Airbnb to remove unauthorized listings in Quebec and will require registration number

Short-term rental company Airbnb says it will pull listings that don’t have a proper permit from the Quebec government.

The San Francisco-based company made the announcement eight days after a fatal fire destroyed an Old Montreal building that housed illegal rentals.

Four bodies have so far been pulled from the rubble and three people remain missing.

Airbnb confirmed to CityNews  its decision in a letter sent Friday to the Quebec Minister of Tourism, Caroline Proulx.

The company says it will remove, “throughout the province,” existing listings that do not have a registration number from the Corporation de l’industrie touristique du Québec (CITQ) and that it will require this registration number for all new listings.

They will also provide the Quebec government “with the Airbnb City Portal tool to support increased Host compliance.”

The new rules will come into effect “in the next few days,” according to the letter signed by Airbnb’s representative for Canada and the northeastern United States, Nathan Rotman.

A housing advocate says they’re surprised a decision was taken quickly.

“It’s a little bit unfortunate that it has to be tragic events that led to a change of heart on the part of the government and on the part of,” said Cédric Dussault, Regrouping of housing committees and tenant associations of Quebec (RCLALQ). “If it is applied as it is supposed to be applied. Of course, this is a positive thing. But to be honest, you know, that’s something that we were asking for a long time.

“The problem with these kind of platforms is they are built in to navigate to navigate through various regulation by bypassing them.”

Airbnb still plans to continue working with the Quebec government to improve the CITQ registration system, so that Quebecers can continue to receive supplemental income.

“These measures build on our years-long efforts to work with local and provincial officials on short-term rental rules that help address community concerns and also preserve a vital source of supplemental income for residents. Taking these actions does not negate the need to continue to work together to improve the CITQ registration system to ensure that Quebecers are able to supplement their incomes, especially in times of economic uncertainty,” said Airbnb in an email to CityNews.

In a statement shared Friday by her spokesperson, Proulx said she was pleased with Airbnb’s measures. “I am satisfied with Airbnb’s decision to comply with our legislation as I demanded yesterday during our meeting.”

Antoine Morneau-Sénéchal, a lawyer who specializes in residential leases, said, “I think it’s really good news. However, I don’t think it’s really a surprise. I think Minister Proulx, who really stated her intention, is really clearly. So it was a question of time that everybody would have been obliged to obey to this rule of having only licensed Airbnbs on their sites. So it’s a good thing that they decided to be proactive.”

“So this move from Airbnb is a really good step in the right direction to make sure that there are not going to be any illegal advertisement on their site for illegal Airbnb. Because now it’s going to be required to have a valid permit both on the website.”

Morneau-Sénéchal adding that he feels the problem of illegal Airbnbs will “likely persist.”

“It’s hard to say. I think it’s a really good step in the right direction. I think the of course, it’s not going to persist on everybody because from now on, there is only going to be legal advertisement on their websites. But what I fear is that there might be other platforms that will that will emerge or other ways that short term rentals can be done.”

So what does this mean for Quebecers looking to post listings to Airbnb: “It’s going to be a lot harder for them because in Old Montreal there were a lot of Airbnb, so none of them will be able to have their permit because it’s prohibited by the city to have Airbnb in this area. A lot of people will might lose their money. I think we’re going to have to look out for what’s going to happen with that. Will there be other parallel platforms besides Airbnb? Will there be other ways for them to operate? So I think it’s important to nothing that this is the end of the story. I think it’s a first step. But there are a lot of people who have invested a lot of money in those places, and I’m sure they’re going to try to figure out how they could continue to operate.”

“You have two level of permits that you need. First, you need a municipal permit, so it must be allowed by the city or the borough you live in, in the sector. You have your building, so you have to get a permit from them and then you have to apply for a permit at the provincial level from an organization called the Corporation de l’industrie touristique du Québec (CITQ). And then they will register you so and they will check that the city allows you to operate in your sector if you are in a condo or if you rent or place. There’s also other steps that need to be done. So there is a lot of permits and permissions that you have to get in order to operate legally. And the coming with this getting it done legally would require then the right checks and things like that, as it were, operating as a real sort of accommodation the way a hotel would get checked and verified safety while.”

On Thursday, Airbnb’s Nathan Rotman met with Minister Proulx in Quebec City.

The Quebec government had indicated earlier this week that it intends to act by the summer to hold the companies behind Airbnb-type temporary rental platforms accountable for illegal ads posted on their sites.

In the wake of the fire, politicians in Quebec have criticized Airbnb, which operates an online marketplace for short-term rentals, for being a bad corporate citizen. Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante told reporters earlier this week that the company should be ensuring that people listing their properties on the website have proper permits. In 2018, Airbnb-style short-term rentals were made illegal in the area where the building that caught fire is located.

On Thursday, two representatives of Airbnb met in Quebec City with Tourism Minister Caroline Proulx, who has vowed to tighten the laws governing short-term rentals. The two Airbnb employees – Nathan Rotman and Camille Boulais-Pretty – left the meeting without speaking to reporters.

This report was first published in French by La Presse Canadienne, with files from the Canadian Press