Airbnb and short-term rental rules in the District of Yarmouth, 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
It depends on the zone, and the zone is only the first test. Short-term rentals are permitted as of right in the general, low-density and multiple-unit residential, hamlet and rural zones, and by site plan approval in the Lakeside Residential zone.
Can I?
The home you live in (as District of Yarmouth’s by-law defines it)In some zones
A home you don’t live inIn some zones
A suite or second unit on the lot you live onIn some zones
Airbnb’s tax page doesn’t list District of Yarmouth (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 Yarmouth (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 Yarmouth (checked 28 Sep 2026). Unless your payout shows Booking.com collecting it, you add and remit it.
Ask the Municipality of the District of Yarmouth's Administration & Taxation office from which date the levy applies to short-term rentals.
The Municipality of the District of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, permits short-term rentals of a home the operator lives in and of one the operator doesn't in its residential, hamlet and rural zones, and its marketing levy by-law has every operator of accommodation hold a municipal registration certificate.
The District borders the Town of Yarmouth to the south, the District of Argyle to the east and the District of Clare to the north, and each has its own by-laws. A Yarmouth mailing address doesn't settle which applies; 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 Yarmouth’s by-law defines it)In some zonesThe whole home while the operator is away, or up to 4 bedrooms as rented rooms: in the Residential General, Low-density Residential, Multiple Unit Residential, Hamlet Residential, Hamlet Commercial, Rural Development and Rural Commercial zones, and by site plan approval in the Lakeside Residential zone.
A home you don’t live inIn some zonesWhole homes, condominium units, apartments, and cottages, cabins, yurts or geodesic domes that meet the Building By-law's standard for a dwelling unit: as of right in the Residential General, Low-density Residential, Multiple Unit Residential, Hamlet Residential, Hamlet Commercial, Rural Development and Rural Commercial zones; by site plan approval in the Lakeside Residential zone.
A suite or second unit on the lot you live onIn some zonesA backyard or secondary suite counts as a home the operator doesn't live in, so it follows the same zones: as of right in the zones listed for those homes, by site plan approval in the Lakeside Residential zone.
“Policy 4-74A: "Council shall, through the Land Use By-law, permit Primary and Non-Primary residence Short Term Rentals as a main use in zones that permit residential uses as a primary intent of the zone, subject to the same requirements as a dwelling." LUB s.25.4.1: "The following uses are permitted by site plan approval in the Lakeside Residential Zone ... (cA) Non-Primary Residence STRs".”
The zone decides, and a short-term rental meets the same requirements as any dwelling in that zone. In the Lakeside Residential zone, a rental of either kind, like a dwelling there, needs site plan approval: the development officer checks the plan against the by-law's criteria, such as species-at-risk habitat and a stormwater management plan.
The Commercial General zone allows only traditional tourist accommodations, such as hotels, motels and bed and breakfasts, and zones such as the industrial, airport and floodplain zones allow neither kind of short-term rental. Ask Municipality of the District of Yarmouth, Development & Inspection (Building Inspector, By-laws, Subdivisions), 902-742-9691, contact page to confirm a lot's zone.
Municipal step
Municipal step · Registration
Marketing Levy By-law registration certificate
Issued by
the Municipality of the District of Yarmouth (the by-law is administered by the Chief Administrative Officer or a designate, s.15.1)
Conditions
One certificate for each place of business
Displayed in a prominent place on the premises
Not transferable; returned to the Municipality when the business stops
Fee
No fee stated in the by-law
Applies to
Both the home you live in and a home you don’t
Term
No expiry stated; void when the business stops
Dates
Adopted 28 Feb 2024
The certificate comes from the District's marketing levy by-law, not its land-use rules, and it isn't a land-use approval. It covers every operator of accommodation the Province requires to register, whether or not the operator lives there. Before applying to the Province, ask Municipality of the District of Yarmouth, Development & Inspection (Building Inspector, By-laws, Subdivisions), 902-742-9691, 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 the District of Yarmouth, Development & Inspection (Building Inspector, By-laws, Subdivisions), 902-742-9691, contact page.
Marketing Levy By-law registration certificate, from the Municipality of the District of Yarmouth (the by-law is administered by the Chief Administrative Officer or a designate, s.15.1). Details
Register for the marketing levy and remit it on the bookings you collect it on. Details
Renew the Marketing Levy By-law registration certificate (No expiry stated; void when the business stops).
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)
Marketing Levy By-law registration certificate
No fee stated in the by-law
No fee stated in the by-law
Provincial registration
$50 a year
$500 per unit a year
First year, municipal and provincial
No total: the Marketing Levy By-law registration certificate fee has more than one amount
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 Yarmouth charges a 3% marketing levy on the purchase price of the accommodation, including optional fees and service fees but not the goods and services tax under Marketing Levy By-law M-628-23. Ask the Municipality of the District of Yarmouth's Administration & Taxation office from which date the levy applies to short-term rentals.
