Press review of late March

In this final press review of the month, we look at the regulation of short-term tourist rentals and the initiatives taken by some cities to support housing construction.

The government hears CORPIQ’s appeals on the legal framework for short-term tourist accommodations

This March 19 Radio-Canada Info article entitled, “Incendie dans le Vieux-Montréal : l’inaction des autorités contre Airbnb montrée du doigt” (Fire in Old Montreal highlights authorities’ inaction against Airbnb) begins: “In the wake of the fire in Old Montreal that left seven people missing, all the stakeholders interviewed are lamenting the inaction of the Legault government and the municipalities. They are calling on authorities to step up investigations and fines against illegal tourist rentals to protect the rental housing stock, which is already in crisis.”

While there are regulations in place—at the provincial level, with mandatory registration with the Corporation de l’industrie touristique du Québec (CITQ), and at the municipal level, with defined areas where short-term tourist rentals are permitted—the article states that “the problem is the near absence of enforcement.” So, “the tragic fire in Old Montreal puts the spotlight on the lack of oversight over short-term rentals.”

The borough of Ville-Marie is cited as an example of an area where there are “many more accommodations available on Airbnb than the 45 establishments officially authorized to operate tourist accommodations. […] According to Inside Airbnb, 92.5% of the 13,913 units listed on Airbnb for Montreal are rented out without a permit.”

Regarding the whistleblowing process, the article states that when a complaint is filed with the Ville-Marie borough, it is then forwarded to Revenu Québec, which “is responsible for conducting investigations and issuing statements of offences under the Tourist Accommodation Act.” In practice, this means that anyone wishing to file a complaint is given a Revenu Québec form to fill in with the name and address of the property owner concerned. In the article, researcher Cloé St-Hilaire notes that this information is “sometimes difficult to obtain until the accommodation is rented.”

The article also clearly presents CORPIQ’s position: “Airbnb and similar platforms serve a purpose in areas where hotel supply is low, such as in Mont-Tremblant, but CORPIQ is campaigning for the rules to be tightened so that renters can no longer rent out their units for less than 30 days without the landlord’s consent.”

Marc-André Plante, Director of Public Affairs and Government Relations at CORPIQ, said that “protecting the current rental stock and fighting against illegal rentals is absolutely necessary and requires political leadership.” CORPIQ also believes that there should be a crack down on platforms. They should be required to check that the accommodations advertised are registered with the CITQ. The article notes that “in Toronto and Vancouver, an ad cannot be created without a registration number.”

This article in La Presse discusses illegal Airbnb accommodations in Old Montreal, where municipal zoning prohibits the rental of accommodations to tourists. Also noteworthy in the article is the list of Revenu Québec statistics on the application of the Tourist Accommodation Act, which can be found at the end of the article.

Lastly, in this March 20 Radio-Canada Info article entitled, “Québec modifiera la loi pour mieux encadrer les locations à court terme” (Quebec to change the law to better regulate short-term rentals), Caroline Proulx, Minister of Tourism, announces that her government will act “shortly” to update the legislation.

“The new legislation would require all advertisers to display their tourism registration number or face reprisals,” said Minister Proulx. “Any violation would result in a fine for the renter and the platform.” According to the article, Minister Proulx also said that the issue had been on her radar since late last year, when she was reappointed.

Valérie Plante, Mayor of Montreal, wants Airbnb to take responsibility by ensuring that advertisers provide a tourism registration number. She has reportedly contacted Minister Proulx and France-Élaine Duranceau, Minister Responsible for Housing, in anticipation of a meeting.

Cities take action to support housing construction

Three cities in Quebec are taking the lead in stimulating the creation of housing through incentives to the private sector and urban planning solutions.

The article in Le Nouvelliste, “Politique d’habitation de Trois-Rivières: une riposte à la crise du logement” (Trois-Rivières housing policy addresses the housing crisis), discusses the situation in this city. “The housing shortage is an extremely complex issue,” said Daniel Cournoyer, Deputy Mayor of Trois-Rivières. “The policy will be backed up by a specific action plan, whose objective is to create new social housing to tackle the shortage that we are currently facing.”

Deputy Mayor Cournoyer admits that “this is a major challenge.” The article states that “the vacancy rate has fallen from 4.6% in 2017 to 0.9% in 2021, while the average rent was $642 in 2021 compared to $568 in 2017.”

The 11-point action plan “proposes several ways to achieve its objective over a five-year period.” These include “hiring a person dedicated full time to housing,” “adopting a bylaw allowing Trois-Rivières to acquire land or buildings for social housing (pre-emption right),” and “developing a subsidy program for the creation of affordable housing.”

In addition, Radio-Canada has published an article about the situation in Rimouski. The introduction reads: “The City of Rimouski is working hard to speed up the construction of housing units, proposing property tax credits, a relaxation of zoning rules, and the drafting of a housing policy.”

According to the City, more than 2,000 housing units need to be built to balance the rental market. Faced with a vacancy rate of 0.2% in 2021, Rimouski “has seen a decline in the number of housing starts over the last 10 years.” Guy Caron, Mayor of Rimouski, wants to send “a strong message” to developers. He said: “The 12-point plan will address many of these issues, add an element of security, and provide viable incentives to get us out of this crisis as quickly as possible.”

 

Lastly, the City of Victoriaville announced the purchase of an interactive map to help address the housing shortage. According to the press release, “This tool makes it possible to list the areas that have the potential for densification [...] and the buildings that could be expanded, renovated, or have floors added to them to accommodate additional housing units.” Antoine Tardif, Mayor of Victoriaville, said: “This interactive map is a great innovation that once again shows how Victoriaville is leading the way in densifying its territory.”

