By law, all roofed accommodations, including those operating in their primary residence, and accommodation platforms must register to operate in Nova Scotia. The Tourist Accommodation Registration Act requires both accommodation operators and platforms to register each year. Registration is valid for the fiscal year (April 1 to March 31).
See Tourist Accommodations Registration Act See Tourist Accommodations Registration Regulations
This registration system provides data on available accommodations in Nova Scotia and can help municipalities identify short-term rentals in their communities to inform planning and support enforcement of zoning and bylaws.
Who has to register
Accommodation Operators
Tourist Accommodations: A tourist accommodation is a roofed accommodation that’s rented for 28 days or less at one time (ie: you usually rent for a few days or few weeks at a time). All accommodations, even those operating in your primary residence, are required to register. Accommodations that only offer long-term accommodations (ie: have monthly or annual leases) are not required to register.
See More Information and Register Your Accommodation Now
Accommodation Platform Operators
Accommodation Platforms: Platform operators facilitate or broker online reservations for roofed tourist accommodations. They get paid when a traveller makes a reservation.
See More Information and Register Your Platform Now
Accessing Registry Data
Information Sharing Agreements for Municipalities
The Tourist Accommodations Registration Act and Regulations permit the Province of Nova Scotia to enter into information sharing agreements with municipalities located within the province and with accommodation platforms operating within the province to share specific data collected through the Tourist Accommodations Registry.
Municipalities can request to receive data from the registry related to accommodations within your municipal boundaries for the active registration year to support enforcement of municipal bylaws and to inform municipal planning.
Municipalities that wish to enter information sharing agreements can email TARA-TNS@novascotia.ca.
Information Sharing Agreements for Accommodation Platforms
The Tourist Accommodation Registration Act requires platforms to list only accommodations with a valid registration number and to share information covered under the Act with the Province, if requested. Tourism Nova Scotia has reached out to identified platforms to establish information sharing agreements to set up a process for platforms to share data on their concluded transactions with the Province. Supplementary data sharing agreements will also provide platforms with necessary data from the Tourist Accommodations Registry to verify the validity of registration numbers on accommodation listings to support compliance with the Act.
If you are a platform operator and wish to receive more information about information sharing, please email TARA-TNS@novascotia.ca.
Registry Information for the General Public
For privacy reasons, we are not able to disclose the registration status or number of an accommodation to a member of the public. Some registration data will be made available through the Province of Nova Scotia’s Open Data Portal.
If you believe an accommodation is not compliant with the regulations, please contact the Nova Scotia Business Registration Unit at NSBRInquiries@novascotia.ca or 902-424-3369.
They will require details such as first and last name, business name, relevant contact details, and address the accommodation is operating out of. The Business Registration Unit will follow up with the property owner as appropriate.
For media inquiries, please contact Afton Doubleday, Outreach and Engagement Advisor at afton.doubleday@novascotia.ca.