QUEBEC CITY — Bill 25, which combats illegal tourist accommodation, has been adopted in the Quebec National Assembly.
In addition to strengthening compliance with the act respecting tourist accommodation, the new provisions will further support Revenu Québec and municipalities in the fight against illegal accommodation. Also, as collaborative hosting practices continue to evolve, provisions are in place to adapt the legislative and regulatory framework.
The following provisions came into effect on June 7:
- Prohibit operators of transactional digital accommodation platforms from broadcasting a tourist accommodation offer that doesn’t contain the registration number of the establishment;
- Prohibit operators of transactional digital accommodation platforms from allowing an unregistered tourist establishment offering rental for a period of more than 31 days to enter into a transaction of a shorter duration;
- Impose fines of up to $100,000 per violation on operators of covered digital-hosting platforms for failure to comply with their obligations;
- Require operators of digital transactional hosting platforms to designate a representative established in Quebec, under penalty of fines of up to $20,000;
- Impose fines of up to $50,000 on operators of tourist accommodation establishments for listing a false or inaccurate registration number in an offer of accommodation;
- Subject other types of digital platforms, such as Kijiji, LesPAC and Facebook, to the obligations described above; and
- Determine, by regulation, any other conditions with which operators of a digital platform must comply
Since a delay is required for the implementation of new processes, the following provisions will come into effect no later than Sept. 1, 2023.
- Operators who rent a tourist accommodation on a digital transactional platform are obligated to send the latter the registration certificate;
- Operators are obligated to carry out the necessary checks to ensure that the registration number displayed in an advertisement is valid, contains an expiry date and ensures the two elements correspond to the tourist accommodation establishment concerned; and
- Operators are obligated to post the registration certificate of their accommodation in public view at the main entrance of the establishment
