Apartments rented on Airbnb were vandalized during the night from Tuesday to Wednesday in the borough of Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, according to a press release.
The vandals say they “sabotaged the locks of around thirty Airbnbs” in the area to “physically attack the owners who steal their homes.”
“In the neighborhood, 300 homes are being removed from the rental market due to the presence of Airbnb,” the unsigned statement of claim, sent from an anonymous email address, argues. “With an exceptionally low vacancy rate, it is impossible to let this pass.”
Activists say that “no strictly legal Airbnb” was targeted, without specifying how this analysis was carried out.
The Montreal Police Department has confirmed that it has opened an investigation into misdeeds that occurred at 3650 Ontario Street, a building in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve that houses several apartments offered on the Airbnb website. The police noted, among other things, the presence of paint thrown and broken windows.
“It appears that a group of individuals committed the crimes. We received the call to 9-1-1 around 12:50 a.m.” last night, said police spokesperson Véronique Dubuc.
3650 Ontario Street had already been targeted by vandalism last winter.