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Crackdown on Airbnb-style, short-term rentals part of new Quebec bill

Click to play video: 'Quebec’s tourism minister meets with Airbnb to tackle illegal rentals'
Quebec’s tourism minister meets with Airbnb to tackle illegal rentals
WATCH: Quebec's tourism minister met with Airbnb representatives on Thursday. It follows a flood of calls for the province to crack down on online rental platforms just one week after the deadly fire in Old Montreal. As Global's Gloria Henriquez reports, the opposition says the government has taken too long to take action – Mar 23, 2023

The Quebec government tabled a bill Tuesday that would require short-term rental companies to ensure their online listings are certified by the province.

The legislation would make it illegal for anyone to advertise a short-term rental online without including the number and expiry date for their provincial certificate.

Quebec’s bill is in response to calls from cities for limits on the number of Airbnb-style rentals, which have removed apartments from the long-term rental market and exacerbated housing shortages.

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The bill also comes after seven people died in March in a fire in an Old Montreal heritage building that had been housing illegal short-term rentals on Airbnb.

After the fire, Airbnb said it would voluntarily remove all uncertified listings in Quebec from its online platform and require all new listings to have certificate numbers.

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The bill includes fines for online platforms of up to $100,000 for each illegal rental listing.

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