Airbnb and short-term rental rules in Antigonish, 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
Antigonish’s land-use by-law doesn’t name short-term rentals as a use. Ask the Eastern District Planning Commission's Development Officer which defined use a short-term rental falls under in the Town of Antigonish.
Can I?
The home you live in (as Antigonish’s by-law defines it)Ask the Eastern District Planning Commission's Development Officer whether a whole home of three or more bedrooms rented to visitors with no resident host is treated as Accommodations, General or as a dwelling use, and how a one or two bedroom whole home is classified.
A home you don’t live inAsk the Eastern District Planning Commission's Development Officer whether a whole home of three or more bedrooms rented to visitors with no resident host is treated as Accommodations, General or as a dwelling use, and how a one or two bedroom whole home is classified.
A suite or second unit on the lot you live onAsk the Eastern District Planning Commission's Development Officer whether a whole home of three or more bedrooms rented to visitors with no resident host is treated as Accommodations, General or as a dwelling use, and how a one or two bedroom whole home is classified.
The Town of Antigonish, Nova Scotia, charges a marketing levy on fixed-roof accommodation booked within the town, and its Marketing Levy By-law requires every operator to apply for and obtain a registration certificate from the Town. Municipal step →
Is a short-term rental allowed here?
Across the unit
The home you live in (as Antigonish’s by-law defines it)Ask the Eastern District Planning Commission's Development Officer whether a whole home of three or more bedrooms rented to visitors with no resident host is treated as Accommodations, General or as a dwelling use, and how a one or two bedroom whole home is classified.
A home you don’t live inAsk the Eastern District Planning Commission's Development Officer whether a whole home of three or more bedrooms rented to visitors with no resident host is treated as Accommodations, General or as a dwelling use, and how a one or two bedroom whole home is classified.
A suite or second unit on the lot you live onAsk the Eastern District Planning Commission's Development Officer whether a whole home of three or more bedrooms rented to visitors with no resident host is treated as Accommodations, General or as a dwelling use, and how a one or two bedroom whole home is classified.
Bed and Breakfast: at most 4 sleeping units (bedrooms) (s.7.3.5)
Closest defined use: Ask the Eastern District Planning Commission's Development Officer which defined use a short-term rental falls under in the Town of Antigonish.
“Accommodations, General means a building, or portion thereof, where 3 or more sleeping units (bedrooms) are used to accommodate the travelling public for financial remuneration and may include facilities such as meeting rooms, restaurants, entertainment facilities and accessory licensed liquor establishments. This use shall include hotels, motels, inns or cottages but does not include bed and breakfasts or lodging homes. [...] 7.2 b) If a use is not listed in Table 6 as being permitted in a zone, the use is prohibited in that zone. [Table 15] Accommodations, General SP SP DA [MU-1, MU-2, MC]”
The by-law defines no short-term rental, and a use a zone doesn't list is prohibited there. Its general accommodations use, which includes cottages, needs three or more bedrooms let to the travelling public, and its bed and breakfast needs a resident owner or manager who serves meals.
A one or two bedroom whole home with no resident host meets neither definition word for word. That is a literal reading of two definitions, not a classification. Where a use is similar to a defined one, the Development Officer at the Eastern District Planning Commission decides.
Municipal step
Ask Town of Antigonish, Town Hall, 902-863-2351, contact page which document it issues for provincial registration.
The registration certificate comes from the Marketing Levy By-law and registers the operator for the levy, one certificate for each property. It doesn't confirm that a rental complies with the Land Use By-law, which is what the Province's application asks the municipality to confirm. Provincial registration →
Steps and costs
Check the zone of the lot and confirm the use with Town of Antigonish, Town Hall, 902-863-2351, contact page.
Register for the marketing levy and remit it on the bookings you collect it on. 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
In force
The Town of Antigonish charges a 3% marketing levy on the price of fixed-roof accommodation booked within the Town, in force since 5 Jan 2024 under null.
Who collects it
Airbnb’s tax page doesn’t list Antigonish (checked 28 Sep 2026). Unless your payout shows Airbnb collecting it, you add and remit it.
Vrbo’s tax page doesn’t list Antigonish (checked 28 Sep 2026). Unless your payout shows Vrbo collecting it, you add and remit it.
Booking.com’s tax page doesn’t list Antigonish (checked 28 Sep 2026). Unless your payout shows Booking.com collecting it, you add and remit it.
On direct bookings, you add it to the guest’s bill and remit it (as of 28 Sep 2026)
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 levy is separate from HST, which is a federal and provincial sales tax.
The Town's levy page puts the levy on fixed-roof accommodation booked within the Town of Antigonish, and says accommodation owners remit the levy money they collect to the Town. A stay outside the town's boundary falls under the Municipality of the County of Antigonish's own rules instead. Nearby and often confused →
Provincial registration
Register each unit with the Province before advertising it. The first application includes Antigonish’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.
Town of Antigonish 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 Eastern District Planning Commission's Development Officer whether a whole home of three or more bedrooms with no resident host is treated as Accommodations, General or as a dwelling use. (checked 6 Oct 2026 · source)
Ask the Eastern District Planning Commission's Development Officer how a whole home of one or two bedrooms, or a room rented without meals, is classified. (checked 6 Oct 2026 · source)
Ask the Town whether its Marketing Levy By-law reaches rentals registered under the provincial short-term rental regime. (checked 6 Oct 2026 · source)
Does the Town of Antigonish's land-use by-law mention short-term rentals?
No. The Town's Land Use By-law defines no short-term rental use, so which of its defined uses applies to a rental is not stated. Ask the Eastern District Planning Commission's Development Officer which defined use a short-term rental falls under in the Town of Antigonish. Is a short-term rental allowed here? →
What is the Town of Antigonish's marketing levy rate?
Guests pay 3% on fixed-roof accommodation booked within the town. On a direct booking, the operator adds it to the bill and remits it to the Town. Marketing levy →
Can I run a bed and breakfast in the Town of Antigonish?
The by-law lists a bed and breakfast as permitted in the Residential Neighbourhood and mixed use zones, where the owner or manager lives on the property and provides meals, with a cap on bedrooms. Ask the Eastern District Planning Commission's Development Officer how a room rented without meals is classified. Is a short-term rental allowed here? →
Is HST charged on the Antigonish marketing levy?
Yes, wherever HST applies to the stay: a municipal levy is part of the price HST applies to, so HST is charged on the levy as well as on the room. Marketing levy →