Is SQRFT a rental platform, or does it also list homes for sale?

SQRFT is a rental-only platform. Searches like "apartments for sale Halifax" or "condos for sale Dartmouth" describe buying a home, which is a different market with different listings, financing, and legal process than renting. Every listing on SQRFT is a rental unit. If you're looking to buy, you'll need a real estate agent and a separate resale listing service.

What's typically included in Halifax rent?

It varies by building type and age. Many older apartment buildings on the peninsula include heat and hot water in the rent, with tenants paying their own electricity through Nova Scotia Power and their own internet. Newer purpose-built rentals are more mixed, and single-family or duplex rentals in the suburbs are the least likely to be all-inclusive. Always confirm which utilities are included in writing before you sign, especially given the Bay of Fundy region's damp winters.

How much notice does my landlord need to give to raise my rent in Nova Scotia?

Nova Scotia requires landlords to give at least four months' written notice before a rent increase takes effect (eight weeks for a week-to-week tenancy). Rent can only be raised once every 12 months, and not during the first 12 months of a tenancy. Increases on existing tenancies are also capped at 5% a year, a cap that stays in place until December 31, 2027. If you receive less than four months' notice, the increase is not valid as given.

How does a security deposit work in Halifax?

Nova Scotia landlords can collect a security deposit of up to half a month's rent. At the end of the tenancy, the landlord has 10 days to return the deposit, or apply to the Residential Tenancies Program to keep some or all of it. A written condition report at move-in and move-out is the strongest evidence if a deposit dispute arises later.

How do I dispute my landlord through Nova Scotia's Residential Tenancies Program?

Nova Scotia's tenancy disputes go before a Director appointed under the Residential Tenancies Act, run through the Residential Tenancies Program. Most disputes start with a written application, and hearings can be conducted by phone, video, or in person. Bring your tenancy agreement, all written correspondence with your landlord, photos or your condition report, and any notices you received or served. If rent is not paid within three days after it is due, from the fourth day the landlord may give a notice to quit that takes effect no earlier than ten days after it is given. Within those ten days the tenant can pay the arrears in full, which voids the notice, or apply to the Director to set the notice aside.

Can my landlord enter without notice?

No, with narrow exceptions. Nova Scotia's Residential Tenancies Act requires landlords to give written notice stating a reasonable reason and the date and time of entry, at least 24 hours and not more than 30 days beforehand, with entry between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. unless you agree to a different time. Entry without written notice is allowed only in an emergency, with your consent, or when the premises appear abandoned.

How much notice do I get if my landlord wants to end my tenancy?

In Nova Scotia a landlord can only give a notice to quit on grounds the Residential Tenancies Act lists, such as unpaid rent, breach of certain statutory conditions, or a Director's order. There is no without-cause notice period for a landlord. A tenant ending a month-to-month tenancy gives at least one month's notice before the end of a rental month, and a tenant ending a year-to-year tenancy gives at least three months' notice before the end of the year. Always check your specific notice type against the Residential Tenancies Program's current rules before treating any notice as final.

Halifax, Nova Scotia Canada

Rentals Halifax: Renting in Halifax in 2026

Real rents, real neighbourhoods, real answers. The complete SQRFT guide for renters and landlords navigating Atlantic Canada's largest rental market.

Browse Halifax rentals

Avg rent, all types

$1,755

CMHC, Oct 2025

Avg 2BR

$1,650

CMHC, Oct 2025

Vacancy rate

2.7%

CMHC, Oct 2025

Rent increase notice

4 months

Province of Nova Scotia

FFrancis, SQRFT TeamCanadian Rental Market Analysts, SQRFT Editorial Team Updated September 21, 2026 12 min read

Section 1

What Halifax rents look like in mid-2026

Halifax remained Atlantic Canada's tightest and most closely watched rental market through mid-2026. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) recorded an average rent of roughly $1,755 per month across all purpose-built apartment types in the Halifax census metropolitan area (CMA) in its October 2025 Rental Market Survey, up about 7.3 percent from the year before, against the national average asking rent of $2,037 reported by Rentals.ca and Urbanation for July 2026.

