Around a hundred demonstrators gathered on Wednesday noon in front of a building in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district where apartments are rented on Airbnb, to denounce this way of doing things.
“In the midst of a housing crisis, it is a provocation to have a brand new building filled with Airbnbs, which in no way meets the needs of people in the neighborhood,” lamented community organizer Annie Lapalme, of Entraide Logement Hochelaga -Maisonneuve, addressing the crowd.
“Today, we say: enough is enough! »
PHOTO ROBERT SKINNER, THE PRESS
Annie Lapalme, from Hochelaga-Maisonneuve Housing Support
“When we favor real estate speculators, this is what makes a working-class neighborhood become a haven for tourists, and we can no longer find housing,” added Emmanuel Cree, of the Popular Organization of social rights.
The building in question was the target of vandals last week. Its ground floor was covered in paint, graffiti and posters against renting on Airbnb.
In this 27-unit building, owned by the company Strawberry Stays, three accommodations are available for short-term rental on online platforms. The owner had already indicated his intention to do short-term rental at the time of construction of the building, as well as in a lawsuit filed last August against the borough of Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, to contest the municipal by-law which prohibits commercial tourist rentals.
Three people obtained a certificate of conformity from the borough to allow them to rent accommodation in this building on Airbnb, declaring that it was their main residence, which is permitted by municipal regulations.
Protest organizers took Strawberry Stays to task, shouting at the company to “get the fuck out.” But they also denounced the mayor of the district, Pierre Lessard-Blais, whom they accused of not enforcing his regulations and of “cronyism” with real estate investors.
“The borough walks hand in hand with predatory investors,” said Marine G. Armengaud, community organizer for the BAILS committee.
Pierre Lessard-Blais instead blames the Quebec government for the current situation, which prevents the borough from fully enforcing its regulations governing commercial rentals on Airbnb. He emphasizes that it is Revenu Québec which can determine where the principal residence of a citizen is located and which has investigators to enforce the Tourist Accommodation Act.
“It’s positive that there is citizen mobilization. I encourage people to denounce commercial rentals on Airbnb, to encourage Revenu Québec to hire more inspectors,” the borough mayor said in an interview following Wednesday’s demonstration.
PHOTO ROBERT SKINNER, THE PRESS
The building in question was the target of vandals last week. Its ground floor was covered in paint, graffiti and posters against renting on Airbnb.
“Quebec must act quickly, for its own credibility and to prove that its law is effective. »
He reiterated the borough’s opposition to any commercial tourist rental on its territory, and revealed that he had contacted Revenu Québec inspectors to ask them to investigate the apartments offered on Airbnb by Strawberry Stays.
Mr. Lessard-Blais affirms that representations were made to the office of the Minister of Tourism, Caroline Proulx, to bring to its attention this breach which could allow individuals to declare that they rent their main residence on Airbnb, without so that municipalities can cross-check this assertion.
“We are in the worst housing crisis in history, but the borough and Revenu Québec are throwing the ball at each other to avoid applying the regulations. We should not be surprised to see the neighborhood angry, and this anger is far from appeasing,” denounced Louis Beaudin-Marcoux, of the BAILS committee, during the demonstration.