Fatal fire in Old Montreal | Quebec wants to force Airbnb to ban illegal accommodation

Quebec wants to tighten its Tourist Accommodation Act to prevent Airbnb and other such platforms from advertising accommodations that are not duly registered, as requested by the City of Montreal and other municipalities.

“If there are violations, if the registration number is not displayed on the platforms, there will be fines, not only to the platform, but also to the landlords”, affirmed the Minister of Tourism, Caroline Proulx, Monday, during a press briefing in front of the ruins of the building in Old Montreal where a violent fire killed at least seven people last Thursday.

Currently, the law requires that accommodations rented on a short-term basis to tourists have a registration number from the Corporation de l’industrie touristique du Québec (CITQ). But few comply with this requirement, since rental platforms like Airbnb publish all listings, even those that do not comply with the law.

To register with the CITQ, a tourist apartment lessor must prove that municipal by-laws allow such use at the address in question.

The implementation of this measure would therefore prevent the publication of advertisements for areas prohibited for tourist rentals, such as Old Montreal.

This question is front and center because many of those who died in Thursday’s violent blaze had rented accommodation on Airbnb in the building destroyed by the flames, although municipal regulations prohibit this type of accommodation in all of Old Montreal.

Airbnb “washes its hands of it”

A little earlier, the mayor of Montreal, Valérie Plante, had made this request, in a press conference. She called for more inspectors from Quebec in order to enforce the Tourist Accommodation Actbut she felt it was Airbnb’s first responsibility to make sure the ads on its site were legal.

She lamented that the online rental giant “washes its hands of it”, when a “terrible tragedy” has just occurred.

“It is not normal for a company not to be concerned about the legitimacy of the people who do business with it, and that it dumps its responsibility on the municipal and provincial authorities that the taxpayers pay, argued the mayor. When you think about it, it’s completely absurd, it’s the world upside down. »

Montreal and Quebec seemed to pass the buck to each other, while Minister Caroline Proulx affirmed that Revenue Quebec inspectors, responsible for enforcing the Tourist Accommodation Act, did not intervene in cases of illegal housing outside permitted zones, such as the burnt down building in Place d’Youville. His remarks implied that it was up to the municipalities to tackle this problem.

“Outside the perimeters where short-term tourist accommodation is permitted by the municipalities, it is their responsibility to investigate, it is up to them to denounce the illegality of this type of accommodation there”, he said. -she says.

However, his firm intervened in the evening to correct the situation and recognize that the inspectors of Revenu Québec were indeed the ones who had to intervene to sanction the landlords of the accommodations advertised on Airbnb without a CITQ number.

Mayor Plante and Minister Proulx have planned to meet quickly with the Minister responsible for Housing, France-Élaine Duranceau, to discuss how to tackle illegal tourist rental, which is also denounced by organizations defense of tenants because of its impact on the housing crisis.

” Killer team ”

While waiting for these legislative changes to be implemented, three Montreal boroughs, Ville-Marie, Sud-Ouest and Plateau-Mont-Royal, are preparing to set up a squad that they will share, to flush out illegal rentals.

The coordinator of this future team, which should have four or five inspectors at the start, took office on Monday.

“What we want to do is be able to put together concrete evidence that can be presented in court, and get in touch with the Government of Quebec to work together. It will really be a shock team for the three boroughs,” explains the mayor of the Sud-Ouest borough, Benoit Dorais, who is also responsible for housing on the executive committee.

The fines imposed on offenders will also be higher, for those who violate the zoning by-law, adds the mayor of Plateau-Mont-Royal, Luc Rabouin. “We went to the maximum allowed, that is $2,000, so that it would be a real deterrent,” he explains. This fine would be added to that imposed by Quebec, which can vary between $3,500 and $25,000.

Mr. Rabouin deplores the “scourge” of illegal rentals in his borough, which removes housing from the long-term rental market and causes nuisance to the neighborhood. But he points out that owners who rent out their main residence occasionally can still do so, in all sectors, provided they have their CITQ registration number.

Called to comment on the controversy and the drama that occurred in Old Montreal, Airbnb contented itself with a laconic statement. “Our hearts go out to the victims of this tragedy, with their families and loved ones. We offer our support to those affected and cooperate with the authorities’ investigation. We are also in discussion with the office of the mayor,” said Nathan Rotman, director of Airbnb for Canada, in an e-mail message.