City staff are recommending that council, during its Oct. 29 general committee meeting, consider raising fines for short-term rentals to $1,000 for major offences.
Major offences include operating a short-term rental without a licence, operating from a property that isn’t a primary residence and failing to post or advertise a licence number in an online listing.
Currently, most short-term rental penalties in Mississauga sit at $200, the lowest among comparable cities. By contrast, Toronto fines operators up to $1,000, while London’s fines reach $500, Hamilton’s $400 and Brampton’s $250, according to a city staff report.
The report also notes Mississauga’s penalty structure has not changed since the short-term rental licensing program began in 2021 .
“Given the current market, the penalties are not acting as an effective deterrent,” staff wrote. “Some operators may simply choose to absorb the penalty as a cost of doing business.”
The average nightly rate for a short-term rental in Mississauga is $133, translating to roughly $17,500 a year in earnings, based on such rentals being able to operate for no more than 180 days in a calendar year. This would make a $200 fine nearly equivalent to the cost of one night’s booking, the report added.
As of April 2025, the city counted 1,855 short-term rental listings, but only 510 licensed operators. Staff estimate the total number of listings now exceeds 2,800, underscoring the gap between enforcement and compliance.
In March, Mississauga received $4.75 million in federal funding through the Short-Term Rental Enforcement Fund, allowing the city to hire more enforcement staff, upgrade systems and enhance training. But staff say higher penalties are needed to support those improvements.
Pending council’s approval, fines for operating without a licence, failing to comply with an order, or operating from a non-principal residence would be $1,000.
Administrative offences, such as failing to display a licence number in an online listing or not providing records on request, would carry fines of $500.
City staff estimate that with the new rates, total penalties could generate about $114,000 annually, compared with $23,000 under the current system.
If approved, the changes would take effect on Nov. 17.