Airbnb and short-term rental rules in the District of Digby, Nova Scotia
Written by Casa Scotia, a Nova Scotia short-term rental manager. Not affiliated with any municipality or the Province. How we keep our interest out of it →
At a glance
Generally yes. District of Digby’s land-use rules allow short-term rentals, and we found no separate municipal step. A development or building permit can still apply, and every host registers with the Province.
Can I?
The home you live in (as District of Digby’s by-law defines it)Ask the Municipality of the District of Digby's Development Officer under which use a whole-home short-term rental by an owner who does not live there is filed, and whether a development permit is needed to start one.
A home you don’t live inAsk the Municipality of the District of Digby's Development Officer under which use a whole-home short-term rental by an owner who does not live there is filed, and whether a development permit is needed to start one.
A suite or second unit on the lot you live onAsk the Municipality of the District of Digby's Development Officer under which use a whole-home short-term rental by an owner who does not live there is filed, and whether a development permit is needed to start one.
Ask Municipality of Digby, Director of Municipal Services & Development Officer, 902-245-4046, contact page which document it issues for provincial registration.
The Municipality of the District of Digby, Nova Scotia, has a Land Use By-law that names short-term rentals, calling the use an "AirBnB" run by a resident owner, while the Conway Area, the Digby Wellfield Protection Area and the Digby Municipal Airport area each have a land-use by-law of their own.
Its listed communities include Weymouth, Sandy Cove, Tiverton, Freeport and Westport, but it does not include the Town of Digby, a separate municipality with its own rules: check the Town's requirements. Where this guide applies →
Where this guide applies
Community
What to check
Bear River
Straddles Municipality of the County of Annapolis
Which municipality a property is in depends on where its parcel (PID) sits, not on the community name or the mailing address. The property tax bill shows it; either office can confirm it.
The Town of Digby is a separate municipality with its own by-laws, and neither a community name nor a mailing address settles which municipality a parcel is in. Around Bear River, check which side of the Annapolis County line the parcel is on: the property tax bill names the municipality.
Is a short-term rental allowed here?
Across the unit
The home you live in (as District of Digby’s by-law defines it)Ask the Municipality of the District of Digby's Development Officer under which use a whole-home short-term rental by an owner who does not live there is filed, and whether a development permit is needed to start one.
A home you don’t live inAsk the Municipality of the District of Digby's Development Officer under which use a whole-home short-term rental by an owner who does not live there is filed, and whether a development permit is needed to start one.
A suite or second unit on the lot you live onAsk the Municipality of the District of Digby's Development Officer under which use a whole-home short-term rental by an owner who does not live there is filed, and whether a development permit is needed to start one.
Closest defined use: Tourist Establishment (def. 142): "a building or buildings that are used to accommodate the travelling public for gain or profit, by supplying them with sleeping accommodation, with or without meals, and shall include a guest home, tourist cabins, resort, a motel, a hotel or an "Airbnb"." Schedule B lists it, not by name, as "Tourist Accommodation and Attractions (Resort, cabins)" or "Commercial Accommodation (Hotel, motel)", both Y in GDA, UDA and VA.
“131. Short Term Rental, also referred to as "AirBnB", means a dwelling or part of a dwelling where the resident owner supplies temporary accommodation for compensation to the travelling or vacationing public for a period of less than 30 days. ... 142. Tourist Establishment means a building or buildings that are used to accommodate the travelling public for gain or profit, by supplying them with sleeping accommodation, with or without meals, and shall include a guest home, tourist cabins, resort, a motel, a hotel or an "Airbnb". ... Schedule B, Permitted Uses within Zones: Short Term Rental/ "airBnB" Y Y Y; Tourist Accommodation and Attractions (Resort, cabins) Y Y Y”
The main Land Use By-law covers the whole District except the Conway Area, the Digby Wellfield Protection Area and the Digby Municipal Airport area. Ask Municipality of Digby, Director of Municipal Services & Development Officer, 902-245-4046, contact page which by-law and which zone cover a lot before relying on either.
None of those three by-laws defines a short-term rental, so in those areas ask the Development Officer how a rental is classed, and ask for the answer in writing.
Municipal step
Ask Municipality of Digby, Director of Municipal Services & Development Officer, 902-245-4046, contact page which document it issues for provincial registration.
Steps and costs
Check the zone of the lot and confirm the use with Municipality of Digby, Director of Municipal Services & Development Officer, 902-245-4046, contact page.
