Plateau to restrict shortterm tourist rentals

The Plateau–Mont-Royal borough has adopted a new bylaw aimed at limiting the spread of commercial short-term vacation rentals.

Under the bylaw, adopted on Tuesday evening, new commercial tourist accommodations — such as those rented out through short-term rental sites like Airbnb — will be allowed only on limited stretches of St-Laurent Blvd. and St-Denis St.

The regulation won’t apply to people who occasionally rent out their own home through online platforms.

“We’re making a distinction between an occasional tourist accommodation and regular tourist accommodation,” said Richard Ryan, the city councillor for MileEnd, who introduced the bylaw.

Currently, people who regularly rent out a house or apartment to tourists on short-term basis are required to get a permit from the provincial government.

In the Plateau–Mont-Royal borough, those sorts of rentals are currently allowed only on commercial streets. However, Ryan said, the borough has received numerous complaints, pushing it to reduce the zone where those rentals are permitted.

“Often, the concern is about garbage in the street, a lot of noise, a lot of parties. When it’s a commercial short-term rental, often the people rent to anybody, so it’s really difficult to control it,” he said.

There are also fears that tenants are being evicted as apartment buildings are turned into de-facto hotels. Between January and April, the provincial government received 17 requests for commercial short-term rental permits in the Plateau, Ryan said. Those requests turned 203 apartments into full-time tourist accommodations.

Under rules to go into effect in January, new commercial shortterm rentals will be permitted only on St- Laurent Blvd. between Sherbrooke St. and Mont-Royal Ave., and on St-Denis St. between Sherbrooke and Gilford Sts.

Existing permit-holders will not be affected, nor will people who occasionally rent out their own home, who don’t require a permit from the provincial government.

The bylaw echoes a similar bylaw in Ville-Marie borough, adopted in June, which limits new short-term rentals to Ste-Catherine St. and establishes a minimum distance between them.

As short-term rental operators who want to set up shop outside of the permitted zone will not be able to get a permit from the provincial government, any complaints related to violations will be transferred to Revenu Québec, Ryan said.

Airbnb said no one was available to comment on the bylaw on Wednesday.