The City states that many properties operating as dedicated, commercial tourist 
accommodation currently pay lower residential property rates rather than commercial
rates. This By-Law provides the data collection machinery needed to enforce Clause
4.5 of the City’s updated Rates Policy.

[How will the Short-Term Letting By-Law affect guests and tourists staying in Cape Town?](https://dearsouthafrica.co.za/coct-short-term-letting/summary/#1786364608699-b8e8205f-8481)

While the By-Law does not directly tax guests, it will increase the operating costs
for many short-term rental hosts by reclassifying them onto commercial property 
rates (which carry a tariff up to 135% higher than residential rates). Hosts are
likely to pass these costs onto guests through higher nightly rates. On the positive
side, mandatory registration will help eliminate fraudulent or fake listings, providing
better consumer protection for holidaymakers.

[How is the 50% threshold calculated?](https://dearsouthafrica.co.za/coct-short-term-letting/summary/#1763554389298-fbc55a3c-817c5520-25438952-acba)

    - Formula: % Availability = Sum of days each bedroom is listed as available 
      divided by (Number of Bedrooms times 365)
    - Example (1-Bedroom Flat): 1 X 365 = 365 total room nights. If available for
      183 nights or more, it exceeds 50%.
    - Example (4-Bedroom House): 4 X 365 = 1,460 total room nights. If 3 spare rooms
      are listed available all year round, that equals $1,095 divided by 1,460 =
      75% availability (Commercial).

[Why does the City count "availability" instead of actual "booked nights"?](https://dearsouthafrica.co.za/coct-short-term-letting/summary/#1771840733358-e4b2d08e-b2268952-acba)

The City argues that listed calendar availability reflects the owner’s legal intent
to make the property available for commercial accommodation, regardless of whether
a guest ultimately books the space.

[Will my property rates increase if I cross the 50% threshold?](https://dearsouthafrica.co.za/coct-short-term-letting/summary/#1771840767171-e194ee95-bf828952-acba)

Yes. Once reclassified as Business & Commercial, rates are levied at the commercial
tariff (historically around double the residential base rate).

[Does this By-Law change my zoning or title deeds?](https://dearsouthafrica.co.za/coct-short-term-letting/summary/#1786364501769-5db96129-2224)

No. Short-term letting remains permitted under the Municipal Planning By-Law. The
draft By-Law applies specifically to registration, data monitoring, and property
rates categorization.

[Does this affect long-term residential rentals?](https://dearsouthafrica.co.za/coct-short-term-letting/summary/#1786364533772-8e1684c9-4973)

No. Long-term rentals (where a tenant resides continuously under a lease as their
primary residence) are classified as residential properties and are exempt from 
commercial rates.

[How will Body Corporates and Homeowners Associations (HOAs) be affected?](https://dearsouthafrica.co.za/coct-short-term-letting/summary/#1786364558263-6db6ff76-1e31)

Sectional title body corporates and HOAs retain full authority to set and enforce
their own internal conduct rules regarding short-term lets. The By-Law operates 
independently at a municipal level.

[What penalties are proposed for non-compliance?](https://dearsouthafrica.co.za/coct-short-term-letting/summary/#1786364584945-e7313f93-4745)

Under Section 11, any owner, operator, or booking platform that advertises an unregistered
property, fails to display a valid registration number, or uses a cancelled registration
number is guilty of an offence and liable to a fine or imprisonment up to 6 months.

The draft By-Law

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The By-Law Executive Summary

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CoCT Frequently Asked Questions

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The CoCT Rates Policy

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### _In the News_

    - Rates Watch — [Cape Town’s draft Short-Term Letting By-law: have your say](https://www.rateswatch.co.za/news/cape-towns-draft-short-term-letting-by-law-have-your-say/)
    - CoCT — [Proposed Short-Term Letting By-law aims to improve Rates Policy compliance for commercial-scale short-term letting](https://www.capetown.gov.za/Media-and-news/Proposed%20Short-Term%20Letting%20By-law%20aims%20to%20improve%20Rates%20Policy%20compliance%20for%20commercial-scale%20short-term%20letting)
    - EWN —[ Cape Town proposed Airbnb rules: ‘Idea is right, but details need work’](https://www.ewn.co.za/2026/08/07/cape-town-proposed-airbnb-rules-idea-is-right-but-details-need-work)
    - BusinessTech — [New laws for Airbnbs and other short-term rentals in Cape Town](https://businesstech.co.za/news/trending/869234/new-laws-for-airbnbs-and-other-short-term-rentals-in-cape-town/)
    - News24 — [Cape Town eyes rates by-law for homeowners that ‘game the system’ with short-term rentals](https://www.news24.com/southafrica/news/cape-town-eyes-rates-by-law-for-homeowners-that-game-the-system-with-short-term-rentals-20260209-1154)
    - Cape {town} etc — [Cape Town moves to tighten commercial short-term letting compliance](https://www.capetownetc.com/property/city-commercial-short-term-letting/)
    - TimeOut — [City clarifies Cape Town ‘Airbnb tax’ requirements](https://www.timeout.com/cape-town/news/city-clarifies-cape-town-airbnb-tax-requirements-020926)
    - Daily Maverick — [Airbnb crackdown set to shift Cape Town’s housing market](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-08-06-foreign-visitors-vs-locals-is-hill-lewis-finally-addressing-cape-towns-inner-city-housing-squeeze/)

### _Statements and media releases_

Click on a logo to view.

