Coliving Compliance in Ottawa: Two Zoning By-laws at Once
- Licensing instrument
- Schedule 26
- Zoning by-laws in effect
- Two
- Schedule 26 report fee
- $69
Schemes and fees verified September 2026. Councils change these — confirm on the authority's own page before you apply. Nothing here is legal advice.
The short answer
Ottawa licenses rooming houses under Schedule 26 of its Licensing By-law, and the licence is the straightforward half. The hard half is planning: since 11 March 2026 the city has had two zoning by-laws in effect simultaneously — the old 2008-250 and the new 2026-50 — and every development and building permit application must comply with both, with the most restrictive provision of the two applying.
Ottawa is the Canadian market where the planning position is currently harder to read than the licensing one, and that is unusual. The licence itself is well-defined and administered: rooming houses are licensed under Schedule 26 of the Licensing By-law, renewed annually, with renewal conditional on the property meeting the city's standards.
The planning position is the part that is not in any coliving feasibility template. Ottawa enacted a new zoning by-law in March 2026, it was appealed, and the city's own instruction to applicants is that both the old and the new by-law apply until the Ontario Land Tribunal disposes of the appeals — with the most restrictive provisions of the two governing. An operator underwriting an Ottawa building against one of them is underwriting half the rules.
This page is drawn from the City of Ottawa's own guidance and fee schedules. It is not legal advice, and an Ottawa acquisition needs a local planner on the specific address while the two by-laws overlap.
What applies in Ottawa
Rooming house licence
RequiredRooming houses are licensed and regulated under Schedule 26 of the Licensing By-law (2002-189), added in 2008. Licences expire annually and renewal is conditional on the premises meeting the city's property standards; the Fire Chief may be required to report in writing that the premises are suitable, and the licence must be posted on site. The Chief Licence Inspector can refuse issue or renewal.
- In force ·
- Licensing By-law 2002-189, Schedule 26
Two zoning by-laws apply at once
Check before you buyThe city's instruction is explicit: "As of March 11, all development applications and building permit applications must comply with the provisions in Zoning By-law 2008-250 and the new Zoning By-law 2026-50", with the most restrictive provisions from both by-laws applying. By-law 2026-50 was enacted on 11 March 2026, carried a twenty-day appeal period from the notice of passing, and was appealed to the Ontario Land Tribunal. Until the appeals are disposed of, the overlap stands.
- In force ·
- By-law 2026-50 enacted 11 March 2026; appeal period ended mid-April 2026; under OLT appeal
Engage Ottawa (City of Ottawa) — City Council enacts new Zoning By-law 2026-50 ↗
Schedule 26 compliance report
Depends on addressBuilding Code Services charges a fee for the Schedule 26 Report on a rooming house. It is a compliance report rather than the licence itself — a distinction worth keeping straight when budgeting, because the annual licence fee is set separately and we have not found it published in a primary city source. Ask Licensing directly rather than working from a figure you saw quoted somewhere.
- Cost ·
- $69 — Schedule 26 Report, Rooming House (Building Code Services fee schedule, effective 1 January 2026)
City of Ottawa — Building Code Services Fee Schedule, effective 1 January 2026 (PDF) ↗
Rental Housing Property Management By-law
RequiredBy-law 2020-255 regulates the management of residential rental properties in Ottawa and came into force on 31 August 2021. Among other duties it requires landlords to give every tenant an information-for-tenants document. It applies alongside the rooming house licence rather than instead of it.
- In force ·
- In force 31 August 2021
City of Ottawa — Rental Housing Property Management By-law (2020-255), tenant guide (PDF) ↗
Property standards, heat and maintenance by-laws
RequiredRenewal of a Schedule 26 licence turns on property standards compliance, so the supporting by-laws are operational rather than background: Property Standards (2013-416) sets minimum maintenance standards, Heat (2010-210) governs adequate heat in rented accommodation, Property Maintenance (2005-208) covers refuse, debris and snow clearing.
City of Ottawa — tenant guide listing the by-laws that apply to rental housing (PDF) ↗
Licensing by-law review
Check before you buyThe city has had a rooming house licensing by-law review running. A market where both the zoning by-law and the licensing by-law are in motion at the same time is one to re-check immediately before completion rather than at offer stage.
Local trap
The trap: underwriting against one zoning by-law
Almost every piece of Ottawa planning advice written before 2026 refers to By-law 2008-250, and almost every piece written since refers to 2026-50. Both are incomplete. Since 11 March 2026 the city has required applications to satisfy both, and where they differ, the more restrictive provision governs.
