Hochelaga-Maisonneuve | Opposition to a building reserved for Airbnb

In the midst of a housing crisis, a brand new building of 26 apartments in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve is partly reserved for short-term rental on Airbnb, a situation denounced by the neighborhood housing committee, which is organizing a demonstration to oppose it.

The owner of the building located at the corner of Ontario and Chambly streets, Strawberry Properties, far from hiding it, is suing the borough to contest the by-law which has prohibited commercial tourist rentals since July 2023.

When it undertook its project, in June 2021, the company’s objective was “the construction and possible operation of a multi-unit residential building, with the intention of short-term rental”, perhaps we read in the lawsuit, filed in August 2023 by Strawberry Properties against the borough of Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve and the City of Montreal.

During the construction of the building, a municipal inspector also mentioned in his report last year that “short-term rentals” were planned in the building, according to a document that The Press was able to consult.

The Hochelaga-Maisonneuve Housing Support Committee deplores the fact that the borough did not prevent Strawberry Properties from moving forward with its project.

“In this period of housing crisis, evictions and homelessness, for there to be a new building filled with accommodation rented on Airbnb, the construction stages of which were monitored very closely by the borough, it is is simply provocative for the neighborhood population,” protests Annie Lapalme, community organizer for the organization, who is planning a demonstration in front of the building on March 6.

” Principal residence ”

For the moment, Strawberry Stays offers three accommodations on Airbnb in its building located at the corner of Ontario and de Chambly streets.

For these apartments, three people obtained, on January 29, a registration number from the Corporation de l’industrie tourisme du Québec (CITQ), as provided for by provincial regulations. After checking with the Ministry of Tourism, these numbers were obtained for “main residence establishments”.

Beforehand, it was the district of Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve which issued three certificates of occupancy for principal residence to these three people, a document required by the CITQ.

It should be noted that, even if the borough prohibits commercial tourist rentals, it is still permitted to rent your main residence on a short-term basis, by being duly registered with the CITQ.

How does the district determine that it is a principal residence?

“The certificate of occupancy application form is completed and signed by the applicant, who must declare his or her principal address under oath. Proof of residence (lease, driving license with address, public service bill) is requested in order to validate that the person lives at this address, but verification of the main residence within the meaning of the law is in the hands of Revenu Québec. The municipalities do not have access to this information, although this is part of the requests that were submitted to the Minister of Tourism by the municipalities during the study of the bill in parliamentary committee,” explains Laurent Beaulieu, director of office of district mayor Pierre Lessard-Blais.

A foot on the ground

Joël Philippe Guy is one of those who declare that their main residence is located in the Strawberry Properties building. He says he signed a formal lease a few weeks ago and his accommodation has recently been offered for rent on Airbnb.

“It’s a transitional base for me. It’s convenient because it’s close to the city center. I am a business consultant. But I don’t have to stay there yet,” explains Mr. Guy, who says he commutes between the Laurentians and Montreal for his work.

Strawberry Stays takes care of advertising on Airbnb and managing rentals, but Joël Philippe Guy informs the company of the dates he needs his apartment, he says.

“New construction condo! Welcome to our charming 2 bedroom unit, nestled on the third floor of a peaceful residential building, offering a warm and welcoming retreat for your stay. Located in the heart of Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, our Airbnb is the ideal home away from home for leisure and business travelers,” says the ad for its accommodation, offered at $170 per night, for which it is indicated that the hosts are Clayton, Philippe and Hugo.

In addition to the three accommodations in its new building, Strawberry Stays has 14 other advertisements for accommodations for rent in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve on Airbnb, registered with the CITQ as “tourist residences”. Despite the adoption of a by-law in Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve to prohibit commercial tourist rentals, these tourist residences benefit from an acquired right, indicates Laurent Beaulieu.

Cancellation request

In its lawsuit filed in August 2023, Strawberry Stays requests the annulment of the Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve bylaw which prohibits short-term commercial rentals.

