Airbnb and short-term rental rules in Victoria County, 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
It depends on the zone, and the zone is only the first test. Outside Baddeck, entire-home rentals fall under Accommodation, permitted without a residence test in six commercial zones and with unit caps in others; Baddeck has its own by-law.
Can I?
The home you live in (as Victoria County’s by-law defines it)In some zones
The Municipality of the County of Victoria, Nova Scotia, has no short-term rental licensing by-law, but its Land Use By-law counts renting an entire home to travellers as Accommodations and allows it zone by zone. An owner who lives in the home has a second route, as a home-based business.
The County-wide by-law reaches Ingonish, Cape North, St. Ann's, Englishtown and Neils Harbour. Baddeck keeps a land-use by-law of its own: Where this guide applies.
Baddeck and Kidston Island form the Baddeck Plan Area, which keeps its own, older land-use by-law; the County-wide by-law covers the rest of the County. The County's marketing levy applies in both. This guide doesn't cover Wagmatcook First Nation reserve lands.
Is a short-term rental allowed here?
Across the unit
The home you live in (as Victoria County’s by-law defines it)In some zonesAn owner renting out rooms or units in their own principal residence may do so as a home-based business, with 1 or 2 rental units at Level I or up to 5 at Level II, in the Main Street, General Centre, Residential Centre, Light Industrial Centre, Hamlet Residential, Hamlet Core, Rural General, Rural Commercial and Agriculture Potential zones; 6 or more units need a development agreement in the Residential Centre and Hamlet Residential zones.
A home you don’t live inIn some zonesA whole home rented to travellers by an owner who does not live there is permitted as Accommodations in the Main Street, General Centre, Hamlet Core, Rural Commercial, Highway Commercial and Commercial Recreation zones, up to 4 units per lot in Hamlet Residential and up to 3 units per lot in Rural General, Agriculture Potential and Source Water Protection 2, and is not listed in any other zone.
main-use Accommodations: up to 4 units per lot in HR and up to 3 per lot in RG, AG and WP2; no cap in the MS, GC, HC, RC, HWY and CR zones
“Accommodation means the provision of a building, buildings, or part thereof to a single party or group of the travelling public, for payment or compensation, and may include, but is not limited to, tourist facilities such as hotels; motels; hostels; and entire home, individual room, cottage, cabin, geodesic dome, or yurt rentals. [Part 29, p.94] ... 15.1.1 The following main uses shall be permitted in Rural General (RG) Zone subject to the requirements of this By-law: ... (b) Accommodations – up to 3 units per lot [p.58] ... Home-based Business means a business activity that is accessory to a dwelling and involves the provision or sale of goods and/or services to the public and where the dwelling is the principal residence of the business operator. [Part 29, p.100]”
Source · checked 28 Sep 2026 · Confirmed in source
The County-wide by-law gives two routes. As Accommodations, a whole home is a use in its own right, with no residence test, where a zone lists it, sometimes capped per lot. As a home-based business, the operator must live in the home, and the business level caps the rental units and floor area.
The by-law's zoning map sets a lot's zone. Ask the Eastern District Planning Commission which zone applies, and whether renting an existing home is a change in use that needs a development permit.
Municipal step
Municipal step · Registration
Levy registration certificate
Issued by
Municipality of the County of Victoria (the by-law is administered by the Chief Administrative Officer or persons the CAO designates)
Conditions
One certificate for each place of business
Displayed in a prominent place on the premises
Returned for amendment when the address changes; a new certificate when the business's name or nature changes
Not transferable
Applies to
Both the home you live in and a home you don’t
Term
No expiry stated; void when the operator stops carrying on the business, and returned to the Municipality within 15 days
Two documents apply. For land use, the County's notice says the Eastern District Planning Commission produces zoning documents and letters on a written request; ask Eastern District Planning Commission (zoning documents and letters for the County, on a written request), (902) 625-5361, contact page which document it issues for provincial registration. For the levy, the by-law requires every operator to hold a Levy registration certificate, which is not a land-use approval.
