05/08/2026
The whole Cape Town short-term letting rule on one page.
Save this if you let a property short-term anywhere from Green Point to Simon's Town.
The test is availability, not bookings. Nights listed, divided by bedrooms multiplied by 365. Above 50% and the property is rated business and commercial.
Note where the line actually falls. A retiree letting one room in a two bedroom flat all year sits at exactly 50% and stays residential, because the threshold is more than 50%. Three rooms of four all year is 75% and does not.
The dates: policy adopted 29 June 2026, the draft by-law is open for comment until 5 October 2026, and rating changes are only foreseen from 1 July 2027. Nothing is retrospective.
Long-term rentals, your zoning, your service tariffs and your body corporate are all unaffected.
Work out your own number before you assume. If the sums stop working, a managed long-term tenancy sits outside all of it. Free 30 minute mandate review, flat 11.5%, fully inclusive.
Full breakdown: https://propertybureau.co.za/news/cape-town-short-term-letting-commercial-rates/
