Injury Law Group Blog

The AirBnb Effect: The Unregulated Hotel?

Condominium and Housing Law

A Montreal man is now the only full-time condominium resident in his nine-unit building, due to the increasing popularity of short-term rentals using services such as Airbnb.  He feels as though he’s missing out on the experience of getting to know his neighbours.  “It can be lonely without being able to build relationships with those who live around you,” he says.  Since this Airbnb trend, he hasn’t had any serious issues in the building, aside from occasional noise.  However, he is now the President of his condominium’s Board of Directors and ensures they are protected by appropriate building insurance, which can be affected by having short-term rentals.

"It's important to me, as probably one of the

largest purchases I'll ever make in my life,

to make sure that's protected," he said. 

"It's a bit of a concern when I have strangers

wandering around the building."

An urban planning expert has found new research which indicates that Airbnb is taking over the available housing stock in cities such as Montreal, Vancouver, and Toronto, and driving up rents.  Increasingly, property management companies will list properties in multiple cities, as if they are running hotels.  One property management company in Montreal had around 50 listings, in the Plateau area alone. This can mean that fewer places are available to rent long-term or purchase in popular neighbourhoods.  Some landlords have even evicted tenants in order to rent with Airbnb instead.

In 2015, Quebec passed Bill 67, in attempt to help regulate short-term rentals in the province.  Under this new regulation, those who regularly rent properties will need to get a certificate from the Quebec tourism ministry, pay a lodging tax, and advise their landlords that they intend to rent to tourists.  According to an urban planning expert, this Bill has still not had much impact on short-term rentals and he proposes three steps that could regulate services like Airbnb:

• Hosts should only be allowed to rent their primary residence – no multiple listings

• Full-time rentals should not be allowed – there should not be properties that solely exist to be rented on Airbnb.For example, Amsterdam caps rentals at 60 days of the year.

• Short-term rental platforms should be required to enforce their regulations themselves, rather than city inspectors.

  ---

  Consider seeking out legal advice from a trusted condominium lawyer to go through your Declaration and By-laws and to prevent any potential problems arising from short-term rentals. 

         For more information on this topic, click here and here