Will your Cape Town short-term let pay commercial rates?
From 1 July 2027 the City plans to move properties that are listed for short-term letting more than half the year onto commercial property rates. Enter your property to see which side of the line you’re on and what it would cost.
Rates calculator
- Residential rates
- Commercial rates
- Difference
Uses the City’s 2026/27 tariffs: 0.7010c in the rand residential with the first R620 000 rates-free on homes valued up to R8 million, and 1.6910c commercial with no reduction. Levies, CID charges and services aren’t included.
Short-term or a long-term tenant
Rates are one cost among several. Put in your own numbers to see what each route leaves you with in a year. The figures below are examples, so replace them with yours.
How the 50% rule works
Taken from the City of Cape Town’s own explanation of its 2026/27 Rates Policy.
What is a room night?
Multiply your bedrooms by 365. A one-bedroom flat has 365 room nights a year and a four-bedroom house has 1 460. Add up the nights each bedroom is listed, divide by that total, and you have your percentage. Above 50% is commercial. Exactly 50% is still residential.
Is it nights listed or nights booked?
Listed. The City says it will measure availability on booking platforms, not how many nights guests stayed. An open calendar with few bookings still counts against you.
What if nobody lives in the property?
The 50% allowance is described for primary residences. A property that isn’t anyone’s primary residence and is used for commercial short-term letting is treated as commercial in its own right. If that’s you and you’re under 50%, ask the City how your property will be classified.
Do long-term rentals count?
No. A home let on a long-term lease stays residential because it is the tenant’s primary residence.
I have a house with a cottage. How is that counted?
Freehold properties are classified as a whole, so bedrooms in the main house and the cottage are counted together. Sectional title units are assessed one unit at a time.
When does it start, and can it be reversed?
The City expects to start moving properties across from 1 July 2027, looking at any rolling 365 days. A property stays commercial until its availability falls back below 50% over a 365-day period.
Do I need to register?
A draft Short-Term Letting By-law proposes that every property on a booking platform display a City registration number, with platforms sharing availability data. It was still a draft when this page was last checked, so details may change.
Talk to a letting specialist
Tell us which way you’re leaning and we’ll pass your details to one Cape Town agency that does that kind of letting. They contact you directly. It costs you nothing.
How this site is paid for: agencies pay us a flat monthly fee to receive enquiries. We don’t take a share of rent or commission, and the calculator gives the same answer whoever you are.