diff --git a/lib/puppet/type/cloudwatch_alarm.rb b/lib/puppet/type/cloudwatch_alarm.rb
index ee358e2c..9c00fafa 100644
--- a/lib/puppet/type/cloudwatch_alarm.rb
+++ b/lib/puppet/type/cloudwatch_alarm.rb
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+require_relative '../../puppet_x/puppetlabs/property/region'
+
 Puppet::Type.newtype(:cloudwatch_alarm) do
   @doc = 'Type representing an AWS CloudWatch Alarm.'
 
@@ -73,13 +75,8 @@
     end
   end
 
-  newproperty(:region) do
+  newproperty(:region, :parent => PuppetX::Property::AwsRegion) do
     desc 'The region in which to launch the instances.'
-    validate do |value|
-      fail 'region should not contain spaces' if value =~ /\s/
-      fail 'region should not be blank' if value == ''
-      fail 'region should be a String' unless value.is_a?(String)
-    end
   end
 
   newproperty(:dimensions, :array_matching => :all) do
diff --git a/lib/puppet/type/ec2_autoscalinggroup.rb b/lib/puppet/type/ec2_autoscalinggroup.rb
index 5983c964..35fc5eee 100644
--- a/lib/puppet/type/ec2_autoscalinggroup.rb
+++ b/lib/puppet/type/ec2_autoscalinggroup.rb
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+require_relative '../../puppet_x/puppetlabs/property/region'
+
 Puppet::Type.newtype(:ec2_autoscalinggroup) do
   @doc = 'Type representing an EC2 auto scaling group.'
 
@@ -31,13 +33,8 @@
     end
   end
 
-  newproperty(:region) do
+  newproperty(:region, :parent => PuppetX::Property::AwsRegion) do
     desc 'The region in which to launch the instances.'
-    validate do |value|
-      fail 'region should not contain spaces' if value =~ /\s/
-      fail 'region should not be blank' if value == ''
-      fail 'region should be a String' unless value.is_a?(String)
-    end
   end
 
   newproperty(:launch_configuration) do
diff --git a/lib/puppet/type/ec2_elastic_ip.rb b/lib/puppet/type/ec2_elastic_ip.rb
index 15c022d5..29aed019 100644
--- a/lib/puppet/type/ec2_elastic_ip.rb
+++ b/lib/puppet/type/ec2_elastic_ip.rb
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+require_relative '../../puppet_x/puppetlabs/property/region'
+
 Puppet::Type.newtype(:ec2_elastic_ip) do
   @doc = "Type representing an Elastic IP and it's association."
 
@@ -19,12 +21,8 @@
     end
   end
 
-  newproperty(:region) do
+  newproperty(:region, :parent => PuppetX::Property::AwsRegion) do
     desc 'The name of the region in which the Elastic IP is found.'
-    validate do |value|
-      fail 'region should be a String' unless value.is_a?(String)
-      fail 'You must provide a region for Elastic IPs.' if value.nil? || value.empty?
-    end
   end
 
   newproperty(:instance) do
diff --git a/lib/puppet/type/ec2_launchconfiguration.rb b/lib/puppet/type/ec2_launchconfiguration.rb
index 1133ae9c..89d409d1 100644
--- a/lib/puppet/type/ec2_launchconfiguration.rb
+++ b/lib/puppet/type/ec2_launchconfiguration.rb
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+require_relative '../../puppet_x/puppetlabs/property/region'
+
 Puppet::Type.newtype(:ec2_launchconfiguration) do
   @doc = 'Type representing an EC2 launch configuration.'
 
@@ -33,13 +35,8 @@ def insync?(is)
     end
   end
 
-  newproperty(:region) do
+  newproperty(:region, :parent => PuppetX::Property::AwsRegion) do
     desc 'The region in which to launch the instances.'
-    validate do |value|
-      fail 'region should not contain spaces' if value =~ /\s/
-      fail 'region should not be blank' if value == ''
-      fail 'region should be a String' unless value.is_a?(String)
-    end
   end
 
   newproperty(:instance_type) do
diff --git a/lib/puppet/type/ec2_scalingpolicy.rb b/lib/puppet/type/ec2_scalingpolicy.rb
index 99698cb9..922c22ca 100644
--- a/lib/puppet/type/ec2_scalingpolicy.rb
+++ b/lib/puppet/type/ec2_scalingpolicy.rb
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+require_relative '../../puppet_x/puppetlabs/property/region'
+
 Puppet::Type.newtype(:ec2_scalingpolicy) do
   @doc = 'Type representing an EC2 scaling policy.'
 