Ask Municipality of Digby, Director of Municipal Services & Development Officer, 902-245-4046, contact page which document it issues for provincial registration.Details
Register for the marketing levy and remit it on the bookings you collect it on. Details
Then register each unit with the Province and show the number on every listing. The provincial checklist →
What it costs an owner
Cost
The home you live in
Commercial short-term rental (a home you don’t live in)
Provincial registration
$50 a year
$500 per unit a year
First year, municipal and provincial
$50
$500
On a phone, swipe the table sideways to see both columns.
A personal vacation home (a home you don’t live in, kept mainly for your own use; 150 rental days per registration year; an applicant may register only one personal vacation home) registers as a traditional tourist accommodation instead: $50, or $150 with five or more bedrooms a year (Regulations s.2(1), s.14).
The levy and HST are charged to guests, not owners; they are in Marketing levy.
Marketing levy
In force
The Municipality of the District of Digby charges a 3% marketing levy on the purchase price of overnight accommodations (rooms or rental units) for stays of thirty consecutive days or less, in force since 1 Feb 2024 under null.
Who collects it
Airbnb’s tax page doesn’t list District of Digby (checked 28 Sep 2026). Unless your payout shows Airbnb collecting it, you add and remit it.
Vrbo’s tax page doesn’t list District of Digby (checked 28 Sep 2026). Unless your payout shows Vrbo collecting it, you add and remit it.
Booking.com’s tax page doesn’t list District of Digby (checked 28 Sep 2026). Unless your payout shows Booking.com collecting it, you add and remit it.
On direct bookings, you add it to the guest’s bill and remit it (as of 28 Sep 2026)
Charged to guests, not an owner cost
The levy and HST (14%) are added to the guest’s bill. HST is charged on the levy as well as on the room: a municipal levy is part of the price HST applies to, and no Nova Scotia marketing levy is on the federal list of levies left out of that price. The levy is separate from HST, which is a federal and provincial sales tax.
The Municipality's levy page also says accommodation operators must register with the Municipality.
The Town of Digby has its own levy under its own by-law: a stay in the Town falls under the Town's rules, not this one. Nearby and often confused →
Provincial registration
Register each unit with the Province before advertising it. The first application includes District of Digby’s land-use document; a renewal doesn’t need it again unless the Province asks.
Fee here: $50 a year for the home you live in; $500 per unit a year for a commercial short-term rental (a home you don’t live in); a personal vacation home pays the traditional rate, $50 or $150.
Show the registration number on every listing, and renew by April 1 each year.
Municipality of the District of Digby is in tier 2 of the Province's Schedule A. A commercial short-term rental (a home you don't live in) pays the tier 2 fee per unit each year. A personal vacation home, kept mainly for its owner's use, pays the lower traditional rate, and a primary residence the primary-residence fee.
Source · checked 28 Sep 2026 · Confirmed in source
What we haven't confirmed yet
Ask the Development Officer under which use a whole home rented by an owner who does not live there is filed, and whether a development permit is needed to start it. (checked 6 Oct 2026 · source)
Ask the Development Officer on what date the current Land Use By-law took effect; the instrument does not print it. (checked 6 Oct 2026 · source)
Ask the Development Officer how the Conway Area, Digby Wellfield and Digby Municipal Airport by-laws treat a short-term rental; the Conway by-law permits an undefined tourist home. (checked 6 Oct 2026 · source)
Can I run an Airbnb on Digby Neck, Long Island or Brier Island?
The communities we list for the District include Sandy Cove, Tiverton, Freeport, Westport and Brier Island; the property tax bill names the municipality a parcel is in. The District's Land Use By-law defines a short-term rental as a dwelling where the resident owner hosts the guests. For a whole home the owner doesn't live in, ask Municipality of Digby, Director of Municipal Services & Development Officer, 902-245-4046, contact page under which use it is filed and whether a development permit is needed to start. Is a short-term rental allowed here? →
Does the District of Digby pay the Town of Digby's lower registration fee?
No: the Province's Schedule A lists the Municipality of the County of Digby and the Town of Digby in different tiers, and a commercial short-term rental here pays $500 per unit a year. A personal vacation home, kept mainly for the owner's own use, pays the lower traditional rate instead. What it costs →
Who collects the District of Digby marketing levy?
The operator: the Municipality's levy page says accommodation operators collect it at the time of purchase and remit it to the Municipality. Whether Airbnb, Vrbo or Booking.com collect it for the Municipality isn't confirmed: check each platform's tax page and your payout. Marketing levy →
Town of Digby or District of Digby: whose rules apply?
The rules of the municipality the property is in: the Town of Digby and the District of Digby are separate municipalities, each with its own land-use by-law, marketing levy and office. Where this guide applies →