Short-term rental operators ponder future as N.S. regulations loom

Nova Scotia’s new regulations around short-term rentals take effect Sept. 30 and a lot of people aren’t happy with the changes.

Mike Cowie is one of them. For the last four years he has operated property in the north end of Halifax as an Airbnb.

“We became super host, five-star super host this summer. We hosted 112 tourists,” Cowie says

His rental units will not be open much longer. The new provincial regulations will require short-term rentals to comply with municipal bylaws. Zoning changes are putting Cowie and others out of business.

“It’s pretty heavy-handed, it’s pretty big brother,” says Cowie. “Why should some bureaucrat tell me a property owner how I should run my business?”

Cowie has had to cancel some reservations for the fall. He says short-term rental operators aren’t the only ones who will suffer.

“We’ve had to lay off people, our cleaning people, our maintenance people. We’ve maintained this house to great standards, so those people lose their job, all the businesses in the neighbourhood – the coffee shops, the bars, the restaurants where our guests go – they’re going to lose money.”

A Halifax Airbnb is pictured. (Source: Jonathan MacInnis/CTV News Atlantic)

Vicki Elliott-Lopez, senior executive director of housing, says the regulatory changes have a purpose.

“Our goal in housing is to bring more housing to market,” Elliott-Lopez says.

Numbers show there will be a shortage of 41,200 housing units by 2027–2028. As of the end of July, there were almost 7,200 short-term rentals registered in Nova Scotia. The hope is some units will make the switch to long-term rentals.

“We’d love to see even 10 per cent, (that) would make a huge difference in our province,” Elliott-Lopez says.

Feedback has been swift from owners who can’t or won’t take on a long-term rental property.

“Obviously, the feedback we hear is the folks who are questioning the regulations, questioning the bylaws, they think there is some confusion with what is compliant with HRM bylaws and what our regulations do and don’t do,” Elliott-Lopez says. “We do hear anecdotally that people are looking to sell and move into another location or another home themselves.” 

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