Airbnb and short-term rental rules in Westville, 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
Westville’s land-use by-law doesn’t name short-term rentals as a use. The closest defined use is Bed and Breakfast, an owner-occupied home where the resident owner supplies rooms to tourists (residential zones and the Downtown Commercial zone), or roofed accommodations, the by-law's hotel and motel use (Downtown Commercial and Highway Commercial 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 Westville’s by-law defines it)Not named in the by-law
The Town of Westville, Nova Scotia, doesn't name short-term rentals in its Land Use By-law, and the cottage, tourist home and country inn uses that by-law defines are listed in none of its zones. What the by-law does require is a Development Permit before any development, which it defines to include a change of use. Municipal step →
The Municipality of the County of Pictou, a separate municipality, surrounds the town. Check which of the two a property is in before relying on either guide.
Is a short-term rental allowed here?
Across the unit
The home you live in (as Westville’s by-law defines it)Not named in the by-lawNot named as a use. The closest, Bed and Breakfast (an owner-occupied home where the resident owner supplies rooms to tourists, at most four guest bedrooms, under the home-occupation rules), is listed in the Residential Core, Residential Periphery, Rural Residential, Residential Mixed Use and Land Lease Residential zones, and in the Downtown Commercial zone.
A home you don’t live inNot named in the by-lawNot named as a use. The Downtown Commercial and Highway Commercial zones permit roofed accommodations, which the by-law ties to hotels and motels and to an older provincial definition covering any building whose rental units are used mainly by travellers. The by-law's Accommodations, Tourist/Guest Home, Tourist Establishment, Cottage, Country Inn and Hostel uses are defined but listed in no zone.
Closest defined use: Bed and Breakfast, an owner-occupied home where the resident owner supplies rooms to tourists (residential zones and the Downtown Commercial zone), or roofed accommodations, the by-law's hotel and motel use (Downtown Commercial and Highway Commercial zones)
Ask the Town of Westville's Planning & Development office which home-occupation requirements a bed and breakfast must meet.
Land use in Westville is governed by the Town of Westville Municipal Planning Strategy and Land Use By-law, in effect here since 31 Jul 2026 (source).
It replaced the Towns of New Glasgow, Pictou, Stellarton, Trenton and Westville (Common) Land Use By-law here; Town of New Glasgow still uses that by-law.
The two closest uses cover different rentals. A bed and breakfast is, by the by-law's definition, an owner-occupied home where the resident owner supplies the rooms. Roofed accommodations, the commercial zones' use, is tied to hotels and motels through an older provincial definition wide enough that whether a whole home fits isn't settled. What we haven't confirmed yet →
Municipal step
Municipal step · Permit
Development Permit
Issued by
Development Officer (Town of Westville Planning & Development; the Town's planning services are provided under contract)
Conditions
Needed before any development, which the by-law defines to include any change in the use of land or buildings; whether renting a home is a change of use is the development officer's decision
Application authorized in writing by the property owner or their agent, with a plan showing the lot, the proposed use and the parking
Fee
$25 (Development Permit, on the Town's posted fee schedule dated February 2018) (one time)
Applies to
Both the home you live in and a home you don’t
Term
Valid for twelve months from issue; renewable once for a further twelve months
Ask Town of Westville, Planning & Development (services provided under contract), contact page whether starting to rent a particular home is a change of use that needs this permit, and which document it issues for provincial registration: its fee schedule lists both this permit and a zoning confirmation.
Steps and costs
Check the zone of the lot and confirm the use with Town of Westville, Town Hall, 902-396-1500, contact page.
Development Permit, from Development Officer (Town of Westville Planning & Development; the Town's planning services are provided under contract). Details
Renew the Development Permit (Valid for twelve months from issue; renewable once for a further twelve months).
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
$25 (Development Permit, on the Town's posted fee schedule dated February 2018) (one time)
$25 (Development Permit, on the Town's posted fee schedule dated February 2018) (one time)
Provincial registration
$50 a year
$500 per unit a year
First year, municipal and provincial
$75
$525
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
Adopted · rate unconfirmed
Council adopted a levy by-law (Marketing Levy By-law) on 27 Nov 2023. Whether it is in force yet isn’t confirmed. We haven’t confirmed a rate in a source we could read. Ask Town of Westville, Town Hall (by-laws and council records), 902-396-1500, contact page.
The Municipality of the County of Pictou's tourism levy is imposed in that municipality, which surrounds the town rather than including it: Pictou County guide.
Provincial registration
Register each unit with the Province before advertising it. The first application includes Westville’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 Westville 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
Whether the Marketing Levy By-law that Council passed on second reading on 27 Nov 2023 is in force, and at what rate. Ask Town Hall whether a town levy applies to stays in Westville, from what date, and who collects it on each booking channel. (checked 28 Sep 2026 · source)
Whether a whole home rented to travellers counts as the roofed accommodations use that the Downtown Commercial and Highway Commercial zones permit. The by-law ties that use to hotels and motels and to an older provincial definition that covers any building whose rental units are used mainly by travellers. Ask Planning & Development, in writing, how it would classify such a rental. (checked 28 Sep 2026 · source)
Which of the by-law's home-occupation conditions a bed and breakfast must meet. Ask Planning & Development before applying. (checked 28 Sep 2026 · source)
The by-law's bed and breakfast definition refers to a licence under an older provincial tourist-accommodation law. Ask Planning & Development how it applies that condition now that the Province registers short-term rentals. (checked 28 Sep 2026 · source)
Whether starting to rent a home needs the development permit as a change of use, and which document the Town issues as the land-use proof for a first provincial registration; its posted fee schedule lists both a development permit and a zoning confirmation. Ask Planning & Development. (checked 28 Sep 2026 · source)
Does Westville have a short-term rental by-law or licence?
No. Its Land Use By-law doesn't name short-term rentals as a use, and the Town's by-law list has no rental licence (checked 28 Sep 2026). Is a short-term rental allowed here? →
Can a home you don't live in be rented short-term in Westville?
Not as a named use. A bed and breakfast needs a resident owner, and whether a whole home counts as roofed accommodations, the hotel and motel use of two commercial zones, is for the development officer to decide; ask Town of Westville, Planning & Development (services provided under contract), contact page in writing. What we haven't confirmed yet →