Edmonton city council passes tighter rules on lodging houses
Posted September 22, 2026 5:46 pm.
Edmonton city councillors passed new rules on lodging houses in the city.
Mayor Andrew Knack says the housing does have a place in increasing housing density in Edmonton, but those living nearby say it’s a matter of safety.
“If you had a multi-unit development, say an eight-unit development that each had three bedrooms, and they’re being rented in the form of a lodging house, that’s essentially 24 separate units,” said Knack.
On Tuesday, city leaders heard from residents with concerns over rooms in buildings like townhouses, for instance, being rented individually, and in some cases for a short term.
Knack and others on council voted to tighten up the definition of a lodging house, which now means three or more locked rooms being rented out individually with their own storage or separate appliances.
Council also passed restrictions on lodging in row houses and multi-unit housing, as well as capping the number rooms in a lodging house at eight per lot in small-scale residential.
Mayor Knack explained there’s a difference between roommates living in a house together and a lodging house.
“There’s a difference between an eight-unit, three-bedroom-per-unit home that might have family, or three people who know each other renting each individually bedrooms, compared to 24 individual units where you can see more food delivery and overall more use in the area.”
Jan Hardstaff, a member of the Residential Infill Working Group, says while she’s not against lodging houses, her and her neighbours in Parkallen have safety concerns with homes not properly built for lodging housing.
“These are very large buildings,” Hardstaff told CityNews. “If they’re not built fire-safe, they are huge combustible sources of material.”
Hardstaff says while she supports council’s changes, she wants to see more done for enforcement against illegal lodging houses, hoping the bylaw passed Tuesday will force home builders to design and build proper lodging housing before it’s rented out.
“You have neighbours policing these buildings and it just creates uncertainty and impacts and it puts it on neighbours,” she said. “And it shouldn’t be on neighbours; this should be dealt with at the permitting stage.”
Councillors also heard a number of concerns about infill housing being used as short-term rentals, with Mayor Knack telling CityNews councillors will be discussing that in-depth in November.
