Living in & Visiting Banff

Straight answers to the questions people ask about living in and visiting Banff — who can live here, what the park costs, the buses, and what to do when wildlife turns up. Banff is the only town inside a Canadian national park, and a lot of its rules come from that.

Who is allowed to live in Banff?+−

Banff has an "eligible residency" rule: to live here you generally have to be tied to the community by work. You qualify if your main job is in the national park, you operate a business that needs you here day to day, you're a full-time student at a school in the park, or you're retired after working in the park for at least five years in a row. Spouses, partners and dependents of an eligible resident also qualify, and there are historical leaseholders from before 1911.

Running a home-based business or a B&B on its own does not make you eligible. The rule exists to keep the limited housing for people who actually live and work here, rather than for second homes.

Why can't you buy a house freehold in Banff?+−

All the land in the town sits inside the national park and is held under lease from the Crown (through Parks Canada) — there is no private freehold ownership. When you "buy" a home in Banff, you're buying the building and taking over the lease on the land, not buying the land outright.