Rental on Airbnb | Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve bans all “commercial” use

The borough of Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve announced Monday that it will prohibit any “commercial” use of Airbnb-type accommodation rentals and offers on its territory, in order to “protect our rental stock”.

“We cannot continue to let the apartments in our neighborhoods be monopolized by numbered companies who line their pockets by renting them out on Airbnb. It is absolutely necessary to protect our rental stock,” pleaded the borough mayor, Pierre Lessard-Blais, in a press release, stressing that “the housing crisis is hitting hard” for the residents of his sector.

A notice of motion will be tabled during a meeting of the borough council, Monday evening, in order to “modify the borough’s urban planning by-law” and thus “limit the uses permitted and the types of possible conversions”.

Thus, “only the tourist residence offered to a transient clientele by a person in his main residence will be authorized, coming to curb […] the proliferation of these tourist establishments,” says the borough. Secondary residences, lodges or other cannot be rented via Airbnb.

Simplify the work of inspectors

Since 2016, Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve had already regulated tourist accommodation to restrict it to certain areas, including certain segments of Ontario Street, Sainte-Catherine and Sherbrooke in particular. Several other boroughs are doing the same. In the west of the city, Verdun and Lachine have banned the commercial rental of short-term accommodation for a while.

It should be understood that the Tourist Accommodation Act prevents municipalities from prohibiting rental through principal residences. In other words, Quebec requires municipalities to allow use in main residences, but lets them determine the prohibitions beyond this sector.

With this change in regulations, Mayor Lessard-Blais therefore wants above all to “simplify as much as possible the work of Revenu Québec inspectors to find illegal Airbnbs”.

At the end of March, more than a week after the fire that killed seven people in Old Montreal, the company’s leaders announced their intention to remove all illegal housing from its platform, throughout the province.

All ads will now have to have a registration number from the Corporation de l’industrie touristique du Québec (CITQ) and “the Quebec government will have access to the platform’s cities portal to ensure hosts comply with the rules. “, had then declared Airbnb. The news came the day after Airbnb Canada executives met with Tourism Minister Caroline Proulx, who informed them of her intention to require them to only post compliant accommodations.