Airbnb and short-term rental rules in Nova Scotia

Is Airbnb legal in Nova Scotia?

Yes, once each unit is registered with the Province, and where the municipality’s land-use by-law allows a short-term rental at that address.

Register

• Every host registers each unit with the Province before advertising it
• $50 a year for the home you live in; $240 to $2,000 per unit for a commercial short-term rental

Registration and fees →

Before you apply

• A municipal land-use document is required with every new application

Municipal compliance →

Each year

• Renew by April 1 each year, and show the registration number on every listing

Renewing →

Short-term means

• 28 consecutive days or less

The definition →

General information, not advice. How we check →

The Province of Nova Scotia requires every short-term rental host, on Airbnb, Vrbo or any other channel, to register each accommodation with its Short-term Rentals Registry before operating or advertising it. The rules come from the Short-term Rentals Registration Act (formerly the Tourist Accommodations Registration Act) and its Regulations.

Registration doesn't decide whether a short-term rental is allowed at a particular address: the municipality's land-use by-law does, and some municipalities add a licence, a permit or a levy of their own. Rules by municipality covers each one, and the provincial checklist puts both levels in order.

What counts as a short-term rental

A short-term rental is roofed accommodation, such as a home, part of a home, a cottage or a cabin, let to one party at a time for payment, for no longer than the number of consecutive days the regulations set. A host offers it; a platform operator takes bookings for it online for payment.

Short-term rental

The provision of roofed accommodation to a single party or group, for payment or compensation, for a duration set by regulation — currently 28 consecutive days or less.

How long

28 consecutive days or less

Host

A person who carries on the business of offering short-term rental of roofed accommodation to the public in the Province.

Platform operator

A person who facilitates or brokers reservations for short-term rentals of roofed accommodation via the internet and receives payment, compensation or any other financial benefit in connection with a person making or completing such a reservation.

Personal vacation home

150 rental days per registration year; an applicant may register only one personal vacation home

Nova Scotia Legislature · checked 27 Sep 2026 · Confirmed in source

Registering with the Province

Every host and every platform operator must register with the Province before operating or advertising a short-term rental. They are two separate duties under the Short-term Rentals Registration Act.

On a phone, swipe the table sideways to see where each tier applies.

None — fees are for the Registration Year, are not prorated, and are non-refundable.

A personal vacation home is 150 rental days per registration year; an applicant may register only one personal vacation home.

For a commercial short-term rental (a home that isn't the host's primary residence), the applicant must own the property. In a condominium, a non-owner may apply with written consent from both the owner and the condominium board; an owner needs the board's written consent.

The registration number must appear on every online advertisement for the accommodation, and platform operators must make sure every listing shows a valid number, except on platforms that list only hotels or motels.

Province of Nova Scotia · checked 27 Sep 2026 · Confirmed in source

The provincial checklist

1. Get the municipality's proof that the accommodation complies with its land-use by-law. One document per property, unless the document lists every address. A municipality that doesn't regulate short-term rentals can give a standard letter saying so.
2. Complete any municipal step and levy registration the municipality requires. Some municipalities also require a licence or other step, or charge a marketing levy. Each unit guide names its own.
3. Gather the documents for the category. Home you live in: two proofs of primary residence. Personal vacation home: two proofs it isn't your primary residence. Tenant: the property owner's consent form. Condominium: the condo board's consent form. Hosts living outside Nova Scotia: an office or representative in the Province.
4. Apply to the Short-term Rentals Registry, one application per accommodation. Online, in person at an Access Nova Scotia office, or by mail. The application number is not a registration number and can't be used to advertise.
5. Wait for the review. The Guide says about 10 business days; the registration page says 2 to 3 weeks to get a number. Longer if information is missing.
6. Pay the fee within 30 days of the approval e-mail. Unpaid after 30 days, the application is denied. No advertising or operating until the fee is paid.
7. Show the registration number on every online listing. The number arrives once the fee is paid.
8. Report changes within 10 days, and keep complying with municipal by-laws. Both are terms of every registration.
9. Renew by 1 April each year. Confirm the registered information is unchanged, or disclose the change, and pay the fee. A registration can't be transferred to a new owner.

Renewing each year

Renew each registration by April 1 each year.

Registration must be renewed every year by the Province's deadline. The Registry is expected to send a reminder, but renewing on time is the host's responsibility either way.

Province of Nova Scotia · checked 27 Sep 2026 · Confirmed in source

Municipal land-use compliance

Every new registration, in every category, includes one document from the municipality showing the rental complies with its land-use by-law. The municipality chooses the document; where it has no by-law on short-term rentals, a standard letter saying so is accepted. A renewal doesn't need it again unless the Registrar asks.

“All applicants are required to provide proof of compliance when submitting an application. ... If your municipality does not regulate short-term accommodations/rentals a standard letter ... indicating they do not regulate the use is considered acceptable.”

Proof of municipal compliance is required with every new application. Each municipality’s document, by municipality →

Province of Nova Scotia · checked 28 Sep 2026 · Confirmed in source

Platforms' duties

Platform operators must register with the Province, keep a record of every booking for the period the regulations set, show a valid host registration number on every listing, give the records to the Minister on request and remove a listing when the Minister asks.

A platform operator’s own registration costs $500 a year.

Province of Nova Scotia · checked 27 Sep 2026 · Confirmed in source

HST

HST applies to short-term stays of less than a month, on the nightly rate, the cleaning fee and the platform's service fees. A municipal marketing levy is part of the price HST is charged on as well. The rate is 14%.

A host who makes taxable supplies must register for a GST/HST account unless they are a small supplier, whose taxable supplies stay within the threshold over four consecutive calendar quarters. Passing the threshold in a single calendar quarter ends small-supplier status at once.

HST is charged on a municipal marketing levy as well as on the room: the 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.

Canada Revenue Agency · checked 27 Sep 2026 · Confirmed in source

When to register for and start charging the GST/HST (Canada Revenue Agency) · checked 28 Sep 2026 · Confirmed in source

Safety

Occupancy reporting for Tourism Nova Scotia listings

Monthly occupancy reporting to Tourism Nova Scotia binds only accommodations listed in Tourism Nova Scotia's own marketing channels, a separate and optional listing. Registering with the Province doesn't by itself create a reporting duty.

Tourism Nova Scotia · checked 28 Sep 2026 · Confirmed in source

Penalties

A court fine, on conviction

$1,000 to $100,000

A violation that continues

further daily fines, up to $100,000 in a year

An administrative penalty

$2,000 for a first offence, $4,000 for a second, $8,000 for a third or later

The Province can also act on the registration itself:

• Registration Suspension — a temporary pause for non-compliance; reinstated with no additional fee once the Department is satisfied the host is compliant, for the remainder of the registration year in which the suspension occurred (or until compliance).
• Registration Cancellation — full revocation for non-compliance; reinstatement requires a fresh application and fresh fees.

Province of Nova Scotia · checked 27 Sep 2026 · Confirmed in source

Marketing levies across Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia charges no marketing levy of its own; 23 municipalities charge one on short-term stays, each under its own by-law (as of 27 Sep 2026).

HST applies to the levy as well as the room.

Which municipalities charge a marketing levy →