Airbnb and short-term rental rules in Lockeport, 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
Lockeport’s land-use by-law doesn’t name short-term rentals as a use. The closest defined use is a tourist establishment (listed in the Residential Large Lot and Tourist Commercial zones) or a guest house or bed and breakfast (listed in the three residential zones). 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 Lockeport’s by-law defines it)Not named in the by-law
The Town of Lockeport, Nova Scotia, has no rule written for short-term rentals, and neither of the nearest uses in its Land Use By-law, the guest house and the tourist establishment, asks the owner to live there. What matters is which one a rental is, and whether the lot's zone lists it.
The Town's own step is a development permit. The Town is also exploring amalgamation with the Town of Shelburne and the Municipality of the District of Shelburne, through a joint steering committee. What we haven't confirmed yet →
Is a short-term rental allowed here?
Across the unit
The home you live in (as Lockeport’s by-law defines it)Not named in the by-lawThe by-law doesn't use the term. Letting rooms, or the home, to travellers is closest to its guest house or bed and breakfast (a dwelling with at most six rooms supplied for gain to the travelling public), listed in the Residential General (R-1), Residential Multiple Family (R-2) and Residential Large Lot (R-3) zones, or its tourist establishment, listed in the R-3 and Tourist Commercial (C-2) zones.
A home you don’t live inNot named in the by-lawThe by-law doesn't use the term. Its tourist establishment (any building supplying sleeping accommodation to the travelling public for gain) is listed in the Residential Large Lot (R-3) and Tourist Commercial (C-2) zones, and neither it nor the guest house use asks the owner to live there. The Commercial General (C-1) zone lists hotels and motels, which exclude private cooking facilities.
Closest defined use: a tourist establishment (listed in the Residential Large Lot and Tourist Commercial zones) or a guest house or bed and breakfast (listed in the three residential zones)
“30. GUEST HOUSE OR BED AND BREAKFAST means a dwelling where the property supplies either room or room and board for monetary gain where not more than six rooms are so used and which is open to the travelling public. ... 68. TOURIST ESTABLISHMENT means a building or buildings which are used to accommodate the travelling public for gain or profit by supplying them with sleeping accommodation, with or without meals, and shall include a guest house, tourist cabins, a motel, an auto court, and a hotel. ... Part 8 s.1 (R-1): '-Boarding Houses (serviced) and Guest Houses ... -Bed & Breakfast'. Part 9 s.1 (R-2): 'R-1 uses subject to the R-1 zone requirements.' Part 10 s.1 (R-3): '-Guest Homes -Tourist Cabins ... -Tourist Establishment ... -Bed & Breakfast'. Part 12 s.1 (C-2): '-Tourist Cabins -Tourist Establishments and accessory uses ... -Residential Uses'. Part 3 s.5: 'In this By-law, any use not listed under permitted uses in a particular zone is prohibited.'”
A rental has to count as a use the by-law lists, and the lot's zone has to list that use: any use a zone doesn't list is prohibited. The permit application sets out the proposed use, and the Development Officer checks both tests before issuing the permit. Municipal step →
Municipal step
Municipal step · Permit
Development Permit
Issued by
Development Officer, Town of Lockeport (applications at the Town Office)
Applies to
Both the home you live in and a home you don’t
Term
Expires 12 months after issue if no development has begun (Land Use By-law Part 5 s.5)
The by-law requires this permit before a building's or lot's use changes. The Municipality of the District of Shelburne provides building permits, inspections and subdivisions. Ask Town of Lockeport, Town Office (Development Officer: development permits and zoning), 902-656-2216, contact page which document it issues for provincial registration: the permit, or a letter confirming the zone and use. What we haven't confirmed yet →
Steps and costs
Check the zone of the lot and confirm the use with Town of Lockeport, Town Office (Development Officer: development permits and zoning), 902-656-2216, contact page.
Development Permit, from Development Officer, Town of Lockeport (applications at the Town Office). Details
Renew the Development Permit (Expires 12 months after issue if no development has begun (Land Use By-law Part 5 s.5)).
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)
Development Permit
isn’t published
isn’t published
Provincial registration
$50 a year
$240 per unit a year
First year, municipal and provincial
No total: the Development Permit fee isn’t published
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 Lockeport’s by-laws or council notices (checked 28 Sep 2026).
Provincial registration
Register each unit with the Province before advertising it. The first application includes Lockeport’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; $240 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 Lockeport is in tier 3 of the Province's Schedule A. A commercial short-term rental (a home you don't live in) pays the tier 3 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 27 Sep 2026 · Confirmed in source
What we haven't confirmed yet
How the Development Officer classes a whole home rented to travellers: as a tourist establishment, or as a guest house or bed and breakfast. The by-law doesn't use the term short-term rental. Ask the Development Officer at the Town Office for the classification in writing. (checked 28 Sep 2026 · source)
Where to see the zoning map. The map is a separate schedule to the Land Use By-law and isn't in the copy the Town posts. Ask the Town Office to confirm a lot's zone. (checked 28 Sep 2026 · source)
Whether a development permit to start a guest house, bed and breakfast or tourist establishment carries a fee. Ask the Town Office for the fee and the application form. (checked 28 Sep 2026 · source)
Which Town document goes with a new provincial registration as land-use proof: the development permit, or a letter confirming the zone and use. Ask the Town Office before applying to the Province. (checked 28 Sep 2026 · source)
Which parts of the Land Use By-law have been amended, and when. The Town posts it as a consolidation with amendments, but the copy lists none. Council minutes from February 2026 link a provincial coastal planning grant application to a coming update of the by-law and the Municipal Planning Strategy; we found no draft. (checked 28 Sep 2026 · source)
Where amalgamation stands. The Town of Lockeport, the Town of Shelburne and the Municipality of the District of Shelburne have a joint steering committee exploring it, and in July 2026 it reviewed a letter from the Nova Scotia Regulatory and Appeals Board setting out what an amalgamation application needs. We found no application. Until any change takes legal effect, the Town's own by-laws apply. (checked 28 Sep 2026 · source)
Where the Town boundary runs on the mainland. The by-law sets zone rules for lots along Brighton Road and the East Green Harbour approach road; we haven't mapped which properties there are in the Town and which are in the Municipality of the District of Shelburne. The property tax bill shows which municipality a property is in. (checked 28 Sep 2026 · source)
Ask Town of Lockeport, Town Office (Development Officer: development permits and zoning), 902-656-2216, contact page to see it: the zoning map is a separate schedule to the Land Use By-law. The same office can confirm a lot's zone and which of the by-law's uses a rental would be. Is a short-term rental allowed here? →
Which provincial fee tier is Lockeport in?
The Province's fee schedule names the Town of Lockeport in tier 3, so a commercial short-term rental (a home you don't live in) pays $240 per unit a year. A personal vacation home, kept mainly for your own use, pays the traditional rate instead: $50, or $150 with five or more bedrooms. The Municipality of the District of Shelburne, around the town, is in a different tier, so a commercial rental there pays a different fee. Provincial registration →
If Lockeport and Shelburne amalgamate, what happens to an existing rental's approvals?
Until an amalgamation takes legal effect, the Town's own by-laws apply, and a provincial registration is held with the Province, not the Town. If an amalgamation application is filed, ask the Town Office how existing development permits would carry over. What we haven't confirmed yet →