Who’s behind so many Airbnb offerings?
CBC investigated a lot of Airbnb offerings and finds it’s hardly a home-sharing service any more because most are run by a couple of big corporations, usually with a fictitious friendly front. I especially enjoy their tracking down of the friendly “owner” images to stock photo services. Similar report on Radio-Canada.
There’s also a plan afoot to pass laws to more firmly regulate Airbnb type rentals. I’d be surprised if the law concerned itself with the attack on neighbourhood life with the sapping of domestic rentals and affordability, though – a thing plaguing other cities besides ours. It’s probably going to be mostly about collecting taxes.
Ephraim 10:21 on 2019-04-30 Permalink
Still waiting for someone to ROAST Revenu Quebec by asking them how much they have brought in via taxes and fines for those doing it illegally.
The laws changed… if you are doing this where you live, you only need a city permit. But if you are doing a whole apartment where you don’t live, you need a CITQ rating and sign.
We need to look at Barcelona, Vancouver and Berlin and see how we can reign in AirBnB. Not just for the tax money. AirBnB falls in line if the regulations are strong enough. In one Florida city, if the city finds you in an apartment that is illegally rented, you are thrown out immediately… makes you think twice about renting. And AirBnB is complicit…. it hides people’s addresses and identities to help them evade taxes.
PS: We also need to change the laws and require either AirBnB to issue a Releve with the income or we need to require banks to issue a Releve with income from outside resources transfered to your account. Either way, the money will be traced and a lot of questions asked.
Ephraim 10:44 on 2019-04-30 Permalink
The most important paragraph: “Or, à ce jour, aucun constat d’infraction n’a été délivré, alors que l’ampleur de ce phénomène a été documentée, particulièrement au Québec, par une enquête réalisée par Radio-Canada.”
Not a single fine!
Ian 10:45 on 2019-04-30 Permalink
You really do have to wonder what they are waiting for, it’s like we have been primed for a big crackdown, literally everything is in place to jump, and then …. nothing.
Ephraim 11:06 on 2019-04-30 Permalink
@Ian – Can you imagine how much in GST, QST and income taxes in the last 7 years that is unreported? I would start looking at the transfers of money from AirBnBs accounts and then if it goes over $10K petition a judge to see the name of the account holder.
And all you have to do is catch them once… RQ can then just make up numbers for the undeclared taxes and you have to prove you declared and what you declared. The first person auditted would scare the hell out of everyone else!
Ian Rogers 11:10 on 2019-04-30 Permalink
Millions at a guess, in Montreal alone. Supposedly up to 30% of the rental stock in Mile-End is illegal AirBnBs and judging by AirBnB listings in my area I believe it. How many of the sold out units in those new developments downtown are actually inhabited?
CE 12:35 on 2019-04-30 Permalink
A friend of mine cleaned Airbnbs in the Tour des Canadiens while it was still under construction and she figured that not a single person lived there full time.
Chris 20:08 on 2019-04-30 Permalink
Ian: why do you think they are waiting for anything? Evidence suggests they like the status quo. Tourists love AirBnB, homeowners love it (can make an extra buck). Yes, hoteliers like Ephraim hate it (understandably), just like cabbies hate Uber, but Joe Average loves Uber.
Ephraim 20:45 on 2019-04-30 Permalink
And just to show you how much of a criminal enterprise AirBnB and it’s users are…. the account of Mike that was discussed this morning in the article… is now Seb https://www.airbnb.com.mt/users/show/318040 and a brand new stock image https://www.pexels.com/photo/adult-beard-boy-casual-220453/
Tim S. 21:06 on 2019-04-30 Permalink
Hoteliers, cabbies, and people who think the function of governments is to enforce laws passed by democratically elected representatives.
Ephraim 21:36 on 2019-04-30 Permalink
Chris – I deal with the underside of this business. I get the begging and pleading phone calls. But I also see it in a way that others don’t… as the absentee landlord. And I see it for the taxes it steals. But, that being said, I would have no problem if it was an honest business… it’s not. It’s full of crooked people… and that starts at the top of the business model. And government has a part in this… RQ doesn’t make them collect GST/QST like they make Expedia, Booking and other reservation systems collect the taxes. And those missing taxes? You and I pay them. Their hide the addresses for no other reason than to evade taxes. People won’t put up pictures of their homes, because then RQ might find them and make them pay their fair taxes. It’s a criminal enterprise… otherwise, come to government, offer to show them who made what, offer them the names and addresses, be upfront. Time and time again they have refused, even when ordered by courts.
Incidentally, the government did make at least one change to the law because of AirBnB… if you live on premises, you no longer have to post the government sign and no longer have to pay partial commercial property taxes. So my tax bill went down. And those people who rent their own place when they are gone… and those who rent a room in their apartment… all legal now. But if you rent an full apartment for under 30 days and you don’t live their as your person primary residence… you need a permit from the city, a rating from the CITQ and a sign. If you are missing any of those components, you are illegal. If you are doing less then $30K a year in business, you don’t need to collect GST or QST. But look at those listings on AirBnB, these people are running underground hotels… not paying their GST, QST, commercial property taxes and likely not declaring the income. This is today’s underground economy and the fact that RQ isn’t finding it… is their personal shame.
Ian 12:19 on 2019-05-01 Permalink
Thing is, construction, property development, and property management are VERY profitable not just for the people in those businesses or even for the city (which they are) but also… wait for it… Revenu Québec.
Maybe it’s in certain parties’ best interests to let sleeping dogs lie, and MAYBE somebody getting ready to pounce was told to back the hell of and not upset the applecart.
Kind of like how the city pleads helplessness in the face of gentrification when it’s clear that property value increases are in their best interests as those taxes are one of their main sources of revenue.
Remember, it’s not called “Impot Québec”, it’s REVENU Québec.
Ian 12:23 on 2019-05-01 Permalink
…my point being that while we complain about all the residential AirBnB the main source of profit is those big new developments downtown that aren’t actually occupied by full-time residents. Millions upon millions of dollars are at stake here, those places get built and have “full occupancy”, that lines a lot of pockets. Maybe more than going after AirBnB. Maybe A LOT more.
Even the residential neighbourhood AirBnBs benefit the city as they contribute directly to scarcity which inflates selling rices and by extension property taxes… and all those tourists help support the inflated commercial taxes in places like Mile-End.
As always, cui bono? Follow the money and you’ll find your answer.