The lawsuit points out that the borough adopted its by-law on July 7, 2023 when construction of the new building was almost complete.

The company claims to have sent the borough the number of signatures necessary for a referendum to be held on the new by-law before its adoption, but that this request was ignored.

The lawsuit is signed by James Martone, head of real estate solutions for Strawberry Properties. According to the Quebec Business Register, Clayton Desautels is the president of the company and Philippe Thibodeau is the vice-president. None of the three executives responded to interview requests from The Pressnor their lawyer.

On Airbnb, there are at least 130 apartments advertised in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, including several by “hosts” who operate more than one accommodation.

Reports

Borough officials are refusing to sit idly by: they themselves made a report to Revenu Québec on December 7 about the activities of Strawberry Properties, reveals Laurent Beaulieu.

In 2023, four reports were made following inspections or complaints, and ten complainants were directed to Revenu Québec, he adds.

In Montreal, another district, that of Verdun, prohibits short-term commercial tourist rentals on its territory. Others limit these activities to certain commercial sectors, such as rue Sainte-Catherine, rue Saint-Denis, avenue du Mont-Royal or Plaza Saint-Hubert.

Still no sanctions against online rental platforms

Quebec has still not cracked down on short-term rental platforms, six months after the entry into force of new provisions in the Tourist Accommodation Actwhich should make it possible to tighten the screws on Airbnb and its ilk.

“To date, the digital platforms Airbnb, VRBO and Expedia have not been the subject of any criminal charges or convictions,” said a spokesperson for Revenu Québec, Claude-Olivier Fagnant, in a response. emailed to our questions.

It is Revenu Québec inspectors who are responsible for applying the Tourist Accommodation Act.

In the wake of the fatal fire in Old Montreal on March 13, 2023, which left seven victims, the Minister of Tourism, Caroline Proulx, added provisions to the Tourist Accommodation Act making online rental platforms responsible for ensuring the compliance of the advertisements they publish.

Some of the victims of last year’s fire had rented accommodation through Airbnb, while tourist rentals are prohibited in Old Montreal by a regulation of the Ville-Marie borough.

Under the new provisions of the law, rental platforms can receive fines of up to $100,000 per illegal ad.

Quebec plans to soon put in place “an electronic solution to allow digital platforms to carry out the necessary validations continuously, supported by an electronic system, and the creation of the public register of tourist establishments, an additional verification tool for the public” , indicates Brigitte Roussy, press secretary to Minister Proulx.

“Our law is young, it is still much too early to judge the results, but we already have encouraging indicators, particularly with regard to the number of registrations, for which requests have reached peaks of more than 200% since the “adoption of the law compared to the previous year”, she adds, noting that Revenu Québec has doubled “its strike force” to enforce the Tourist Accommodation Act.

Acquired rights

In March 2023, there were more than 1,000 accommodations offered on Airbnb in Old Montreal. Their number seems to have decreased: the map presented on the platform shows around 350, including several that are operated by the same people or companies.

You should know that the Tourist Accommodation Act provides for an acquired rights regime for tourist residences that were already registered for a specific period with the Corporation de l’industrie tourisme du Québec (CITQ).

Last summer, the boroughs of Ville-Marie (where Old Montreal is located), Sud-Ouest and Plateau-Mont-Royal created a special squad responsible for tracking down illegal tourist rentals, documenting each case for submit them to Revenu Québec inspectors.

“What we can already see is that recalcitrant owners are constantly adapting their methods, hoping to go under the radar of our inspectors. We must therefore redouble our efforts, within the limits of the City’s limited resources and powers,” underlined the head of housing on the executive committee, Benoit Dorais, who is also mayor of the South-West district.

“We continue to explore different avenues to limit the number of such illicit residences. It is imperative that Revenu Québec, the Ministry of Tourism and the CITQ strengthen their collaboration with us so that our complementary interventions are ever more effective. »