Airbnb and short-term rental rules on Cape Breton Island, 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 →
Which Cape Breton municipalities charge a marketing levy?
- CBRM
- 3% in force marketing levy
- Inverness County
- 3% in force marketing levy
- Richmond County
- 3% in force marketing levy
- Victoria County
- 3% in force marketing levy
- Port Hawkesbury
- 3% in force marketing levy
* The platform’s Canada tax page doesn’t list the municipality on the date checked. Unless your payout shows the platform collecting the levy, you add it to the guest’s bill and remit it.
General information, not advice. How we check →
Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, has five municipalities, and each charges its own marketing levy under its own by-law: the Cape Breton Regional Municipality (CBRM), the counties of Inverness, Richmond and Victoria, and the Town of Port Hawkesbury. Which municipality a property is in decides the rules.
Port Hawkesbury is a town with its own by-laws, separate from Inverness County's. Land use and the municipal step differ between the five: Municipal steps compared sets the steps side by side, and The five municipalities links each guide or names the office to ask.
The five municipalities
| Municipality | Guide | Office | Marketing levy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cape Breton Regional Municipality |
|
| 3% in force |
| Municipality of the County of Inverness |
| 3% in force | |
| Municipality of the County of Richmond |
|
| 3% in force |
| Municipality of the County of Victoria |
|
| 3% in force |
| Town of Port Hawkesbury |
| 3% in force |
On a phone, swipe the table sideways to see the office and the levy.
Municipal steps compared
| Municipality | Municipal step |
|---|---|
| CBRM | Guide coming |
| Inverness County | Development Permit |
| Richmond County | Guide coming |
| Victoria County | Guide coming |
| Port Hawkesbury | Levy registration certificate |
On a phone, swipe the table sideways to see both columns.
Provincial registration
Register each unit with the Province before advertising it. The first application includes the municipality’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), by the municipality’s tier; 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.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Cape Breton marketing levy one levy or five?
Five: each municipality on the island charges its own under its own by-law, though together they're often called the Cape Breton Island marketing levy. Each by-law sets its own rate, exemptions and remittance rules, and one can change without the others. At a glance
Who collects the marketing levy on a Cape Breton booking?
On a direct booking, in all five municipalities, you add the levy to the guest's bill and remit it. On Airbnb, Vrbo and Booking.com, you add and remit it too unless your payout shows the platform collecting it. At a glance
Is HST charged on the Cape Breton marketing levy?
Yes, wherever HST applies to the stay: in all five municipalities it is charged on the levy as well as on the room, because 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. Each by-law charges the levy on the guest's purchase of the stay; the levy and the HST (14%) both go on the guest's bill, so neither is an owner cost.
Do Cape Breton municipalities require a permit as well as provincial registration?
Yes: confirmation of land-use compliance from the municipality is required with every new provincial application, and all five also require a levy registration certificate, though none has a licence written for short-term rentals. CBRM's document is its Zoning Confirmation for Accommodation Host, and Inverness County also requires a development permit for a change of use. For Inverness, Richmond and Victoria counties and Port Hawkesbury, ask the Eastern District Planning Commission which document it issues for provincial registration; Victoria County asks for the request in writing. Municipal steps compared
Is Airbnb allowed on the Cabot Trail?
It depends on which municipality the property is in: the Cabot Trail runs through Inverness County and Victoria County, and each has its own land-use rules. In Inverness County the answer turns on the zone; in Victoria County, ask the Eastern District Planning Commission how the zoning treats a short-term rental at the address. The five municipalities
Do I need CBRM's Shared Dwelling Licence for an Airbnb?
Not to rent out a whole home: the licence covers rooms rented separately with a shared kitchen and bathroom. Ask CBRM's planning office whether a whole-home rental fits its land-use rules. The five municipalities
We don’t manage homes on Cape Breton Island.
Casa Scotia manages short-term rentals within ~90 minutes of Halifax.
Email me when Cape Breton Island’s rules change
Sources
| What | Source | Checked | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| CBRM: land use | Source | 27 Sep 2026 | Confirmed in source |
| CBRM: municipal step | Source | 27 Sep 2026 | Confirmed in source |
| CBRM: marketing levy | Marketing Levy By-law (By-law M-200) (Cape Breton Regional Municipality) | 27 Sep 2026 | Confirmed in source |
| Inverness County: land use | Land Use By-law (2025) (Municipality of the County of Inverness) | 28 Sep 2026 | Confirmed in source |
| Inverness County: municipal step | Land Use By-law (2025), s. 4.1 Development Permit (Municipality of the County of Inverness) | 28 Sep 2026 | Confirmed in source |
| Inverness County: marketing levy | Marketing Levy (Municipality of the County of Inverness) | 28 Sep 2026 | Confirmed in source |
| Richmond County: municipal step | Source | 27 Sep 2026 | Confirmed in source |
| Richmond County: marketing levy | Marketing Levy By-law - By-law # 60 (Municipality of the County of Richmond) | 27 Sep 2026 | Confirmed in source |
| Victoria County: land use | Source | 28 Sep 2026 | Confirmed in source |
| Victoria County: municipal step | Source | 28 Sep 2026 | Confirmed in source |
| Victoria County: marketing levy | Marketing Levy By-law (Municipality of the County of Victoria) | 28 Sep 2026 | Confirmed in source |
| Port Hawkesbury: land use | Land Use By-law for the Town of Port Hawkesbury (March 2010, last amended 10 August 2022) (Town of Port Hawkesbury) | 28 Sep 2026 | Confirmed in source |
| Port Hawkesbury: municipal step | Town of Port Hawkesbury Marketing Levy By-law (Town of Port Hawkesbury) | 28 Sep 2026 | Confirmed in source |
| Port Hawkesbury: marketing levy | Town of Port Hawkesbury Marketing Levy By-law (Town of Port Hawkesbury) | 28 Sep 2026 | Confirmed in source |
| Provincial sources | |||
| Provincial registration | Province of Nova Scotia | 28 Sep 2026 | Confirmed in source |
| HST | Canada Revenue Agency | 27 Sep 2026 | Confirmed in source |
On a phone, swipe the table sideways to see every column.
Changes to this guide
- 30 Sep 2026 · Guide published