Montreal tenant receives eviction notice to make way for Airbnb

A Hochelaga-Maisonneuve tenant is being evicted from his apartment of over 20 years so it can be converted to a short-term, Airbnb-style rental for tourists.

Jean-Francois Raymond received the eviction notice from his landlord on Dec. 30, 2022.

"When I received this, I thought it was unreal," Raymond told CTV News at his Ontario Street apartment on Sunday. "I thought we had the law [with] us. I thought it was easy to fight against that."

Raymond is challenging the eviction and seeking compensation through Quebec's housing tribunal. But to his dismay, his situation is actually legal in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve.

As of 2016, tourist housing is permitted in three-unit buildings with businesses in the sector.

"Landlords that have a viable Airbnb project that can demonstrate that it's not an excuse to evict a tenant, but it's really a viable commercial project, are unfortunately allowed to evict tenants for these purposes," explains Sophie Gagnon, lawyer and general director of accessible legal service Juripop.

The borough gave a similar explanation in a statement to CTV News.

"[It's] a reason for eviction allowed by Quebec law, since the swelling changes from a residential vocation to a commercial vocation," it reads.

The borough said it can't prohibit this kind of project "through its own urban planning regulations."

However, in Verdun, short-term tourist rentals are not allowed.

Lawyer Manuel Johnson explains that boroughs have the power to ban Airbnb's in certain sectors.

"The Supreme Court of Canada has confirmed that a municipality can interdict or prohibit certain activities when there is a clear threat to the health and security of the population," he said.

However, even if Hochelega-Maisonneuve does this, it still wouldn't apply retroactively to Raymond's $910-a-month apartment.

Raymond still plans on fighting to keep the apartment where he and his wife have lived for 22 years -- but he's already started looking for a new place, fearing he'll be priced out of the city.

"It will be very, very hard to find somewhere [on the] Montreal Island, so we'll probably move out of the Island like everybody else because it's too expensive," he said.

Raymond's landlord declined CTV News' request for comment.