2.7%

Purpose-built rental vacancy

CMHC · Oct 2025

$1,755

Average rent, all apartment types

CMHC · Oct 2025

+7.3%

Year-over-year rent growth

CMHC · Oct 2025

A two-bedroom apartment averaged $1,650 a month on CMHC's October 2025 survey. Vacancy improved to 2.7 percent, up from 2.1 percent the year before, as record levels of new purpose-built rental supply came online across the municipality, a meaningful loosening after several years of one of the tightest markets in the country.

$1,650

Average 2-bedroom, purpose-built

CMHC · Oct 2025

2.7%

Vacancy rate (up from 2.1% prior year)

CMHC · Oct 2025

$1,755

Average rent, all apartment types

CMHC · Oct 2025

The practical read

Halifax is loosening but still competitive: vacancy climbing to 2.7 percent from 2.1 percent is real relief after years of a landlord's market, but rents kept climbing at the same time as older, lower-cost units caught up. Nova Scotia's four-month rent-increase notice period and 5% annual cap on existing tenancies (in place until December 31, 2027) give existing tenants a long runway to plan.

Section 2

Where Haligonians rent: the neighbourhood guide

Halifax Regional Municipality splits broadly into the historic downtown peninsula, mainland Halifax, the Bedford-Sackville corridor, and Dartmouth across the harbour, each connected by the Halifax Transit ferry and a growing bridge and highway network.

Peninsula

Downtown

Renting in Downtown, Halifax.

North End

Renting in North End, Halifax.

South End

Renting in South End, Halifax.

West End

Renting in West End, Halifax.

Mainland

Clayton Park

Renting in Clayton Park, Halifax.

Fairview

Renting in Fairview, Halifax.

Spryfield

Renting in Spryfield, Halifax.

Bedford-Sackville

Bedford

Renting in Bedford, Halifax.

Lower Sackville

Renting in Lower Sackville, Halifax.

Dartmouth

Dartmouth Downtown

Renting in Dartmouth Downtown, Dartmouth.

Woodside

Renting in Woodside, Dartmouth.

Cole Harbour

Renting in Cole Harbour, Dartmouth.

Halifax vs. Dartmouth

Dartmouth, across the harbour, is technically part of Halifax Regional Municipality but rents and feels like its own city, connected to the peninsula by two bridges and the Halifax Transit ferry. It's typically a lower-cost alternative to the downtown peninsula with a fast, scenic commute for anyone working downtown.

Section 3

Halifax schools and school boards

Where you live decides which public school your kids attend. Halifax Regional Municipality is served by one large English board and a province-wide French board.

The public school boards

Halifax Regional Centre for Education

HRCE

Serves families across its catchment area of Halifax Regional Municipality with designated schools plus alternative and specialized programs.

Conseil scolaire acadien provincial

CSAP

Serves families across its catchment area of Halifax Regional Municipality with designated schools plus alternative and specialized programs.

How to find a school for your address

1
Confirm which board serves your address first.HRCE covers most of the municipality; CSAP serves Francophone families province-wide, including several Halifax-area schools.
2
Use the board's school locator.Enter the address on the board's own site to find the designated school for each grade level.
3
Check whether the school is capped.Popular schools in growing areas of Halifax can close to non-designated students.
4
Confirm before you sign the lease.School-driven address decisions do not have a rewind button, especially mid-school-year.

Section 4

Halifax universities and post-secondary

Halifax has one of the highest concentrations of university students per capita of any Canadian city, and student demand is a defining feature of several neighbourhoods.

Dalhousie University

~21,000 students

Dal

Students concentrate in neighborhoods within walking or short-transit distance of the Dal campus.

Saint Mary's University

SMU

Students concentrate in neighborhoods within walking or short-transit distance of the SMU campus.

Timing tip

Rentals near Dalhousie's Studley and Carleton campuses in the South End, and near Saint Mary's in the South End as well, typically hit peak demand in August and early September as students sign leases for the fall semester. If you are a landlord targeting students, list early. If you are a student looking for the best selection, start hunting by July.

Section 5

Getting around Halifax

Halifax Transit runs the city's bus network and a harbour ferry, one of the few regular passenger ferry services in Canadian urban transit.

The essentials

•
Halifax Transit buses:the bus network covers the peninsula, mainland Halifax, Bedford-Sackville, and Dartmouth, with higher frequency on major corridors.
•
Halifax Transit Ferry:connects downtown Halifax to Dartmouth and Woodside across the harbour, a fast and scenic commuter option unique among Canadian mid-size cities.
•
The downtown peninsula:the most walkable part of the city, with the highest concentration of car-optional rentals near universities and the waterfront.
•
Halifax Stanfield International Airport:north of the city near Fall River, a factor for renters who travel frequently.