@@ -21,13 +23,8 @@
     end
   end
 
-  newproperty(:region) do
+  newproperty(:region, :parent => PuppetX::Property::AwsRegion) do
     desc 'The region in which to launch the policy.'
-    validate do |value|
-      fail 'region should not contain spaces' if value =~ /\s/
-      fail 'region should not be blank' if value == ''
-      fail 'region should be a String' unless value.is_a?(String)
-    end
   end
 
   newproperty(:adjustment_type) do
diff --git a/lib/puppet/type/ec2_securitygroup.rb b/lib/puppet/type/ec2_securitygroup.rb
index 74014975..4e62d143 100644
--- a/lib/puppet/type/ec2_securitygroup.rb
+++ b/lib/puppet/type/ec2_securitygroup.rb
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
-require_relative '../../puppet_x/puppetlabs/property/tag.rb'
+require_relative '../../puppet_x/puppetlabs/property/tag'
+require_relative '../../puppet_x/puppetlabs/property/region'
 require_relative '../../puppet_x/puppetlabs/aws_ingress_rules_parser'
 
 Puppet::Type.newtype(:ec2_securitygroup) do
@@ -14,12 +15,8 @@
     end
   end
 
-  newproperty(:region) do
+  newproperty(:region, :parent => PuppetX::Property::AwsRegion) do
     desc 'the region in which to launch the security group'
-    validate do |value|
-      fail 'region should not contain spaces' if value =~ /\s/
-      fail 'region should be a String' unless value.is_a?(String)
-    end
   end
 
   newproperty(:ingress, :array_matching => :all) do
diff --git a/lib/puppet/type/ec2_vpc.rb b/lib/puppet/type/ec2_vpc.rb
index 81e09189..f8c1f14a 100644
--- a/lib/puppet/type/ec2_vpc.rb
+++ b/lib/puppet/type/ec2_vpc.rb
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
-require_relative '../../puppet_x/puppetlabs/property/tag.rb'
+require_relative '../../puppet_x/puppetlabs/property/tag'
+require_relative '../../puppet_x/puppetlabs/property/region'
 
 Puppet::Type.newtype(:ec2_vpc) do
   @doc = 'A type representing an AWS VPC.'
@@ -13,12 +14,8 @@
     end
   end
 
-  newproperty(:region) do
+  newproperty(:region, :parent => PuppetX::Property::AwsRegion) do
     desc 'The region in which to launch the VPC.'
-    validate do |value|
-      fail 'region should not contain spaces' if value =~ /\s/
-      fail 'region should be a String' unless value.is_a?(String)
-    end
   end
 
   newproperty(:cidr_block) do
diff --git a/lib/puppet/type/ec2_vpc_customer_gateway.rb b/lib/puppet/type/ec2_vpc_customer_gateway.rb
index f5badd64..42aeaf8a 100644
--- a/lib/puppet/type/ec2_vpc_customer_gateway.rb
+++ b/lib/puppet/type/ec2_vpc_customer_gateway.rb
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
-require_relative '../../puppet_x/puppetlabs/property/tag.rb'
+require_relative '../../puppet_x/puppetlabs/property/tag'
+require_relative '../../puppet_x/puppetlabs/property/region'
 
 Puppet::Type.newtype(:ec2_vpc_customer_gateway) do
   @doc = 'Type representing an AWS VPC customer gateways.'
@@ -31,12 +32,8 @@
     desc 'The tags for the customer gateway.'
   end
 
-  newproperty(:region) do
+  newproperty(:region, :parent => PuppetX::Property::AwsRegion) do
     desc 'The region in which to launch the customer gateway.'
-    validate do |value|
-      fail 'region should not contain spaces' if value =~ /\s/
-      fail 'region should be a String' unless value.is_a?(String)
-    end
   end
 
   newproperty(:type) do
diff --git a/lib/puppet/type/ec2_vpc_dhcp_options.rb b/lib/puppet/type/ec2_vpc_dhcp_options.rb
index e1305634..70189df8 100644
--- a/lib/puppet/type/ec2_vpc_dhcp_options.rb
+++ b/lib/puppet/type/ec2_vpc_dhcp_options.rb
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
-require_relative '../../puppet_x/puppetlabs/property/tag.rb'
+require_relative '../../puppet_x/puppetlabs/property/tag'
+require_relative '../../puppet_x/puppetlabs/property/region'
 
 Puppet::Type.newtype(:ec2_vpc_dhcp_options) do
   @doc = 'Type representing a DHCP option set for AWS VPC.'
@@ -17,7 +18,7 @@
     desc 'Tags for the DHCP option set.'
   end
 