This March 19 Radio-Canada Info article entitled, “Incendie dans le Vieux-Montréal : l’inaction des autorités contre Airbnb montrée du doigt” (Fire in Old Montreal highlights authorities’ inaction against Airbnb[SG1] ) begins: “In the wake of the fire in Old Montreal that left seven people missing, all the stakeholders interviewed are lamenting the inaction of the Legault government and the municipalities. They are calling on authorities to step up investigations and fines against illegal tourist rentals to protect the rental housing stock, which is already in crisis.”

While there are regulations in place—at the provincial level, with mandatory registration with the Corporation de l’industrie touristique du Québec (CITQ), and at the municipal level, with defined areas where short-term tourist rentals are permitted—the article states that “the problem is the near absence of enforcement.” So, “the tragic fire in Old Montreal puts the spotlight on the lack of oversight over short-term rentals.”

The borough of Ville-Marie is cited as an example of an area where there are “many more accommodations available on Airbnb than the 45 establishments officially authorized to operate tourist accommodations. […] According to Inside Airbnb, 92.5% of the 13,913 units listed on Airbnb for Montreal are rented out without a permit.”

Regarding the whistleblowing process, the article states that when a complaint is filed with the Ville-Marie borough, it is then forwarded to Revenu Québec, which “is responsible for conducting investigations and issuing statements of offences under the Tourist Accommodation Act.” In practice, this means that anyone wishing to file a complaint is given a Revenu Québec form to fill in with the name and address of the property owner concerned. In the article, researcher Cloé [NR2] St-Hilaire notes that this information is “sometimes difficult to obtain until the accommodation is rented.”

The article also clearly presents CORPIQ’s position: “Airbnb and similar platforms serve a purpose in areas where hotel supply is low, such as in Mont-Tremblant, but CORPIQ is campaigning for the rules to be tightened so that renters can no longer rent out their units for less than 30 days without the landlord’s consent.”

Marc-André Plante, Director of Public Affairs and Government Relations at CORPIQ, said that “protecting the current rental stock and fighting against illegal rentals is absolutely necessary and requires political leadership.” CORPIQ also believes that there should be a crack down on platforms. They should be required to check that the accommodations advertised are registered with the CITQ. The article notes that “in Toronto and Vancouver, an ad cannot be created without a registration number.”

This article in La Presse discusses illegal Airbnb accommodations in Old Montreal, where municipal zoning prohibits the rental of accommodations to tourists. Also noteworthy in the article is the list of Revenu Québec statistics on the application of the Tourist Accommodation Act, which can be found at the end of the article.

Lastly, in this March 20 Radio-Canada Info article entitled, “Québec modifiera la loi pour mieux encadrer les locations à court terme” (Quebec to change the law to better regulate short-term rentals), Caroline Proulx, Minister of Tourism, announces that her government will act “shortly” to update the legislation.

“The new legislation would require all advertisers to display their tourism registration number or face reprisals,” said Minister Proulx. “Any violation would result in a fine for the renter and the platform.” According to the article, Minister Proulx also said that the issue had been on her radar since late last year, when she was reappointed.

Valérie Plante, Mayor of Montreal, wants Airbnb to take responsibility by ensuring that advertisers provide a tourism registration number. She has reportedly contacted Minister Proulx and France-Élaine Duranceau, Minister Responsible for Housing, in anticipation of a meeting.

Cities take action to support housing construction

Three cities in Quebec are taking the lead in stimulating the creation of housing through incentives to the private sector and urban planning solutions.

The article in Le Nouvelliste, “Politique d’habitation de Trois-Rivières: une riposte à la crise du logement” (Trois-Rivières housing policy addresses the housing crisis), discusses the situation in this city. “The housing shortage is an extremely complex issue,” said Daniel Cournoyer, Deputy Mayor of Trois-Rivières. “The policy will be backed up by a specific action plan, whose objective is to create new social housing to tackle the shortage that we are currently facing.”

Deputy Mayor Cournoyer admits that “this is a major challenge.” The article states that “the vacancy rate has fallen from 4.6% in 2017 to 0.9% in 2021, while the average rent was $642 in 2021 compared to $568 in 2017.”

The 11-point action plan “proposes several ways to achieve its objective over a five-year period.” These include “hiring a person dedicated full time to housing,” “adopting a bylaw allowing Trois-Rivières to acquire land or buildings for social housing (pre-emption right),” and “developing a subsidy program for the creation of affordable housing.”

In addition, Radio-Canada has published an article about the situation in Rimouski. The introduction reads: “The City of Rimouski is working hard to speed up the construction of housing units, proposing property tax credits, a relaxation of zoning rules, and the drafting of a housing policy.”

According to the City, more than 2,000 housing units need to be built to balance the rental market. Faced with a vacancy rate of 0.2% in 2021, Rimouski “has seen a decline in the number of housing starts over the last 10 years.” Guy Caron, Mayor of Rimouski, wants to send “a strong message” to developers. He said: “The 12-point plan will address many of these issues, add an element of security, and provide viable incentives to get us out of this crisis as quickly as possible.”

Lastly, the City of Victoriaville announced the purchase of an interactive map to help address the housing shortage. According to the press release, “This tool makes it possible to list the areas that have the potential for densification [...] and the buildings that could be expanded, renovated, or have floors added to them to accommodate additional housing units.” Antoine Tardif, Mayor of Victoriaville, said: “This interactive map is a great innovation that once again shows how Victoriaville is leading the way in densifying its territory.”