Who collects it
Airbnb’s tax page doesn’t list District of Yarmouth (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 Yarmouth (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 Yarmouth (checked 28 Sep 2026). Unless your payout shows Booking.com collecting it, you add and remit it.
Ask the Municipality of the District of Yarmouth's Administration & Taxation office from which date the levy applies to short-term rentals.
Remitting it
Monthly to the Municipality of the District of Yarmouth, by the 15th day of the month following the month the levy was collected. Remittance portal
Exemptions, in the by-law’s words
“a person who pays for Accommodation for which the daily Purchase Price is no more than twenty dollars ($20.00);”
“a student who is accommodated in a building owned or operated by a post-secondary educational institution while the student is registered at and attending that post-secondary educational institution;”
“a person who is accommodated in a room for more than thirty (30) consecutive days;”
“a person and the person's family, accommodated while the person or a member of the person's family is receiving medical treatment at a hospital or provincial health-care centre or is seeking specialist medical advice, provided the person provides the Operator with the following: a statement from a hospital or provincial health-care centre confirming the person or a member of the person's family is receiving medical treatment at the hospital or health-care centre and is therefore in need of Accommodation and confirming the duration of the Accommodation; or a statement from a physician licensed to practice medicine in the Province of Nova Scotia that the person or a member of the person's family is seeking specialist medical advice and is therefore in need of Accommodation and confirming the duration of the Accommodation.”
“a person and the person's family, accommodated while the person and the person's family have been temporarily displaced from their home due to a natural disaster, including high wind event, flood event, fire or other naturally occurring damaging event.”
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 Marketing Levy By-law M-628-23 charges the levy on the guest’s purchase of the stay; you collect it. The levy is separate from HST, which is a federal and provincial sales tax.
The Municipality has designated the Ontario Restaurant Hotel & Motel Association (ORHMA) to administer the levy: operators file their returns and pay through its Levy Reporting Portal. The proceeds go to the Yarmouth & Acadian Shores Tourism Association.
A stay in the Town of Yarmouth or the District of Argyle falls under that municipality's own by-laws, not this one. Nearby and often confused →
Provincial registration
Register each unit with the Province before advertising it. The first application includes District of Yarmouth’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.
The Municipality of the District of Yarmouth 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
How to apply for the registration certificate the Marketing Levy By-law requires, whether it has a fee, and how long it takes to issue: ask Administration & Taxation. The by-law itself states no fee or application route. (checked 28 Sep 2026 · source)
The date from which the levy applied to short-term rentals. The levy is in force now; before relying on a start date, ask Administration & Taxation. (checked 28 Sep 2026 · source)
Which document the Municipality issues for provincial registration, and whether starting to rent an existing home needs a development permit: ask Development & Inspection. Its permits page says permits are needed before changing the use of a building or lot. (checked 28 Sep 2026 · source)
Whether the Land Use By-law limits how many short-term rentals one lot may hold. We found no limit in the amended by-law, and no clause saying there is none: ask Development & Inspection before planning more than one on a lot. (checked 28 Sep 2026 · source)
Whether Quinan and Surette's Island are in the District of Yarmouth or the District of Argyle. The Tusket River forms part of the boundary between the two: the property tax bill names the municipality, or ask Development & Inspection. (checked 28 Sep 2026 · source)
Town of Yarmouth or District of Yarmouth: whose rules apply?
The rules of the municipality the property is in: the Town of Yarmouth and the District of Yarmouth are separate municipalities, each with its own by-laws and office. Where this guide applies →
Can I rent out a District of Yarmouth cottage I don't live in?
Yes, in the zones that permit it: the Land Use By-law counts a cottage, cabin, yurt or geodesic dome that meets the Building By-law's standard for a dwelling unit as a non-primary, or commercial, short-term rental. That label is for zoning; the Province sets its fee by its own categories, and a cottage kept mainly for the owner's own use may qualify as a personal vacation home, which pays less than a commercial short-term rental. Is a short-term rental allowed here? →What it costs →
Does the District of Yarmouth have a short-term rental licence?
No: its by-law library holds no short-term rental licence by-law, and its municipal step is the Marketing Levy By-law registration certificate, which every operator of accommodation must hold. For the land-use document the Province asks for with a first registration, ask Municipality of the District of Yarmouth, Development & Inspection (Building Inspector, By-laws, Subdivisions), 902-742-9691, contact page which one it issues. Municipal step →
Who collects the District of Yarmouth marketing levy?
The operator: the Marketing Levy By-law has the levy collected at the time of sale and remitted to the Municipality, and the Municipality's levy page says operators collect it from guests. Unless a booking platform's payout shows it collecting the levy, you add it to the guest's bill and remit it. Marketing levy →