Quebec short-term rental law in effect, with big fines for uncertified listings

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MONTREAL — Quebec’s new tourist accommodation law is now in effect, with hefty fines of up to $100,000 for short-term rental platforms listing properties without a proper government certificate.

Under a provincial law adopted in June, as of today rental platforms like Airbnb are prohibited from displaying listings that don’t have a registration number and certificate issued by the province.

People who want to rent their properties for stays of 31 days or fewer have to acquire registration numbers from Quebec’s tourism industry regulator and display them in their online listings.

Rental platforms had until Sept. 1 to start verifying the validity of those registration numbers, which the government issues in the form of PDF certificates.

Operators of rentals who display false or inaccurate registration information face fines of up to $50,000, and platforms must now have a representative in Quebec or face a fine of up to $20,000.

The City of Montreal announced last month that due to numerous illegal tourist accommodations with falsified registrations, it would deploy a squad of inspectors in three central boroughs to identify illegal short-term rentals and dole out fines.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 1, 2023.