Airbnb and short-term rental rules in Amherst, 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
Amherst’s land-use by-law doesn’t name short-term rentals as a use. The closest defined use is Bed and Breakfast (rooms let to travellers in a dwelling, accessory to the home of a resident of the property); the by-law's Hotel / Motel use excludes private cooking facilities. How a rental is classified is the development officer’s decision, and you can ask for it in writing.
Can I?
The home you live in (as Amherst’s by-law defines it)Not named in the by-law
Ask Town of Amherst, Planning & Economic Development (through Town Hall reception), 902-667-3352, contact page which document it issues for provincial registration.
The Town of Amherst, Nova Scotia, has had a new Land Use Bylaw since 17 Mar 2026, and it names no short-term rental use. It repealed the Town's earlier land-use by-law outright, so zones and uses quoted for Amherst in older guides may no longer exist.
The Land Use Bylaw zones all land inside the town on its zoning map, so a lot the map doesn't zone lies outside the Town and follows another municipality's rules. Nearby and often confused →
Is a short-term rental allowed here?
Across the unit
The home you live in (as Amherst’s by-law defines it)Not named in the by-lawNot named as a use. The closest, Bed and Breakfast (up to six rooms, accessory to the main residential use occupied by a resident of the property, breakfast only for registered guests, with a development permit), is permitted in the General Residential Zone and, through that zone's uses, in the Land Lease Community and Neighbourhood Commercial zones.
A home you don’t live inNot named in the by-lawNot named as a use. Hotels and Motels (overnight accommodation for the travelling public, for gain, without private cooking facilities) are permitted in the Highway Commercial, Downtown, Mixed Use and Business Park zones. The by-law's Accommodations definition is worded the same way and isn't listed in any zone.
Closest defined use: Bed and Breakfast (rooms let to travellers in a dwelling, accessory to the home of a resident of the property); the by-law's Hotel / Motel use excludes private cooking facilities
“11. Bed and Breakfast means a dwelling where the proprietor supplies rooms, up to a maximum of six, which are rented or hired out to accommodate the travelling public for sleeping purposes ... 7.1.2 In any Residential Zone, a development permit shall be issued for a bed and breakfast establishment provided that: a) such use is accessory to the main residential use occupied by a resident of the property ... 61. Hotel / Motel means a building, or buildings, or part thereof on the same lot used to accommodate the traveling public for gain or profit by supplying them with overnight sleeping accommodation with or without meals and including customary ancillary services and amenities but without private cooking facilities.”
Letting rooms in the home you live in comes closest to the by-law's bed and breakfast use, and to that use's conditions.
A whole home with its own kitchen, let while you live elsewhere, fits none of the by-law's defined uses squarely: a bed and breakfast needs a resident on the property, and a hotel or motel has no private cooking facilities.
Municipal step
Ask Town of Amherst, Planning & Economic Development (through Town Hall reception), 902-667-3352, contact page which document it issues for provincial registration.
No separate municipal licence (checked 28 Sep 2026)
The Town's by-law list has no short-term rental licence or registration, and no general business-licensing by-law. Where a rental may operate is governed by the Land Use Bylaw.
Whether a development permit is needed is a separate question. The by-law counts any change in the use of a building as development, and development needs a permit unless the by-law exempts it. Ask Town of Amherst, Planning & Economic Development (through Town Hall reception), 902-667-3352, contact page both questions in one written request, saying who lives there and whether rooms or the whole home are let.
Steps and costs
Check the zone of the lot and confirm the use with Town of Amherst, Planning & Economic Development (through Town Hall reception), 902-667-3352, contact page.
Ask Town of Amherst, Planning & Economic Development (through Town Hall reception), 902-667-3352, contact page which document it issues for provincial registration.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
None found
We found no marketing levy in Amherst’s by-laws or council notices (checked 28 Sep 2026).
The Town and the Municipality of the County of Cumberland commissioned a tourism feasibility study that looked at a marketing levy. A February 2025 staff memo to council reports the consultant advised groundwork first, and the Town's September 2025 planning report lists the levy feasibility work as in progress. No levy by-law has been adopted. (as of 28 Sep 2026)
Provincial registration
Register each unit with the Province before advertising it. The first application includes Amherst’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 Town of Amherst 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 Planning & Economic Development which document the Town issues for the provincial registration, and whether it charges a fee for it, before applying to the Province. (checked 28 Sep 2026 · source)
Not by name: Amherst's Land Use Bylaw has no short-term rental use, and the closest use it defines is Bed and Breakfast (rooms let to travellers in a dwelling, accessory to the home of a resident of the property); the by-law's Hotel / Motel use excludes private cooking facilities. Ask the Town in writing how it classifies a particular property before you list it. Is a short-term rental allowed here? →
Does Amherst charge a marketing levy like Truro's?
No: we found no marketing levy by-law among the Town's by-laws (checked 28 Sep 2026). Truro's levy rests on Truro's own by-law, which has no force in Amherst. Marketing levy →
Does Amherst set quiet hours or guest limits for short-term rentals?
We found none: no Town by-law sets quiet hours or a guest limit for short-term rentals, the Land Use Bylaw included. A quiet-hours window quoted for Amherst in some older guides isn't in any Town by-law we read, so confirm any such rule with Town of Amherst, Town Hall, 902-667-3352, contact page before relying on it.
Did the Plan Amherst review add short-term rental rules?
No: the review ended with the Land Use Bylaw in force since 17 Mar 2026, which never mentions short-term rentals. Plan Cumberland is the County's own separate review of its land-use documents. Is a short-term rental allowed here? →