Quebec’s new Airbnb rules come into effect Sept. 1

MONTREAL – Certain rules of Bill 25 aimed at fighting illegal tourist accommodation will come into force on September 1. Offending platforms could have to pay up to $100,000 per illegal ad.

As of September 1, digital platforms like Airbnb will be prohibited from displaying an ad that does not contain a registration number and expiration date linked to a certificate.

Registration certificates are issued by the Corporation de l’industrie touristique du Québec, the Fédération des pourvoiries du Québec or Camping Québec, depending on the type of establishment.

In an interview with La Presse Canadienne, Tourism Minister Caroline Proulx issued a warning to digital companies like Airbnb: “Platforms that have 8,000, 10,000 or 12,000 listings online, rest assured that Revenu Québec, on September 1, will have its eye on you.”

Bill 100, which came into force in 2022, made it mandatory to register one’s accommodation for short-term rental, but it is widely flouted: in the spring, only 30% of accommodation listings were legal in Quebec, according to the Ministry of Tourism.

In Montreal, the number of property owners who don’t respect the rules is so high that two weeks ago, the city launched a squad to counter illegal tourist accommodation establishments.

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In recent months, Airbnb has often mentioned that it was the government’s responsibility to verify the compliance of offers on accommodation rental sites.

But Minister Proulx explained that the new rules will make hosting platforms accountable by requiring them to ensure the compliance of all hosts, failing which they face fines of up to $100,000 per illegal listing.

“If a platform posts 1,000 illegal ads, then there will be 1,000 fines, that’s the new rules of the game,” the Minister told The Canadian Press.

In an interview, Caroline Proulx said that Premier François Legault has given her a mandate to boost tourism revenues.

“I think the backbone of the tourism industry, that is, hoteliers, are going to be happy about it (the new rules coming into effect), and then they’re going to be more than happy to welcome tourists to Quebec,” the minister said.

Airbnb remains vague about its intentions

In an email exchange, The Canadian Press asked Airbnb on Thursday whether it planned to comply with the law as of September 1.

Through its policy advisor Camille Boulais-Pretty, the company said it “continues to work towards the September 1 deadline” and is “looking forward to working with the province in the coming months to implement a technological solution to comply with the law.”

However, Airbnb added that “without access to government data to verify host information against official government records, platforms cannot reliably guarantee the validity of the host’s registration number”.

But Minister Proulx pointed out that “we’ve been warning Airbnb for several years of the sequence in which they’ll have to operate in Quebec” and that the company has had ample time to develop a system to verify the compliance of its customers.”

The government also plans to introduce, in the coming months, “two technological solutions that will enable digital accommodation platforms to carry out the necessary verifications on an ongoing basis”, in addition to establishing “a public register of tourist accommodation establishments”, which should make it easier to verify the compliance of rental offers.

Designate a representative in Quebec

In addition to requiring digital platforms ensure that the registration number of the tourist accommodation establishment displayed on an accommodation offer is valid, and that the expiry date of the registration certificate is included, the new legislation will also oblige operators of digital accommodation platforms to designate a representative established in Quebec.

Airbnb has been in the spotlight since last spring’s fatal fire in a heritage building in Old Montreal, in which several apartments were listed on the platform even though this type of rental is illegal in the area.

Search teams found seven bodies in the rubble of the building, which was home to 22 people at the time of the fire.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on August 18, 2023.