Just over a week after a deadly fire ravaged a heritage building in Old Montreal where short-term rental accommodation was located on Airbnb-like platforms, the multinational pledged on Friday to remove all listings illegal in Quebec that can be found on its website.
In a letter sent Friday to the Minister of Tourism, Caroline Proulx, and whose The duty obtained a copy, Airbnb Regional Manager Nathan Rotman pledged to remove, “province-wide,” existing listings that do not include a Corporation of Ownership registration number. Tourism Industry of Quebec (CITQ).
In order to legally rent short-term accommodation on platforms like Airbnb, Quebecers must first ensure that they comply with the municipal regulations in force in their area, before being able to obtain a registration number from the CITQ.
However, thousands of ads on the Airbnb platform do not include this registration number, which is mandatory. According to the Inside Airbnb site, 92.5% of the approximately 13,900 listings on the Airbnb platform in Montreal are illegal, either because they contravene the regulations put in place by several boroughs which limit the sectors where this type of rental is permitted. , or because they have not obtained the required authorizations from Quebec.
In order to remedy this situation, Airbnb is committing to adding “a field requiring a registration number for all new listings”, adds Mr. Rotman’s letter. “Hosts who do not fill in this field will have their listings removed,” he assures.
Caroline Proulx “satisfied”
These Airbnb commitments are therefore in line with the regulatory changes that Minister Caroline Proulx pledged last Monday to implement in the coming months in order to counter the phenomenon of illegal short-term rentals. However, it should be remembered that several other platforms of this type exist, even if Airbnb is the best known.
“These measures take nothing away from the need to continue working together to improve the CITQ registration system, so that Quebecers can continue to receive a supplementary income, particularly in this period of economic uncertainty,” adds Mr. Rotman.
In writing, Minister Caroline Proulx for her part said she was “satisfied” with Airbnb’s decision “to comply with our legislation”. “I also ask the other platforms to comply,” adds the Minister, who also retains her intention to “tighten the Tourist Accommodation Act”.