-  newproperty(:region) do
+  newproperty(:region, :parent => PuppetX::Property::AwsRegion) do
     desc 'The region in which to assign the DHCP option set.'
     validate do |value|
       fail 'region should not contain spaces' if value =~ /\s/
diff --git a/lib/puppet/type/ec2_vpc_internet_gateway.rb b/lib/puppet/type/ec2_vpc_internet_gateway.rb
index 1607b57f..423d31a4 100644
--- a/lib/puppet/type/ec2_vpc_internet_gateway.rb
+++ b/lib/puppet/type/ec2_vpc_internet_gateway.rb
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
-require_relative '../../puppet_x/puppetlabs/property/tag.rb'
+require_relative '../../puppet_x/puppetlabs/property/tag'
+require_relative '../../puppet_x/puppetlabs/property/region'
 
 Puppet::Type.newtype(:ec2_vpc_internet_gateway) do
   @doc = 'Type representing an EC2 VPC Internet Gateway.'
@@ -17,12 +18,8 @@
     desc 'Tags to assign to the internet gateway.'
   end
 
-  newproperty(:region) do
+  newproperty(:region, :parent => PuppetX::Property::AwsRegion) do
     desc 'The region in which to launch the internet gateway.'
-    validate do |value|
-      fail 'region should not contain spaces' if value =~ /\s/
-      fail 'region should be a String' unless value.is_a?(String)
-    end
   end
 
   newproperty(:vpc) do
diff --git a/lib/puppet/type/ec2_vpc_routetable.rb b/lib/puppet/type/ec2_vpc_routetable.rb
index c37f0684..c576613c 100644
--- a/lib/puppet/type/ec2_vpc_routetable.rb
+++ b/lib/puppet/type/ec2_vpc_routetable.rb
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
-require_relative '../../puppet_x/puppetlabs/property/tag.rb'
+require_relative '../../puppet_x/puppetlabs/property/tag'
+require_relative '../../puppet_x/puppetlabs/property/region'
 
 Puppet::Type.newtype(:ec2_vpc_routetable) do
   @doc = 'Type representing a VPC route table.'
@@ -20,12 +21,8 @@
     end
   end
 
-  newproperty(:region) do
+  newproperty(:region, :parent => PuppetX::Property::AwsRegion) do
     desc 'Region in which to launch the route table.'
-    validate do |value|
-      fail 'region should not contain spaces' if value =~ /\s/
-      fail 'region should be a String' unless value.is_a?(String)
-    end
   end
 
   newproperty(:routes, :array_matching => :all) do
diff --git a/lib/puppet/type/ec2_vpc_subnet.rb b/lib/puppet/type/ec2_vpc_subnet.rb
index 1631d11f..a737a6c4 100644
--- a/lib/puppet/type/ec2_vpc_subnet.rb
+++ b/lib/puppet/type/ec2_vpc_subnet.rb
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
-require_relative '../../puppet_x/puppetlabs/property/tag.rb'
+require_relative '../../puppet_x/puppetlabs/property/tag'
+require_relative '../../puppet_x/puppetlabs/property/region'
 
 Puppet::Type.newtype(:ec2_vpc_subnet) do
   @doc = 'Type representing a VPC Subnet.'
@@ -20,12 +21,8 @@
     end
   end
 
-  newproperty(:region) do
+  newproperty(:region, :parent => PuppetX::Property::AwsRegion) do
     desc 'The region in which to launch the subnet.'
-    validate do |value|
-      fail 'region should not contain spaces' if value =~ /\s/
-      fail 'region should be a String' unless value.is_a?(String)
-    end
   end
 
   newproperty(:cidr_block) do
diff --git a/lib/puppet/type/ec2_vpc_vpn.rb b/lib/puppet/type/ec2_vpc_vpn.rb
index fbdb5a47..10806a81 100644
--- a/lib/puppet/type/ec2_vpc_vpn.rb
+++ b/lib/puppet/type/ec2_vpc_vpn.rb
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
-require_relative '../../puppet_x/puppetlabs/property/tag.rb'
+require_relative '../../puppet_x/puppetlabs/property/tag'
+require_relative '../../puppet_x/puppetlabs/property/region'
 
 Puppet::Type.newtype(:ec2_vpc_vpn) do
   @doc = 'Type representing an AWS Virtual Private Networks.'
@@ -53,12 +54,8 @@ def insync?(is)
     end
   end
 
