If you live in a manufactured home community in Nova Scotia and pay lot rent, you own the home but not the land. Because there is no land, there is no deed. Instead, the home is registered through Service Nova Scotia as personal property — similar to a motor vehicle — on a Certificate of Registration.

How Ownership Works

Even if your home looks permanent — with a deck, skirting, and steps — it remains personal property if it sits in a land-lease park. This distinction matters because the process for adding a co-owner goes through Access Nova Scotia (the vehicle and personal property registry), not the Land Registry.

The Six Steps

  1. Talk to the park first. Most site leases require park consent before ownership can change. Write to the park manager to request approval and get it in writing. The park may require your child to complete an application. Keep the written approval — you will need it at Access Nova Scotia.
  2. Decide how you will hold title. Joint tenancy means the survivor automatically owns the full home on death. Tenancy in common means each person owns a defined share that passes through their estate. Most families choose joint tenancy for estate planning purposes.
  3. Gather your documents. You need the current Certificate of Registration, photo ID for both parties, the park's written consent, and the gift form (for the HST exemption).
  4. Complete the transfer at Access Nova Scotia. Use the Application for Vehicle Permit or Certificate of Registration form. List both names and specify the form of ownership. Both parties must sign. Submit with the current registration, ID, and park consent letter.
  5. Pay the fee. The registration transfer fee is approximately $13.20. If you qualify for the family gift exemption, HST is not charged (see below).
  6. Follow through. Update your insurance to reflect both owners. Provide the park with a copy of the new registration. Ask the municipality to update any tax or levy notices.

The Family Gift Exemption and HST

Normally HST is charged on a transfer, as with a used vehicle. When the transfer is a gift to a close family member (parent to child), the tax is waived if you complete the required gift form. Both the parent and child must sign the form, and both signatures must be sworn before a Commissioner of Oaths or Notary Public.

If both parties can attend an Access Nova Scotia office together, the clerk will swear both signatures at the counter. If the child cannot attend in person, complete two originals — one commissioned in Nova Scotia for the parent, and one commissioned wherever the child lives. Both originals are submitted together.

Tax Considerations

The HST exemption only applies to the provincial registration. For federal income tax, CRA treats the gift as a disposition at fair market value. If the home is your principal residence, the principal residence exemption shelters the gain. If it is not your principal residence, a taxable capital gain may result at the time of the gift. Speak with an accountant before proceeding if you are unsure.