From March 25, many Quebecers will be able to rent their homes to tourists through Airbnb-type platforms, but Stoneham-et-Tewkesbury residents will be banned from doing so, prompting a reaction.
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However, Bill 67, which aims to authorize Quebecers to rent their primary residence to tourists for a maximum of 30 days, allows municipalities to limit the sectors where rentals will be possible on their territory.
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Some citizens of the north Quebec city are dissatisfied with their municipality’s choice.
Chalet rentals in Stoneham’s chosen tourist sectors remain permitted, while residences further afield cannot be rented.
Thus, the municipality retains its original statute. Those who were expecting the law passed by the National Assembly to be able to rent out their chalet are very disappointed.
The citizens sharply condemned the decision of the municipal council. Met by TVA Nouvelles, they do not hesitate to express their dissatisfaction.
“We knew the city would defy this law [Loi 67] We thought we were defending our right to be able to do what we want to do at home,” claims Patrice Pelletier.
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Renting provides additional income for many. A citizen said that this factor is not taken into account by municipal decision-makers.
“For example, if I were to leave Stoneham for a weekend, I could rent it out. People don’t realize that renting is a game plan […] financially it would help me a lot,” says one lady.
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The city will submit its ordinances to a registry on Tuesday, and the mayor isn’t ruling out the possibility of adding areas eligible for tourist rentals.
In an interview with our journalist, Mayor Sébastien Couture wanted to take stock.
“What we wanted to do was ratify the current municipal regulations. […] We could review and design differently [notre règlement]”, he agrees.
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Keep in mind that large cities like Montreal or Quebec will not be affected by the adoption of the bill.