More Than a Year Fighting for Justice — And the City Still Refuses to Implement Its Own Appeals Decision.

I am sharing this because what happened to me is no longer simply about one permit. It raises a much bigger question about accountability within the City of Ottawa’s own appeals process.

A timeline of what happened

September 2025 — The City revoked my STR (Short Term Rental) permit, alleging that the property might not qualify as my primary residence. Along with a PON (Provincial Offence Notice).

I disagreed with the decision and exercised my legal right to appeal.

What followed was more than a year of fighting to prove my case and to have the City’s decision properly reviewed.

June 23, 2026 —  After waiting for 10 months, I finally appeared before the Property Standards and License Appeals Committee for my appeal hearing.

July 3, 2026 — The Committee issued its written decision in my favour. The decision provided that the permit would be issued once the outstanding PON was resolved.

September 10, 2026 — the court date for the PON, and the court officially withdrew the PON on that day. It has been a whole year since my licence was suspended. Coincidentally, my licence expired on the exact day of the PON hearing; however, I am grateful that the panel decided to grant a corresponding extension to its validity.

September 14, 2026 —  I contacted the Committee Coordinator, AJ, who confirmed that the permit reissuance would be coordinated once the PON was resolved. The following day, AJ confirmed the file had been forwarded to the appropriate parties for immediate contact.

Over the next 10 days, I was completely met with silence. Despite sending two follow-up emails, AJ stopped replying entirely. Left with no choice, I went to the Business Licensing office in person. The front desk staff informed me that Tania McCumber was AJ’s manager and instructed me to contact her directly.

September 25, 2026 —  Upon emailing Tania, she claimed that my permit had expired during the waiting period and that I must reapply. I pointed out that the Panel’s Order explicitly states: "The term of the permit shall be extended for a period of time equal to that between the date of the revocation and the date on which the STR Host Permit is reissued." Despite this binding order, Tania flatly refused, stating their department simply does not grant extensions.

 

Instead of justice, I am now facing another refusal.

The City has refused to implement the decision of its own Appeals Committee.

This is what I find most difficult to understand.

The City’s own Short-Term Rental By-law states in Section 45(11):

“The Property Standards and License Appeals Committee’s decision shall be final and binding.”

The by-law also provides that when the Committee’s decision is to grant the permit, the permit shall be issued.

So after more than a year of fighting this issue, I am left asking:

What is the purpose of an appeal if the City can simply refuse to implement the final decision?

I did not bypass the City’s process.

I used the process the City itself provided.

I attended the hearing.

I presented my evidence.

I waited for the decision.

The Committee made its decision.

The outstanding condition was resolved.

And yet the matter is still not over because the City is now refusing to implement that decision.

This is no longer simply about whether my permit should have been revoked in the first place.

It is about a much more fundamental question:

Can a City department refuse to implement a decision that the City’s own by-law expressly describes as “final and binding”?

I have documentation supporting every stage of this timeline, including the revocation, the appeal, the Committee’s written decision, the resolution of the outstanding PON, and my subsequent correspondence with the City.

I am sharing this publicly because after more than a year of fighting for what I believed was a fair decision, I still do not have the result that the Appeals Committee decided I should receive.

I am asking the City of Ottawa to explain:

• Why is the Committee’s decision not being implemented?
• What legal authority allows the City to refuse to implement a “final and binding” decision?
• Who has the authority to refuse or override the Committee’s decision?
• If the final decision of an Appeals Committee can be refused, what protection does the appeal process actually provide to residents?

I believe residents deserve an answer.

How can a local small businesses survive in such a ruthless and unfair administrative enforcement environment?

The Bigger Picture: Ottawa is Ruining Local Small Businesses

My story is just the tip of the iceberg. Evidence from the Ottawa Short-Term Rental (STR) community exposes a broken, unfair administrative system.

Here is what local appellants and operators are dealing with right now:

Endless Waiting Lists: While the City is fast to block permits and kill livelihoods, they force residents into an administrative black hole. Most appellants have been left waiting more than 10 months just to get a hearing date, completely breaking the City's original 3-month promise.

 

Line-Cutting & Deflection: The City’s policy states that hearings are scheduled strictly in chronological order. Yet, a case from October 2025 was mysteriously fast-tracked within months, while dozens of families who appealed way before that were left stranded. When other appellants emailed to protest, Program Manager Tania McCumber dodged the issue entirely with a scripted, generic response, trying to sweep this blatant unfairness under the rug.

 

Unwarranted Bans & Trapping Owners for $5,000: The City is arbitrarily blocking short-term rental accounts without proper logic. By law, medium-to-long-term rentals (30+ days) do not even require an STR permit. Yet, the City forced platforms to ban accounts completely, stopping owners from doing legal medium-term rentals. This unwarranted ban forced properties to sit empty—and then the City turns around and slaps the owner with a $5,000 Vacant Property Tax bill for that exact emptiness!

This leaves everyone asking: What is the City’s true stance? Are they protecting short-term rentals, supporting long-term housing, or simply abusing their authority to target and exploit everyday citizens?

The "Rooming House" Trap (Illegal Contradictions): In another shocking case, the City abruptly revoked an appellant's permit, accusing them of operating an illegal "rooming house" just for having guests in more than 3 bedrooms. This is completely absurd. The City’s own official permit clearly stated the property was allowed up to 10 occupants, and the owner always operated within that limit. Furthermore, local lawyers pointed out that the By-law itself explicitly states short-term rentals are NOT rooming houses or hotels. The City issued a 10-person permit, but then punished the owner for using it—a pure administrative trap.
 

Ignoring Legal Warnings: The community finally hit a breaking point in May 2026. A group of 15 affected appellants pitched in to hire an administrative lawyer to fight these unfair delays. A formal legal demand was sent to the Mayor, City Council, and the By-law Director. To this day, the City has completely ignored the lawyers, offering zero reply. 

 

We Demand a Fair and Just City Government

This is no longer about technical software or system codes. This is about a ruthless and unfair enforcement system that is killing local small businesses.

How can local small businesses survive when city staff can ignore legal counsel, manipulate the queue, freeze livelihoods without due process, and openly refuse to follow a final court order?

We are not asking for special favors. We want a clean, transparent, and fair city government. It is time to hold the City of Ottawa accountable.
 

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