Want to display your organisation’s statement? [Click here. ](https://dearsouthafrica.co.za/coct-short-term-letting/summary/ by-law@dearsouthafrica.co.za?subject=org info for CoCT by-law info page)

Close

### Cape Independence Party

 **CAPEXIT Party strongly opposes the Business Licensing Bill in its entirety on
all points:**

**Preferential licensing**
 The Bill explicitly empowers the Minister to grant licences
on a “preferential” basis and to impose conditions that advance “historically disadvantaged
individuals” or other designated groups. This is nothing less than state-sanctioned
racial and ideological discrimination dressed up as transformation policy.

CAPEXIT rejects the notion that the state has any legitimate role in deciding which
racial or social group may or may not operate a business. Such preferential licensing
will:

    - Reintroduce apartheid-era economic controls under a new ideological banner;
    - Create a cronyist system where access to markets is determined by political
      connections and demographic criteria rather than merit, innovation or consumer
      demand;
    - Discourage both domestic and foreign investment, as investors will rightly
      fear that their businesses can be denied licences or subjected to arbitrary
      conditions on racial or political grounds.

No free society licenses businesses on the basis of the owner’s skin colour or historical
narrative. This clause alone renders the entire Bill unconstitutional and morally
indefensible.

**Principles of business licensing**
 The Bill fails to articulate any coherent,
objective, or proportionate principle for requiring a general business licence in
the first place. Instead, it presumes that every enterprise – from a street vendor
to a multinational corporation – must seek prior permission from the state simply
to exist and trade.

This reverses the fundamental principle of a free economy: citizens should be free
to engage in lawful economic activity without state permission unless there is a
clear, evidence-based justification (e.g. public health, safety or environmental
protection).

The Bill provides no such justification. It is a blanket assault on economic freedom,
reminiscent of the licence-permit raj that crippled India’s economy for decades.
Requiring a general “business licence” in addition to existing sector-specific permits(
liquor, health, zoning, etc.) serves no legitimate public purpose – only the purpose
of expanding state control and creating new opportunities for rent-seeking and corruption.

**Powers of inspectors**
 The Bill grants inspectors extraordinarily broad and invasive
powers, including warrantless entry into private premises, seizure of documents 
and goods, and the ability to close businesses on the spot. These powers are ripe
for abuse and will be weaponised against political opponents, non-compliant businesses,
and any entrepreneur who refuses to pay bribes.

In a country already plagued by corruption scandals, handing unelected officials
the power to enter and shut down businesses without judicial oversight is an open
invitation to extortion. Small businesses, spaza shops, and informal traders – many
of them immigrant-owned – will be particularly vulnerable to harassment and shakedowns.
Far from promoting transformation, this will simply create a new class of “licence
inspectors” who enrich themselves at the expense of the poor.

**More red tape**
 South Africa already ranks poorly on the World Bank’s Ease of
Doing Business index, largely because of regulatory overreach. This Bill adds yet
another layer of costly, time-consuming bureaucracy on top of SARS registration,
municipal permits, B-BBEE compliance, UIF, COIDA, sector SETA requirements, and 
dozens of other licences.

The compliance costs – application fees, mandatory consultations, endless paperwork,
and the risk of arbitrary refusal – will crush startups and force thousands of small
businesses to close or remain informal. Jobs will be lost, investment will flee,
and the tax base will shrink. The Western Cape, which has consistently outperformed
the rest of South Africa precisely because of lighter and more efficient regulation,
will see its competitive advantage deliberately sabotaged by Pretoria.

**Conclusion**
 The Business Licensing Bill is not reform – it is economic sabotage.
It centralises power in the hands of an already overreaching and underperforming
national government, reintroduces racial criteria into commerce, and erects new 
barriers to entrepreneurship at a time when South Africa desperately needs growth
and jobs.

CAPEXIT calls for the complete withdrawal of this Bill. The people of the Western
Cape, and indeed all South Africans who believe in freedom, will not accept a return
to a permit-based economy controlled by bureaucrats and political gatekeepers.

For a free, prosperous, and non-racial future, this Bill must be rejected in its
entirety.