Nearly four in five Airbnb units in Quebec are not certified by the province: report
Removing illegal Airbnbs would be a significant boost to Quebec’s housing supply, according to a new report by a Montreal tenants’ rights association.
Airbnb is a major driver of the region’s housing supply crisis as it makes homes unavailable in the long-term rental market, the Coalition of Housing Committees and Tenants Associations of Quebec argued.
The recent survey by the group found that as much as 79% of the approximately 30,000 Airbnb units in Quebec are not certified by the province. The share rises to as high as 95% of Airbnb listings in the Laval suburb of Montreal, the coalition added.
Cédric Dussault, a co-spokesperson for the group, said that vacancy rates in most of Quebec would be at around 3% or higher if Airbnb units are placed on the long-term rental market.
“The heart of the problem is not whether a listing in certified or not, but the transformation of long-term rental units for tourism purposes,” Dussault said. “We are talking about tenants who are legally evicted to rent units to tourists or investors who buy units for the sole purpose of renting them on Airbnb.”
Airbnb disputed the group’s report.
“We don’t publish the number of listings in a city, but I can confirm that the number is inaccurate,” Airbnb spokesperson Matt McNama sai.
In the wake of a March 16 fire that killed seven people and ravaged an Old Montreal building housing illegal rental spaces, Airbnb vowed to remove all Quebec listings without permits.