-  newproperty(:region) do
+  newproperty(:region, :parent => PuppetX::Property::AwsRegion) do
     desc 'The region in which to launch the VPN.'
-    validate do |value|
-      fail 'region should not contain spaces' if value =~ /\s/
-      fail 'region should be a String' unless value.is_a?(String)
-    end
   end
 
   newproperty(:tags, :parent => PuppetX::Property::AwsTag) do
diff --git a/lib/puppet/type/ec2_vpc_vpn_gateway.rb b/lib/puppet/type/ec2_vpc_vpn_gateway.rb
index d0276125..22e56eaf 100644
--- a/lib/puppet/type/ec2_vpc_vpn_gateway.rb
+++ b/lib/puppet/type/ec2_vpc_vpn_gateway.rb
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
-require_relative '../../puppet_x/puppetlabs/property/tag.rb'
+require_relative '../../puppet_x/puppetlabs/property/tag'
+require_relative '../../puppet_x/puppetlabs/property/region'
 
 Puppet::Type.newtype(:ec2_vpc_vpn_gateway) do
   @doc = 'A type representing a VPN gateway.'
@@ -24,12 +25,8 @@
     end
   end
 
-  newproperty(:region) do
+  newproperty(:region, :parent => PuppetX::Property::AwsRegion) do
     desc 'The region in which to launch the VPN gateway.'
-    validate do |value|
-      fail 'region should not contain spaces' if value =~ /\s/
-      fail 'region should be a String' unless value.is_a?(String)
-    end
   end
 
   newparam(:availability_zone) do
diff --git a/lib/puppet/type/elb_loadbalancer.rb b/lib/puppet/type/elb_loadbalancer.rb
index 17ae30ec..4cc11572 100644
--- a/lib/puppet/type/elb_loadbalancer.rb
+++ b/lib/puppet/type/elb_loadbalancer.rb
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
-require_relative '../../puppet_x/puppetlabs/property/tag.rb'
+require_relative '../../puppet_x/puppetlabs/property/tag'
+require_relative '../../puppet_x/puppetlabs/property/region'
 
 Puppet::Type.newtype(:elb_loadbalancer) do
   @doc = 'Type representing an ELB load balancer.'
@@ -13,12 +14,8 @@
     end
   end
 
-  newproperty(:region) do
+  newproperty(:region, :parent => PuppetX::Property::AwsRegion) do
     desc 'The region in which to launch the load balancer.'
-    validate do |value|
-      fail 'region must not contain spaces' if value =~ /\s/
-      fail 'region should be a String' unless value.is_a?(String)
-    end
   end
 
   newproperty(:listeners, :array_matching => :all) do
diff --git a/lib/puppet_x/puppetlabs/property/region.rb b/lib/puppet_x/puppetlabs/property/region.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..efe89476
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/puppet_x/puppetlabs/property/region.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+module PuppetX
+  module Property
+    class AwsRegion < Puppet::Property
+      validate do |value|
+        name = resource[:name]
+        fail 'region should not contain spaces' if value =~ /\s/
+        fail 'region should not be blank' if value == ''
+        fail 'region should be a String' unless value.is_a?(String)
+        if !ENV['AWS_REGION'].nil? && ENV['AWS_REGION'] != value
+          fail "if using AWS_REGION environment variable it must match the specified region value for #{name}"
+        end
+      end
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/spec/unit/type/ec2_elastic_ip_spec.rb b/spec/unit/type/ec2_elastic_ip_spec.rb
index 803abdf1..6faa3332 100644
--- a/spec/unit/type/ec2_elastic_ip_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/unit/type/ec2_elastic_ip_spec.rb
@@ -45,12 +45,12 @@
   it 'should require a region to be specified' do
     expect {
       type_class.new({ name: '10.0.0.1', region: '' })
-    }.to raise_error(Puppet::Error, /You must provide a region for Elastic IPs/)
+    }.to raise_error(Puppet::Error, /region should not be blank/)
   end
 
   it 'should require an instance to be specified' do
     expect {
-      type_class.new({ name: '10.0.0.1', region: 'us-east-1', instance: '' })
+      type_class.new({ name: '10.0.0.1', region: 'sa-east-1', instance: '' })
     }.to raise_error(Puppet::Error, /You must provide an instance for the Elastic IP association/)
   end
 
@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@
 
   context 'with valid properties' do
     it 'should create a valid elastic ip ' do
-      type_class.new({ name: '10.0.0.1', region: 'us-east-1', instance: 'web-1' })
+      type_class.new({ name: '10.0.0.1', region: 'sa-east-1', instance: 'web-1' })
     end
   end