Following the tragic building inferno in the Old Port of Montreal recently, many have called for drastic regulatory changes for short-term rentals.
In addition to the noise and insecurity that permanent residents can experience, short-term rentals can lead to abuse in certain situations when tenants rent their dwellings instead of living in them, in order to make a significant profit.
The announcement of an upcoming amendment to the law by Mme Proulx, the Minister responsible for Tourism, will have a deterrent effect on delinquent tenants. According to the recent information given, the new law “would require all advertisers to display their tourism certification number under penalty of reprisals.”
For the Association des Propriétaires du Québec (APQ) this new control will reduce illegal rental income made by tenants of a lease who want to increase their income.
The phenomenon of short-term tenants, via Airbnb and others, dates back several years and this free pass that tenants use has been denounced for a long time. As we informed you in 2016, in our article “ILLEGAL SUBLETTING BY THE AIRBNB LEASE CAN LEAD TO THE TERMINATION OF THE LEASE”*, a particular case on a sublease was decided by the Régie du logement (now called Tribunal administratif du logement): In its decision the Régie du logement stated: “Moreover, the use of the dwelling concerned for profit and commercial purposes was established by the undisputed evidence. By subletting the dwelling on a regular, recurring basis and without the landlord’s consent, on Airbnb’s temporary rental site or by using it as an extension of the hotel it operates and which is located near the dwelling concerned, the tenant contravenes the provisions of section 1856 of the Civil Code of Québec by changing the destination of the rented premises. This is not a partial or temporary change. It concerns the entire dwelling which is used for purposes other than residential and habitation ...
Since then, the regulations have been changed and a tenant cannot sublet their unit or make short-term rentals without the consent of the landlord.
By the documents to be provided to obtain his certificate it is necessary that: “A copy of the provisions of the rental contract, or the deed of co-ownership if the establishment is located in a building held in divided co-ownership be provided, allowing the operation of the establishment for tourist accommodation purposes. If such provisions are absent from the deed of co-ownership or the rental contract, you must produce an authorization from the owner or an authorization from the syndicate of co-owners allowing the operation of a tourist accommodation establishment.”
By specifying the ads displayed and the obligation to produce a tourism certification number, the APQ hopes that illegal rentals will therefore finally be eliminated.
Short-term rentals: important changes and more to come
