Airbnb and short-term rental rules in Middleton, 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
Mainly in the home you live in. The by-law's short-term rental is one where the resident owner supplies the accommodation in all or part of the dwelling, and it is permitted only in the Residential zone.
Can I?
The home you live in (as Middleton’s by-law defines it)In some zones
A home you don’t live inAsk the Town of Middleton's Development Officer how a whole home rented to travellers is classified when no owner lives in it.
In the Town of Middleton, Nova Scotia, the Land Use By-law defines a short-term rental as one where the resident owner supplies the accommodation, in all or part of the dwelling, and permits it in a single zone, the Residential zone.
Which municipality a property is in depends on its parcel, not on a Middleton mailing address: the property tax bill names the Town or the County of Annapolis. Nearby and often confused →
The home you live in (as Middleton’s by-law defines it)In some zonesIn the Residential (R) zone only, where the resident owner supplies the accommodation in all or part of the dwelling
A home you don’t live inAsk the Town of Middleton's Development Officer how a whole home rented to travellers is classified when no owner lives in it.
“Short Term Rental, also referred to as "AirBnB", means a dwelling or part of a dwelling where the resident owner supplies temporary accommodation for compensation to the travelling or vacationing public for a period of less than thirty (30) days.”
In the Residential zone the use is permitted as of right, with no yearly cap on nights and no per-lot limit of its own. Every other zone prohibits it: the by-law bans any use a zone doesn't list.
A home with no resident owner isn't the use the by-law defines, and a second home the Province registers as a personal vacation home may not be either. The three commercial zones permit hotels, motels and commercial accommodations, a use the by-law leaves undefined. Ask the Development Officer for a written answer on both. What we haven't confirmed yet →
Municipal step
Ask Town of Middleton, Town Hall, (902) 825-4841, contact page which document it issues for provincial registration.
No separate municipal licence (checked 28 Sep 2026)
The Town has no short-term rental licence or registration by-law. Its licensing by-law covers auctioneers, peddlers, hawkers, traders and travelling amusements only.
Whichever document the Town issues comes before the provincial application. Two could serve: the zoning confirmation letter, which states a lot's zone and the uses the by-law permits there, and the development permit, which the by-law requires for any change in the use of a building. What we haven't confirmed yet →
Steps and costs
Check the zone of the lot and confirm the use with Town of Middleton, Town Hall, (902) 825-4841, contact page.
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 Middleton’s by-laws or council notices (checked 28 Sep 2026).
The Town has no marketing levy by-law. The Municipality of the County of Annapolis, whose levy applies within the County and stops at the town boundary, has asked Middleton and Annapolis Royal whether they would enable one in their own boundaries. No levy by-law has come before the Town's council. (as of 28 Sep 2026) Until the Town adopts a levy by-law, a booking in the town carries no municipal levy, so a host has nothing to register for, collect or remit with the Town.
Just outside the town boundary, the County's own levy applies: Annapolis County.
Provincial registration
Register each unit with the Province before advertising it. The first application includes Middleton’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 Middleton 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
Which document the Town issues as proof of land-use compliance for a new provincial registration: its zoning confirmation letter, a development permit (the Land Use By-law requires one for any development, including a change in the use of a building), or both. Ask Planning, Building & Fire Services before applying to the Province. (checked 28 Sep 2026 · source)
How a whole home rented to travellers is classified when no owner lives there, including a second home the Province registers as a personal vacation home. The by-law's short-term rental needs a resident owner, and the Commercial Downtown, Commercial General and Industry and Commercial Enterprise zones permit hotels, motels and commercial accommodations, a use the by-law doesn't define further. Ask the Development Officer for a written answer before relying on it. (checked 28 Sep 2026 · source)
In the Residential (R) zone only, where the resident owner supplies the accommodation in all or part of the dwelling, under the Town's Land Use By-law. For a home with no resident owner, and to check a lot's zone, ask Planning, Building & Fire Services, Town of Middleton, contact page. Is a short-term rental allowed here? →
Does Middleton require a licence or letter before provincial registration?
There is no short-term rental licence: the Town has no licence or registration by-law for them (checked 28 Sep 2026). For the land-use document the Province asks for, ask Planning, Building & Fire Services, Town of Middleton, contact page whether it issues a zoning confirmation letter, a development permit or both. Municipal step →Provincial registration →