Car-optional zones

If you value a car-optional lifestyle, look at the downtown peninsula (North End, South End, Downtown) and anywhere directly on a Halifax Transit ferry or high-frequency bus route. Bedford, Lower Sackville, and much of Dartmouth outside the ferry corridor are more car-dependent.

Section 6

What it costs to live in Halifax in 2026

Rent is the biggest line, but not the only one. Here's how Halifax's fixed costs stack against the rest of Canada.

Where Halifax wins

•
Rent versus other big Canadian coastal cities.Halifax's CMHC average of $1,755 across all apartment types is meaningfully below Vancouver and Toronto, making it a relatively more affordable big-city coastal market.
•
A long rent-increase runway.Nova Scotia's four-month notice requirement and 5% annual cap on existing tenancies give tenants far more advance warning and protection from an increase than most other provinces.
•
Loosening vacancy.A rising vacancy rate (2.1% to 2.7%) means more choice and more negotiating room than Halifax renters have had in recent years.

Where Halifax is expensive

•
Rent growth outpacing many peers.The 7.3 percent year-over-year increase in average rent outpaced overall Canadian rent growth even as vacancy loosened, driven partly by older, lower-cost units catching up to market rates.
•
Damp winters and heating costs.Halifax's oceanic climate brings milder temperatures than inland Canada but higher humidity, which can affect heating costs in older, less efficient units.

For live monthly cost-of-living data, Statistics Canada's Consumer Price Index release publishes the Halifax CMA component broken down by category.

Section 7

Halifax events, culture, and why people love it here

The last section before we get to the practical answers. If you're deciding whether to move to Halifax in the first place, this is what tips the scale.

Halifax's calendar runs from a summer street-performer festival on the waterfront to a military tattoo that draws visitors from across the country, anchored by the Halifax Citadel overlooking the harbour and one of the busiest ice-free ports on the east coast.

Major annual events

Halifax International Busker Festival

August

A signature Halifax event drawing large crowds citywide.

Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo

early July

A signature Halifax event drawing large crowds citywide.

Halifax's climate

Oceanic climate

Mild, wet winters and warm summers

Environment Canada 1991-2020

Halifax Stanfield International

Climate normals station

Milder winters than most of Canada

A tradeoff against higher humidity and more precipitation

Halifax's professional and junior sports

Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL)

One of Halifax's major sports franchises.

Halifax Thunderbirds (NLL)

One of Halifax's major sports franchises.

Section 8

Renting in Halifax: Nova Scotia tenancy law essentials

These rules apply to every Halifax rental, set out in Nova Scotia's Residential Tenancies Act and enforced by the Residential Tenancies Program. Bookmark this section.

The common rule of thumb is 30 percent of gross monthly income on housing (rent plus utilities). On Halifax's CMHC average of roughly $1,755 a month across all apartment types, that means a gross household income of around $70,000 a year to stay within that guideline. Halifax's median household income is close to that range, which is why many renters here budget closer to that 30 percent ceiling than in more affordable Canadian markets.

Try the free rent affordability calculator →

Section 9

Live Halifax rentals on SQRFT

Browse listings across Halifax neighbourhoods. All listings verified. Free to list.

Browse Halifax listings

Pricing

What should Halifax rent cost?

Get a free rent estimate

SQRFT Rent Estimator

See a data-driven rent range for your Halifax property based on our Canadian rental market model.

Sources

Rentals Halifax: Renting in Halifax in 2026

What Halifax rents look like in mid-2026

Where Haligonians rent: the neighbourhood guide

Peninsula

Mainland

Bedford-Sackville

Dartmouth

Halifax schools and school boards

The public school boards

How to find a school for your address

Halifax universities and post-secondary

Getting around Halifax

The essentials

What it costs to live in Halifax in 2026

Where Halifax wins

Where Halifax is expensive

Halifax events, culture, and why people love it here

Major annual events

Halifax's climate

Halifax's professional and junior sports

Renting in Halifax: Nova Scotia tenancy law essentials

Live Halifax rentals on SQRFT

Related SQRFT content

What should Halifax rent cost?

Where these numbers come from