AIRBNB” RENTALS: IMPORTANT CHANGES TO THE REGULATION GOVERNING TOURIST LODGING ESTABLISHMENTS

On June 12, 2019, the Gazette officielle du Québec published the draft Regulation to amend the Regulation respecting tourist accommodation establishments (the ” Draft ” and the ” Regulation “, respectively)[1]. This publication follows the June 5 announcement on the subject by Tourism Minister Caroline Proulx.

According to the Minister, this update to the regulations governing collaborative accommodation, better known as “Airbnb” and “HomeAway”, will ensure greater tax fairness among Quebecers, while enabling them to legally reap the benefits associated with these technological innovations[2].

The Project mainly proposes the creation of a new category of lodging establishment called “principal residence establishment”. This category consists of “an establishment where accommodation in the operator’s principal residence is offered, by means of a single reservation, to one person or a single group of related persons at a time, and does not include meals served on the premises[3] “.

According to the Project, the principal residence is the residence where the operator, a natural person, lives on a regular basis, where his family and social activities are centered, notably when it is not used as a tourist accommodation establishment, and whose address corresponds to the one that the operator provides to government departments and agencies[4]. It should be noted that the Bill does not specify a maximum duration for which an operator may rent out his principal residence.

Operators of principal residences will be able to obtain their attestation of classification online, as required by the Regulations. This will consist of a written notice showing the number of the establishment, its category and its expiry date[5]. The operator must indicate this number in all advertising (including Internet sites) and in all rental contracts[6].

Under the Project, if the establishment is located in a building held in divided co-ownership, the operator of the establishment will be required to obtain and transmit the authorization of the syndicate of co-ownership, as part of his application for a classification certificate. The same principle will apply in the case of an establishment governed by a residential lease: the tenant will have to obtain and transmit permission from his landlord.

Significantly, the Bill removes from the definition of tourist accommodation set out in the Regulation the notion of rental “on a regular basis during the same calendar year”, which could be open to interpretation. It adds, however, that the availability of the unit is made public “through the use of any media”[7].

As a result, once the Project comes into force, it will remain illegal to offer a second home for rent, unless it is officially converted into a tourist residence.

Fines ranging from $500 to $50,000 for individuals, and from $1,000 to $100,000 for businesses, can be imposed for failure to comply with the provisions of the Act respecting tourist accommodation establishments[8] and its Regulations.

Interested parties have until July 27, 2019 to send their written comments on the Project to the Minister of Tourism.

By Émilie Therrien


[1] http://www2.publicationsduquebec.gouv.qc.ca/dynamicSearch/telecharge.php?type=1&file=70671.pdf and Chapter E-14.2, r. 1

[2] http://www.fil-information.gouv.qc.ca/Pages/Article.aspx?aiguillage=ajd&type=1&idArticle=2706055109

[3] Article 3 of the Project

[4] Ibid.

[5] Article 6 of the Project

[6] Article 11 of the Project

[7] Article 1 of the Project

[8] Chapter E-14.2

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