Airbnb and short-term rental rules in Kings County, 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, after the municipal step: Municipal Zoning Confirmation Letter. Then you register with the Province.
Can I?
The home you live in (as Kings County’s by-law defines it)Allowed
A home you don’t live inAllowed
A suite or second unit on the lot you live onAllowed
The Municipality of the County of Kings, Nova Scotia, handles short-term rentals through its Land Use By-law rather than a licence: a residential unit may be used as accommodations in any zone that permits residential units, and only a bed and breakfast must be the owner's home. The County's one step is the Municipal Zoning Confirmation Letter.
That covers communities such as New Minas, Kingston, Port Williams and Canning. The towns inside the County's borders set their own rules: Where this guide applies.
The County's rules stop at the town lines of Wolfville, Kentville and Berwick. Its by-law repealed New Minas's own land-use by-law, so New Minas follows the County's rules. A property tax bill names the municipality. Kings County in New Brunswick or Prince Edward Island is a different place.
Is a short-term rental allowed here?
Across the unit
The home you live in (as Kings County’s by-law defines it)AllowedIn every zone that permits residential units. Run as a bed and breakfast, it must be the owner's principal residence and may use up to 4 bedrooms (5 in the Grand Pré Heritage Conservation District).
A home you don’t live inAllowedIn every zone that permits residential units, as accommodations; the by-law sets no residence test for that use.
A suite or second unit on the lot you live onAllowedIn every zone that permits residential units: an accessory dwelling or a second unit is a residential unit under the by-law.
“The use of residential units as a residential care home, a bed and breakfast operation or as accommodations shall be permitted within all zones that permit residential units.”
In plain words, the County's first test is the zone, not who lives in the home. Where a lot's zone permits residential units, the by-law lets a unit there be used as accommodations, and the zone's own setbacks, parking and sign rules still apply.
The by-law doesn't define "accommodations". The County's one municipal step for a short-term rental is its zoning confirmation letter: Municipal step.
Municipal step
Municipal step · Letter
Municipal Zoning Confirmation Letter
Issued by
Development staff, Municipality of the County of Kings
The letter is requested for one civic address. It isn't a business licence and doesn't replace provincial registration. The County issues it for the Province's short-term rental registration, so it comes first: Provincial registration.
Steps and costs
Check the zone of the lot and confirm the use with Development staff (Building & Development), Municipality of the County of Kings, 902-678-6141, contact page.
Municipal Zoning Confirmation Letter, from Development staff, Municipality of the County of Kings. 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)
Municipal Zoning Confirmation Letter
$25 application fee (one time)
$25 application fee (one time)
Provincial registration
$50 a year
$500 per unit a year
First year, municipal and provincial
$75
$525
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
None found
We found no marketing levy in Kings County’s by-laws or council notices (checked 28 Sep 2026).
This covers the County's own by-laws only. Wolfville, Kentville and Berwick decide their own levies, so a stay inside one of those towns follows that town's rules: Nearby and often confused.
Provincial registration
Register each unit with the Province before advertising it. The first application includes Kings County’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 County of Kings 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 County's Development staff whether starting to rent a home as accommodations also needs a development permit. The by-law requires a permit before the use of a building changes; the County's short-term rental page asks only for the Zoning Confirmation Letter. (checked 28 Sep 2026 · source)
Ask the County's Development staff how long the Zoning Confirmation Letter takes to issue before you set a date for your provincial registration. (checked 28 Sep 2026 · source)
Does Kings County, NS have its own short-term rental by-law?
No separate one. Short-term rentals fall under a general rule in the County's zoning (Land Use By-law (106)), and the County's municipal step is a letter, not a licence. Is a short-term rental allowed here? →
What does the County of Kings zoning confirmation letter cost?
The County's page lists a $25 application fee, paid by e-transfer, by card with a service fee, or in person at the Municipal Office. The provincial registration fee is separate, and it depends on whether the home is the one you live in, a commercial short-term rental or a personal vacation home. What it costs →
How do I apply for a Kings County zoning confirmation letter?
Apply through Development staff (Building & Development), Municipality of the County of Kings, 902-678-6141, contact page with the property's civic address, its assessment account number or property ID, the type of rental, and how many units there are and where they sit in the building, then pay the fee. Municipal step →
Does New Minas have its own land-use by-law?
Not any more. The County's current Land Use By-law repealed the New Minas Land Use By-law and zones New Minas on one of its own maps, so the County's rules and its letter apply there. Where this guide applies →