Comment on the City’s draft Short-Term Letting By-law

05 August 2026

5 August – 5 October 2026

The proposed By-law aims to improve compliance with the City’s existing Rates Policy, which requires that commercial property rates be paid for premises used for commercial short-term letting.

Commercial rates do not apply to:

• people part-time letting some of their residence to supplement income, or
• long-term rentals, as these properties are considered the primary residence of the tenant.

To distinguish between properties used for short-term letting, the City recently amended its Rates Policy, following a public participation process.

Amendments included:

• Properties used for short-term letting for 50% or less of their annual room-night capacity may continue to be categorised as residential properties, provided it meets the City’s Rates Policy requirements.
• Properties used for short-term letting for more than 50% of their annual room-night capacity will be regarded as commercial accommodation and will be rated accordingly.

In summary, the By-law will require:

• Booking platforms, owners and operators to provide information for registration and to share data on listing availability and occupancy to support the City’s property rating categorisation process;
• All properties listed on any booking platform to be registered with the City;
• That a City-issued STL registration number be displayed on all listings advertised on a booking platform; and
• Booking platforms, owners and operators to remove any listing that does not display a City-issued STL registration number.

The proposed By-law will apply to:

• owners and operators of properties listed on a booking platform; and
• booking platforms that advertise short-term letting accommodation.

Any changes to property rating categories will take place from 1 July 2027.

In terms of section 17 of the Local Government: Municipal Systems Act, Act 32 of 2000, you can submit comments to the municipality in respect of the draft by-law.

Access the documents:

• Advert (English | Afrikaans | isiXhosa)
• Draft Short-term Letting By-law
• Executive Summary
• Frequently Asked Questions

​​​​​​​​​​Comment period

Submit your comments from 5 August - 5 October 2026.

​​​​​​​​​​Submit your comment

You may submit your comments via the following channels:

Online
Submit your comment online.

Email
Email your comments to STL@capetown.gov.za.

Delivery
Deliver your written comments by hand to your local library or Subcouncil office.

For more information and general enquiries:

Email:
STL@capetown.gov.za