Montreal, March 28, 2023 --- The Association des Propriétaires du Québec (APQ) wishes to react to the report released by the Regroupement des comités logement et associations de locataires du Québec (RCLALQ): “The excessive preponderance of Airbnb: A ransacking of the Québec rental stock,” which is making the very first account for all of Québec of the number of ads published on the Airbnb platform.
No one can deny the success of such platforms, like Airbnb’s, and the ease of renting a house or an apartment anywhere in the world and ensuring a different comfort and experience.
It would however be good to ask some questions about the interest of so many rental housing owners in these short-term rentals.
Short-term rentals have specific disadvantages such as the need for permanent management in the display of ads, checking the multiple comings and goings in the buildings, bearing additional noise made by the short-term occupants... And yet, many landlords choose to rent on a short-term basis, even if it jeopardizes the stability in rentals.
An important element partly explains this choice, i.e. the increased protection of such short-term rental housing.
“The Airbnb formula offers indeed protections to its hosts, protections that unfortunately no rental housing owner can obtain. It is high time for legislative changes to protect the rental stock. We have only one watchword: give THE necessary protection, finally give the signal to the owners that the law supports them, hears them and will be there for them,” says Martin Messier, president of the APQ.
A simple visit to Airbnb’s website is enough to understand what a host is getting:
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Verification of the travellers’ identity;
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Verification of the reservations;
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$3M in damage protection;
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$1 million liability insurance;
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24-hour security assistance.
Moreover, landlords are suffocated by overly restrictive rent-setting rules that do not stimulate investment and interest in residential rentals. You have to allow a reasonable return on investment and allow the free market to set the price of housing. This way, owners will be able to benefit from a more attractive income for their housing. The constraints that now weigh heavily on an owner must be reviewed to stimulate investment and renovation.
However, the Association des Propriétaires du Québec (APQ) denounces certain actions regarding the rental of accommodation on Airbnb or other short-term rental services such as the illegal subletting of their apartment by tenants or in co-ownerships that prohibit this type of rental, in order to increase their income without authorization, and yet mandatory, of the owner of the dwelling.
“The announcement by Mme Proulx, Minister of Tourism, last week, by amending the law to require all advertisers to display their tourism certification number under penalty of reprisals, will indeed reduce illegal rentals made by tenants of a lease who want to increase their income,” adds Martin Messier, president of the APQ.
To conclude, the Association des Propriétaires du Québec (APQ) calls for a consultation on the interest and impacts of short-term rentals in Québec.