Vacation Home Rules In Nova Scotia
Not so long ago you could make nice second income by renting out your cottage. It was nice for the mom-and-pop operations who could never go toe-2-toe with the big guys and didn’t want to. They had their clients and the big guys had theirs. They also had lax rules because, let’s face it, renting your cabin was not big business. However now even the part-time rental of your place is deemed in the “big’s”.
Here is what the government has to say:
Fixed Roof and Campground Accommodation Licence
Who Needs This Licence?
- Anyone that provides one or more rental units in Nova Scotia for the use of the traveling or vacationing public.
- Anyone in Nova Scotia using, maintaining, operating or managing land as grounds for camping or for the overnight parking of recreational vehicles.
This includes:
- Bed and Breakfasts, Guest Homes
- Cottages/Cabins, Hotels/Motels
- Country Inns, Resorts
- Hunting and Fishing Lodges
- Campgrounds
I can see them wanting to set up a standard for health and safety reasons but the whole thing smacks of the innkeepers trying to control the market. It stems from the downturn in tourism which saw a lot of inns and motels take a drubbing. These operators have to abide by a certain set of rules and they want a level playing field.
However, there is no stipulation on the amount of weeks of rentals there is before you are deemed a business. I think that the guys who want to rent out their place for less than 5 weeks out of a year be given a break from a business license. They should have to get the place inspected – but this is an insurance requirement anyway – but putting a place that rents out for a few weeks every summer in the same class as a hotel is pushing the act a little too far.
And the licence costs: $ 79.88. (I can live with that part)
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