montreal ‘shouldn’t go backwards’ on partial airbnb ban, opposition says

reiterating that rules surrounding short-term rentals are nearly impossible to enforce, projet montréal is calling on the city to maintain restrictions implemented in the fall of 2025.the official opposition at city hall introduced a motion aiming to protect montreal's housing market from being used as short-term rentals at monday's city council meeting. the motion came a week and a half after the city confirmed plans to change the bylaw that, as it stands, restricts short-term rentals in primary residences to the summer.“what we’re worried about is the mayor coming back with a proposal that would allow year-round short-term rentals on platforms like airbnb,” Élise tanguay, projet montréal's spokesperson for housing, said in an interview monday morning. “the truth is, we’ve already tried that. there were attempts to regulate and allow short-term rentals throughout the year, but the evidence and experience showed that it doesn’t work.”the bylaw currently restricts rentals of fewer than 31 days in one's primary residence to the period between june 10 and sept. 10. before it was implemented, montrealers could rent out their homes short-term any time during the year, for a total of 90 days. the martinez ferrada administration plans to revert to the 90-day maximum year-round as of the fall, vowing to add more inspectors and a platform to track rental days per year to better regulate the practice.but tanguay said projet montréal limited rentals to the summer specifically because it was impossible to track days otherwise, which led to hosts abusing the primary residence designation to operate short-term rentals year-round in units that would otherwise be used for housing."there are multiple platforms, so it requires monitoring several different sites and gathering proof that a unit was rented for more than 90 days over the course of a year," tanguay said. "the level of evidence required is simply unmanageable. with around 7,000 units being rented year-round, it’s impossible to have enough inspectors to properly enforce that rule and ensure no units are lost to illegal tourist rentals."that's especially important in the context of the housing crisis, tanguay said. housing advocates have long called for an outright ban on short-term rentals to ensure those units remain available for montrealers."this is a straightforward solution that automatically puts units back on the long-term rental market," tanguay said, adding that elected officials and residents alike have noticed a difference since the bylaw came into effect in the form of lower turnover rates in buildings in their neighbourhoods."we can’t afford to roll that back," tanguay said.asked how much of an issue illegal short-term rentals were, tanguay said it was difficult to distinguish between those following the rules and those who weren't, which was part of the problem.the motion, proposed by tanguay and supported by elvira carhuallanqui, city councillor for parc-extension, asked montreal to maintain the current bylaw, step up enforcement efforts, and "clearly reaffirm that protecting the rental housing stock and ensuring access to housing for montrealers are higher priorities than tourist accommodation."it was rejected at monday night's council meeting, with 37 against and 24 for.at the meeting, montreal mayor soraya martinez ferrada accused the opposition of misrepresenting her intentions, stressing that they have the same end goal: to restrict short-term rentals further "without removing the capacity of a citizen to rent out their own principal residence."“i invite you to work with us to … find, realistically, a way to attack to short-term rentals like other cities are doing," martinez ferrada said.she added that illegal listings remain active on airbnb despite projet montréal's summer limit, which proves it "doesn't work."that's why her administration plans to introduce an application that will track rental days, linking permits with complaints. the city will also require more proof that a unit is truly one's primary residence.“what we have to find is illegal people, not those with permits who follow the rules," martinez ferrada said.while the city has no capacity to increase fines since they're the province's jurisdiction, martinez ferrada said the city will revoke permits if a person doesn't respect the rules.short-term rental giant airbnb and tourisme montréal recently spoke out against the current bylaw, in part because this year's grand prix falls outside of the june 10-sept. 10 window. airbnb commissioned an independent report to illustrate that the city would experience an accommodation shortfall because of the ban.tanguay said there had been discussions back when valérie plante was mayor to make exceptions to the summer-only rule to accommodate some events, but that the city doesn't lack accommodations in general.tourisme montréal, meanwhile, said it understands the importance of the "strong oversight" of short-term rentals and that it is willing to work with the city to adapt the framework to a four-season metropolis.tanguay said the issue remains whether regulations can realistically be enforced."that’s where things become complex," she said. "the province has given cities the authority to regulate based on their realities, and that’s what montreal has done."limiting short-term rentals in primary residences to the summer is "the most workable approach," tanguay said. "a regulation that can’t be enforced is useless. this is the best balance we’ve found, and we shouldn’t go backwards."kthomas@postmedia.com