Protest denouncing Airbnb units in new Hochelaga-Maisonneuve building

A protest was held Wednesday afternoon outside a new building in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve to denounce the presence of Airbnb units amid the housing crisis in the area.

The building, at the corner of Ontario and Chambly streets, replaced the former La Taqueria restaurant in the borough.

Protesters say Airbnb is not socially acceptable in the area.

Protest organizers say the borough turned a blind eye to all the warning signs throughout the construction project, alleging the borough mayor asserted in December 2023 that there had never been any question of it being Airbnbs.

Three units are already being rented on Airbnb at more than $200 a night by “Strawberry Stays.”

“This building still managed to get Airbnb’s for short-term lease in a new construction,” said Simon Pringle of Entraide Logement Hochelaga-Maisonneuve. “So what we want is the borough to be more politically involved in this and not just say like, what we did is okay on paper. We want them to realize that this is contributing to the housing crisis right now.”

Short-term rentals are illegal in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve unless it involves the rental of a primary residence — a new bylaw that came into effect in April 2023.

“How could you rent that? How dare you?” asked Solange Laliberté, president, Association pour la défense des droits sociaux.

Laliberté has been living in Hochelaga-Maisonnveuve for over two decades.

“We are lucky because we have social housing,” she said. “That’s what we need, social housing, not that,” she said, pointing to the building.

The mayor of the borough, Pierre Lessard-Blais says he shares in residents’ frustration and wants more help from the province.

“When you read the different memoirs from Union des municipalités du Québec and the city of Montreal, the recommendation number five [clearly stated] that Revenue Québec needs to have enough inspectors to make sure that the city’s bylaws […] can be effective on our territory,” the mayor said. “We’re asking to Quebec’s government to make sure that they have enough inspectors.”

Meanwhile, the city’s Official Opposition, Ensemble Montréal, says the borough mayor is shifting blame.

“He places the responsibility on Revenu Québec,” said Julien Hénault-Ratelle, spokesperson for the Official Opposition on housing and city councilor for the Tétreaultville district. “By disempowering themselves, it is the citizens who pay the price, in the midst of the housing crisis. I call on the administration to have a team dedicated to compliance with the regulations on short-term accommodation, as we see in other districts.”

Strawberry Properties Inc. sued the borough and the City of Montreal after the bylaw was passed.

“The people that live here that want to stay near the place that they know, they need to have a place that they can afford,” said Carl Lafrenière, organizer at FRAPRU. “Unfortunately, it’s not going to come from those Airbnb or others like condos and expensive houses.”

CityNews reached out to the Airbnb hosts, Strawberry Stays, but did not hear back.