The Airbnb Takeover of Montreal Housing

Airbnb has become an increasingly attractive option for greedy landlords and property owners, because it’s a lot more profitable to collect money from nightly stays than it is to collect monthly rent. 

The municipal and provincial governments have attempted to put regulations in place to limit unlicensed Airbnbs…but is it enough? 

In the newest episode of Local 514, host Savanna Craig welcomes Front D’action Populaire en Réaménagement Urbain (FRAPRU) and  Regroupement des comités logement et associations du Quebec (RCLAQ) to analyze how Airbnb is affect long-term property rentals in Montreal.

Increasingly, landlords are renting apartments through Airbnb, which is steadily displacing residents from many neighbourhoods, and, critics say, driving up rents across the city

In Montreal, there are more than 12,000 Airbnb listings. Of these – almost 75% are homes and apartments – which could be used for long term rentals. 

So just how profitable is running an Airbnb for landlords? 

Airbnb is tempting for property owners, as the average listing on the website charges a hundred and twenty seven dollars ($127) a night. And the average 1 bedroom apartment in Montreal is being rented for one thousand four hundred and fifty dollars ($1,450) – so if a listing at this rate is booked every night in a row through Airbnb for a month, a landlord will make that much in less than two weeks.

The municipal governments in Montreal and Quebec City have put regulations in place to limit the kinds of unlicensed Airbnbs and short term rentals that have been leading to increased gentrification. Regulations include registering with Revenue Quebec or facing fines, with the provincial CAQ government enforcing hosts to pay for a license number and show it on their property, while Montreal's municipal government has limited Airbnb from operating in certain areas of the city.

But some community housing organizations say it's not enough and that Airbnb needs to be banned from the province, including FRAPRU and RCLAQ.