Steps and costs
Check the zone of the lot and confirm the use with Eastern District Planning Commission (zoning documents and letters for the County, on a written request), (902) 625-5361, contact page.
Levy registration certificate, from Municipality of the County of Victoria (the by-law is administered by the Chief Administrative Officer or persons the CAO designates). Details
Register for the marketing levy and remit it on the bookings you collect it on. Details
Renew the Levy registration certificate (No expiry stated; void when the operator stops carrying on the business, and returned to the Municipality within 15 days).
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)
Levy registration certificate
isn’t published
isn’t published
Provincial registration
$50 a year
$500 per unit a year
First year, municipal and provincial
No total: the Levy registration certificate 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
In force
The Municipality of the County of Victoria charges a 3% marketing levy on the total amount of the Purchase Price of the Accommodation, collected at the time of sale, in force since 1 Jan 2024 under Municipality of the County of Victoria Marketing Levy By-law.
Who collects it
Airbnb’s tax page doesn’t list Victoria County (checked 28 Sep 2026). Unless your payout shows Airbnb collecting it, you add and remit it.
Vrbo’s tax page doesn’t list Victoria County (checked 28 Sep 2026). Unless your payout shows Vrbo collecting it, you add and remit it.
Booking.com’s tax page doesn’t list Victoria County (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 Municipality of the County of Victoria Marketing Levy By-law charges the levy on the guest’s purchase of the stay; you collect it. The levy is separate from HST, which is a federal and provincial sales tax.
For a guest, the levy is charged on the purchase price of the stay. For a host, it is money collected at the time of sale and passed to the County, and the by-law makes every operator register with the County: Municipal step.
Each Cape Breton municipality charges its own levy under its own by-law, so a Cabot Trail stay across the line in Inverness County falls under that county's: Nearby and often confused.
Provincial registration
Register each unit with the Province before advertising it. The first application includes Victoria County’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 Municipality of the County of Victoria 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 which document it issues as the County's land-use confirmation for provincial registration, with its fee and processing time. (checked 6 Oct 2026 · source)
Ask the Eastern District Planning Commission which zone applies to a lot; the by-law's zoning map sets it. (checked 6 Oct 2026 · source)
Ask the Eastern District Planning Commission whether renting an existing home as accommodation needs a development permit for a change in use. (checked 6 Oct 2026 · source)
Ask the Eastern District Planning Commission how a whole-home rental counts toward a zone's units-per-lot cap. (checked 6 Oct 2026 · source)
Ask the Eastern District Planning Commission how the Baddeck Plan Area's by-law treats a whole home rented short-term. (checked 6 Oct 2026 · source)
Do I need a licence to run an Airbnb in Victoria County?
No, the County has no short-term rental licensing by-law. Two other documents apply: the land-use document the Province asks for with a first registration, and the County's Levy registration certificate for the levy. Municipal step →
Can a whole home be rented short-term outside Baddeck?
In some zones. The County's Land Use By-law counts entire-home rentals as Accommodations and lists them zone by zone, some with a cap on units per lot. In some zones that don't list them, only an owner who lives in the home can rent, as a home-based business; in others, neither route is open. Is a short-term rental allowed here? →
Does Baddeck follow different short-term rental rules?
Yes. Baddeck and Kidston Island form the Baddeck Plan Area, which keeps its own land-use by-law instead of the County-wide one. That by-law names tourist and guest homes, which the operator must live in, and tourist cottages and cabins, but not short-term rentals as such. Where this guide applies →
How is the Victoria County marketing levy charged?
It is 3% of the purchase price of the stay, charged to the guest. The by-law makes the operator collect it at the time of sale and remit it to the County. Marketing levy →
Who handles zoning documents for Victoria County?
The Eastern District Planning Commission produces zoning documents and letters for the County, and the County asks for the request in writing: Eastern District Planning Commission (zoning documents and letters for the County, on a written request), (902) 625-5361, contact page. Who to contact →