They have subjected us to a law, so the municipality will send the costs that they will ask us to the province or ask them for help in paying, confirms the mayor of Stoneham-et-Tewkesbury, Sébastien Couture.
The Quebec government is now allowing homeowners in all Quebec cities, with some exceptions, to rent out their primary residence for 30 days or less on platforms like Airbnb. Some municipalities have already put in place regulations to regulate this type of rental, but it is now becoming more complicated for others to do so. A report by Kim Vermette.
Bill 67 is now in effect throughout Quebec. Airbnb-like rentals are therefore allowed for Quebecers who want to rent out their primary residence for a maximum of 30 days. However, like other municipalities, Stoneham-et-Tewkesbury wanted to limit the application of this law in some sectors of the city considered tourist, as planned before March 25.
However, citizens disagreed by signing a register on March 7th. Nine signatures were required in some areas; others, 12 or 30, indicate the mayor.
Sébastien Couture has been Mayor of Stoneham-et-Tewkesbury since 2021.
Photo: Radio Canada
The city’s proposal to ban Airbnb-style rentals is therefore subject to a referendum in 30 of the 96 affected areas.
The municipality is currently working on planning the referendums, but the process promises to be very cumbersome, according to the first judge.
“Thirty referenda to organize is a big deal for a small administration like ours. It’s the equivalent of, and maybe even more complex than, a general election. »
— A quote from Sébastien Couture, Mayor of Stoneham-et-Tewkesbury
Citizens living in the 30 zones can vote, as can people living in an area bordering the areas affected by the referendums.
According to the Mayor, the 30 target areas are mainly in residential areas, which are home to 30 to 40% of Stoneham-et-Tewkesbury’s population.
With few exceptions, Stoneham-et-Tewkesbury only allows Airbnb-style rentals near the ski area and former Mont Hibou.
Photo: Radio Canada
According to Sébastien Couture, the passage of Bill 67 could bring in significant sums for the community in the longer term. Because tourist rentals are mostly on weekends and the city only has one inspector who works weekdays, the law almost obliges us to open a service seven days a week, he says.
The city of Stoneham-et-Tewkesbury is already outsourcing security companies to ensure that everything runs well on its territory, as there are very few police cars for the entire MRC de la Jacques-Cartier. We are not prepared for this at the moment, emphasizes Mr. Couture.
Lack of communication
Sébastien Couture says he is surprised to have to hold 30 referendums simply to maintain the status quo on Airbnb-style rentals in the Stoneham-et-Tewkesbury area.
“The basic debate was, ‘I want to keep the right to do something [de la location de courte durée de type Airbnb]”, while [les citoyens] never had it because the regulations never allowed it. »
— A quote from Sébastien Couture, Mayor of Stoneham-et-Tewkesbury
The municipality also says it receives complaints about the quiet in neighborhoods near illegal tourist accommodation every week.
However, the mayor makes his mea culpa. The city did not communicate enough about various aspects of its proposed bylaws in the weeks leading up to registration. The result might have been different.
I think there was a communication problem about what the community wanted to do, that we were completely closed, while the goal is to guarantee that it’s us marking tourist rentals of 31 days or less, he says.
Sébastien Couture hopes that all referendums for the month of May or June will be held.
In collaboration with Pascale Lacombe and Louis-Philippe Arsenault