That is a genuinely unusual position and it has a specific consequence for underwriting: you cannot take the more permissive of two readings, which is exactly what a model built from a single source will do by accident. If the new by-law permits something the old one does not, the old one still binds you until the Tribunal disposes of the appeals. The permissive headline — more units allowed as of right — is the half that may not yet help you.
Our own rule for Ottawa while the overlap lasts, and this is our judgement rather than city guidance: get a written zoning opinion that addresses both by-laws explicitly and names which provision is the binding one for your scheme. An opinion that cites only one of them is not an opinion about Ottawa in 2026.
The second, quieter trap is the licence renewal. It is annual and conditional on property standards, and the Fire Chief may be asked to confirm suitability in writing. A building that passes at licensing and drifts operationally does not fail at inspection — it fails at renewal, which is a very different problem when the rooms are occupied.
Before you commit capital in Ottawa
- 01Commission a zoning opinion that addresses By-law 2008-250 and By-law 2026-50 together, and states which is the binding provision for your scheme.
- 02Assume the more restrictive of the two by-laws until the Ontario Land Tribunal disposes of the appeals. Do not underwrite on the permissive reading.
- 03Confirm the Schedule 26 licence route and the current annual fee with Licensing directly — the report fee and the licence fee are separate things.
- 04Budget renewal as an annual operating obligation tied to property standards, not as an administrative formality.
- 05Check whether a Fire Chief report will be required for your building type, and when in the sequence it lands.
- 06Set up the tenant-information duty under By-law 2020-255 as part of the onboarding pack rather than an afterthought.
- 07Re-check both the zoning position and the licensing by-law review immediately before completion. Two instruments in motion at once is the definition of a moving target.
Sources
Statutory thresholds link to the legislation itself. Fees and scheme dates were verified September 2026 and change without much notice — the authority's own page is the live record.
- Engage Ottawa (City of Ottawa) — City Council enacts new Zoning By-law 2026-50: enactment 11 March 2026, twenty-day appeal period, and the instruction that applications must comply with both 2008-250 and 2026-50 with the most restrictive provisions applying
- City of Ottawa — Rental Housing Property Management By-law: a guide for tenants (PDF). Source for Schedule 26 as the rooming house licensing instrument, By-law 2020-255 and the supporting property standards, heat and maintenance by-laws
- City of Ottawa — Building Code Services Fee Schedule, effective 1 January 2026 (PDF): Schedule 26 Report, Rooming House, $69
- City of Ottawa — Rooming House Licensing By-law Review
- City of Ottawa — Licensing By-law (No. 2002-189)
Frequently asked questions
Does Ottawa require a licence for a rooming house?+
Yes. Rooming houses are licensed under Schedule 26 of the Licensing By-law (2002-189), which was added in 2008. Licences expire annually and renewal depends on the property meeting the city's standards, with the Fire Chief potentially required to confirm suitability in writing.
Why do two zoning by-laws apply in Ottawa?+
The city enacted a new Zoning By-law, 2026-50, on 11 March 2026. It was appealed to the Ontario Land Tribunal, and until the appeals are disposed of the city requires applications to comply with both 2026-50 and the previous 2008-250, with the most restrictive provisions of the two applying.
Which by-law wins when the two conflict?+
The more restrictive one. That is the city's own instruction to applicants, and it is the reason underwriting against a single by-law understates your constraints.
What does a rooming house licence cost in Ottawa?+
We have not found the annual licence fee published in a primary City of Ottawa source, so we are not going to quote one. What is published is the Schedule 26 Report fee for a rooming house, $69 under the Building Code Services fee schedule effective 1 January 2026 — that is a compliance report, not the licence. Confirm the licence fee with Licensing.
Is the Ottawa position likely to change?+
Yes, on two fronts at once. The new zoning by-law is under appeal at the Ontario Land Tribunal, and the city has had a review of the rooming house licensing by-law running. Anything you confirm at offer stage should be re-confirmed before completion.
The market
Coliving in Ottawa — costs and neighbourhoods →
The national picture
Canada market dossier →
Other cities
Why we publish this
We wrote this because the licence decides what your building is allowed to be before any marketing question exists — and we have had to work that out, city by city, for the operators we grow.
StartColiving is a marketing and advisory team working only in coliving — 18+ brands over 8+ years, plus a marketplace of our own. The research on this site is free and stays free; it is how we show our working rather than a lead magnet with a form in front of it.