Ensemble Montréal’s Soraya Martinez Ferrada, running for mayor, has proposed a ban on companies running short-term rentals like Airbnbs while allowing residents to rent out their primary homes for up to 90 days annually. Martinez Ferrada emphasized the need to differentiate between registered companies and residents. Currently, residents in Montreal can rent out their homes for up to 93 consecutive days between June 10 and September 10. Martinez Ferrada aims to revise this limit to 90 days usable throughout the year and increase the number of inspectors to 50 within two years.
The existing regulations, established in March, are under scrutiny as city officials monitor their impact and consider necessary adjustments. Montreal continues to grapple with regulating short-term rentals, with over half of approximately 4,000 units in March being identified as illegal listings. Previously, inspectors were responsible for gathering evidence against property owners, who were presumed innocent until proven guilty. However, under the current rules, property owners must contest fines similar to traffic offenses.
Offenders violating the rules can face direct fines of $1,000 per day, with additional fines of $2,000 per day for repeat offenses. Airbnb Canada’s representative, Alex Howell, criticized the proposed measures as extreme and short-sighted, expressing concerns about the potential negative impact on tourism-related industries.
Martinez Ferrada, responding to accusations from her opponent in Projet Montréal, clarified her position on short-term rentals during a recent debate. She criticized the existing regulations for inadvertently encouraging illegal operations and failing to distinguish between different types of rental operators. While cities like Quebec City, Trois-Rivières, and Sherbrooke allow 90-day short-term rentals per year, Montreal faces challenges in verifying the primary residence status of rented properties.
Ensemble Montréal plans to recruit 50 inspectors over the next two years to enforce the new regulations, a significant increase from the current number of fewer than 10 inspectors in Montreal. Projet Montréal leader Luc Rabouin acknowledged that the updated bylaw facilitates tracking illegal listings, making it easier to identify non-compliant properties through advertisements.
David Wachsmuth, an urban planning professor at McGill University, supported Montreal’s winter ban on short-term rentals as it aided in enforcing regulations. Concerns were raised about Ensemble Montréal’s proposal to lift the wintertime ban, with Wachsmuth highlighting the importance of addressing the root causes of regulation violations through effective enforcement measures.
