Canton, OH Short-Term Rentals: Short-Term Rental Permits (2026)

Canton's zoning definition at 1123.462, cross-referenced in 759.01(c), defines Limited Lodging as the conditional or permitted use of all or part of a dwelling unit for rental or temporary occupancy for dwelling, sleeping or lodging, expressly including bookings arranged through a booking agent in connection with an Airbnb-type site, other advertising, or a bed-and-breakfast arrangement. Chapter 759 folds Limited Lodging into the same licensing scheme as rooming houses, lodging houses and residential social service facilities. Section 759.03(a) bars anyone (owner, lessor, lessee or agent) from operating a licensed use within the City without first getting a license from the Director of Public Safety, issued annually and expiring every June 30.

The fee under 759.03(b) is scaled to occupancy: $25 for five or fewer occupants, $100 for more than five but fewer than twenty, $250 for twenty through fifty, and $500 for more than fifty. Section 759.04(b) also blocks the license unless the operator is current on City transient lodging taxes and City income taxes, backed by a certificate of compliance from the Canton Income Tax Department. Under 759.13, a multi-family dwelling used for limited lodging must have working smoke detectors near every sleeping area, at least one carbon monoxide detector near the center of the unit, and the owner must give lodgers a contact number for complaints and tell them the trash and recycling collection days. The license must be displayed under 759.05 and cannot be transferred under 759.07.