A version of this article was previously published in the Chronicle Herald on February 14, 2026.
Housing is fundamental to our health and wellbeing. Surprisingly, although this is well established, Nova Scotia does not require those who provide it to be licensed. Meanwhile, a license is required to do so much else in this province, including selling alcohol and holding bingos and lotteries. While many landlords are competent and quick to address issues when they arise, there is no guarantee that one’s landlord will be one of the good ones. A provincial Rental Housing Registry and Licensing Program is urgently needed.
What’s more, the Nova Scotia government recently announced more funding to enable non-profit organizations to provide one-time direct financial support for people who are in danger of losing their homes due to unpaid rent or utilities. This is in addition to monthly rent supplements available to help tenants pay for their housing costs. Thousands of tenants in Nova Scotia rely on government financial assistance to stay in their homes, but there isn’t enough oversight to ensure that private landlords provide safe, adequate housing. The result is that public funds are ending up in landlords’ pockets without regard for the condition of the housing provided.
Some other regions in Canada have already implemented landlord licensing programs to ensure proper maintenance of rental housing and the safety of tenants.
Such a program in Nova Scotia should be mandatory for property owners who are (or who want to be) landlords, and would be administered by Access Nova Scotia. As shared with Dalhousie Legal Aid during workshops across the province, some tenants shared facing coercion into sexual acts in exchange for housing. Given this and other reasons, this program would also include background checks for any individuals involved in day-to-day property management. Tenants should also be able to trust the people they call for apartment maintenance.
To establish landlord licensing across Nova Scotia, provincial minimum standards legislation is also needed. The design of provincial minimum standards legislation can follow the CBRM’s or HRM’s minimum standards bylaw, which covers housing soundness and safety, including fire prevention, structural soundness, heating, and pest control. If municipalities wish to add additional requirements, they may do so.
This program was included in the Nova Scotia Alternative Budget (NSAB) released last week, which provides cost estimates for its implementation, to cover proactive inspections every two years to ensure housing continues to meet minimum standards. Such a system removes the precarity faced by tenants when inspections are complaint-driven. Landlords would need to respond within specific timelines when repairs are required. Fines would be imposed if repairs are not completed, and landlords who are repeatedly unresponsive to repair requests or to requests for inspection access would have their license suspended. Registration fees would be paid annually for each unit, similar to the province’s short-term rentals registry. This would allow for some cost recovery. Inspection reports would be made publicly available, as they are for restaurants and child care centres.
Tenants should know that when they rent a unit, it will be safe and in good condition, and their landlord will respect their rights. According to the 2025-2026 budget, an estimated $73.89 million in public money is going to rent supplements in the province. Implementing a landlord licensing program is a fraction of that cost (estimated at $4.96 million), and ensures that the rental housing available in Nova Scotia is safe and adequate.
This program is but one part of the NSAB’s proposals to end the housing crisis, which include investing to build 3,778 non-market (non-profit, co-operative, public) units each year for the next 10 years, expanding the rent supplement program in the short term, proactively enforcing tenant protections, ending the fixed-term lease loophole, and implementing vacancy control to effectively cap rental cost increases.
Everyone in Nova Scotia should have housing that is safe, secure, and in good condition. This is the province we want to live in. How about you?
Hannah Main is a Community Legal Worker in Eviction Prevention at Dalhousie Legal Aid Service in Halifax. She has a PhD in sociology.
Catherine Leviten-Reid is a Professor of Community Economic Development at Cape Breton University and a Research Associate with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives-Nova Scotia Office. Both were members of the NS Alternative Budget 2026 Working Group.
