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Support policy process for short-term rentals

Halifax benefits from a wide selection of unique and reputable accommodations to suit visitor preferences.

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Current Stage

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    Implementation 
    To reach the next stage, services should be delivered / the project reaches its completion.

Next Stage

Background

In the research for ITMP, short-term rentals (STRs) were shown to account for 15 per cent of the demand in Halifax for overnight stays. STR room nights sold more than doubled in the past three years, exceeding the growth of traditional accommodations, and the annual occupancy rate for Airbnb averaged 67 per cent in 2019. With such consumer demand, Nova Scotia and the Halifax region have made progress in 2020 with regulatory changes for this service sector.

Nova Scotia’s Tourist Accommodations Registration Act took effect on April 1, 2020, and most tourist accommodations and accommodation marketing platforms, such as Expedia and Airbnb, can now register their accommodations with the Tourist Accommodation Registry. The Halifax Regional Municipality also requires STRs to be registered and comply with the same rules and regulations as hotels, motels and other overnight accommodations. Additional changes may be coming as part of staff recommendations to Council that was informed by 3,828 survey responses from residents and hosts, a jurisdictional scan, and feedback from the industry, hotels, and provincial government to ensure benefits are maximized with a fair and accountable system for the STRs.

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