Post by High Priestess on Nov 14, 2015 15:58:46 GMT
See this article for an opinion piece about Quebec's regulations on Short term rentals:
montrealgazette.com/business/opinion-quebecs-approach-to-regulating-airbnb-is-flawed
Excerpts:
"Late last month, Quebec Tourism Minister Dominique Vien introduced Bill 67, An Act to Improve the Regulation of Tourist Accommodation. The bill would subject some Airbnb hosts to the mandatory tourism ratings system (from zero to five stars), inspections and taxes. The government’s move to regulate and tax short-term rentals makes sense. However, the government’s current approach is flawed."
"The Quebec government’s declared approach (with the blessing of the hotel industry) is to treat Airbnb hosts as hoteliers, and to subject them to the same regulations. Introducing the bill, Vien appealed to the notion of fair competition, announcing that “Everyone is going to play on the same rink.”
There are two problems with this approach. First, the competition faced by the hotel industry comes not only from individual hosts, but also from Airbnb itself. Airbnb benefits from network effects: the value of its service increases with the number of users (as with a telephone system, or with Facebook). In principle, anyone can set up a similar service, but in practice, Airbnb is the only real player. Airbnb is not a traditional monopolist, but as a gatekeeper, it dominates the market it created. The government’s bill has nothing to say about this.
Second, many Airbnb hosts do not resemble hotels. While some enterprising hosts rent out rooms or apartments on a truly commercial basis, others do so on a part-time or informal basis. When she introduced the bill, Vien made this distinction, saying “We don’t want to bother the lady or gentleman who goes to France for a month and wants to rent out their place.” Indeed, the existing regulations contain a vague exception for accommodations rented on “an occasional basis.” At the time, Vien promised to clarify this exception.
However, the new draft regulations, issued on Nov. 4, do not provide any clarity. The new rules would apply to anyone who rents space to tourists “on a regular basis,” as long as the availability of the space is made public. This vague wording means that would-be hosts cannot know whether they are in compliance or whether they might face massive fines (up to $100,000 or more). It leaves them in a precarious legal gray zone. They will have to argue about the meaning of “regular,” not only with government inspectors, but also with their neighbours, landlords and condo boards."
montrealgazette.com/business/opinion-quebecs-approach-to-regulating-airbnb-is-flawed
Excerpts:
"Late last month, Quebec Tourism Minister Dominique Vien introduced Bill 67, An Act to Improve the Regulation of Tourist Accommodation. The bill would subject some Airbnb hosts to the mandatory tourism ratings system (from zero to five stars), inspections and taxes. The government’s move to regulate and tax short-term rentals makes sense. However, the government’s current approach is flawed."
"The Quebec government’s declared approach (with the blessing of the hotel industry) is to treat Airbnb hosts as hoteliers, and to subject them to the same regulations. Introducing the bill, Vien appealed to the notion of fair competition, announcing that “Everyone is going to play on the same rink.”
There are two problems with this approach. First, the competition faced by the hotel industry comes not only from individual hosts, but also from Airbnb itself. Airbnb benefits from network effects: the value of its service increases with the number of users (as with a telephone system, or with Facebook). In principle, anyone can set up a similar service, but in practice, Airbnb is the only real player. Airbnb is not a traditional monopolist, but as a gatekeeper, it dominates the market it created. The government’s bill has nothing to say about this.
Second, many Airbnb hosts do not resemble hotels. While some enterprising hosts rent out rooms or apartments on a truly commercial basis, others do so on a part-time or informal basis. When she introduced the bill, Vien made this distinction, saying “We don’t want to bother the lady or gentleman who goes to France for a month and wants to rent out their place.” Indeed, the existing regulations contain a vague exception for accommodations rented on “an occasional basis.” At the time, Vien promised to clarify this exception.
However, the new draft regulations, issued on Nov. 4, do not provide any clarity. The new rules would apply to anyone who rents space to tourists “on a regular basis,” as long as the availability of the space is made public. This vague wording means that would-be hosts cannot know whether they are in compliance or whether they might face massive fines (up to $100,000 or more). It leaves them in a precarious legal gray zone. They will have to argue about the meaning of “regular,” not only with government inspectors, but also with their neighbours, landlords and condo boards."