Tourist accommodation · Before buying
A yield built on nightly rates without these five answers is not a projection. It is a hope.
1. What the municipality allows at that exact address
Not in the city. At the address. Zoning and conditional use rules vary from zone to zone, because the Act lets municipalities regulate tourist accommodation through those by-laws, with the referendum threshold reduced by 50%.
2. What the declaration of co-ownership says
For an establishment in divided co-ownership, the Regulation requires a copy of the provisions of the declaration allowing operation for tourist accommodation purposes or, failing that, the authorization of the syndicate of co-owners. Since 1 September 2026, that consent must be provided at each annual renewal.
A syndicate therefore does not need to prohibit anything to end the operation. It only has to decline to sign again next year.
3. The seller's registration does not follow you
Section 7 of the Act: "No person may transfer the registration of a tourist accommodation establishment."
The income the seller shows you was earned under their registration, under their principal residence if that is the class, and under their authorization from the syndicate. None of it transfers. You start from zero.
4. Tax compliance, federally
The Canada Revenue Agency denies expenses and capital cost allowance related to non-compliant short-term rentals, on lines 9366 and 9367 of form T776. A rental is non-compliant where the province or municipality does not permit operating it at that location, or requires registration, a licence or a permit whose requirements the rental does not meet.
A short-term rental is a residential property rented or offered for rent for a period of less than 90 consecutive days. The denial is calculated on the number of non-compliant days.
5. Insurance
The Regulation requires civil liability insurance of at least $2,000,000 per claim, taken out and maintained. An ordinary home policy generally does not cover the commercial operation of a dwelling.
The honest calculation
Add up the annual registration fees, the commercial insurance, management, cleaning, real vacancy, and the risk that the authorization is not renewed. Then compare with long-term rental income on the same dwelling.
In many files we see, the gap is far thinner than the seller's projection suggests. Sometimes it is negative once regulatory risk is priced in. That calculation belongs before the offer.
Where this lands: before the offer
Short-term rental is the one residential use that depends at once on a provincial statute, a municipal by-law, a declaration of co-ownership and two tax administrations. Any one of those layers can make the plan impossible or unprofitable on its own.
That is why we check all four before a client makes an offer on a property bought to rent by the night. A yield presented on nightly rates, without the zoning, the declaration and the registration, is not a yield. It is an assumption.
Three habits
- Check the address, not the city. Rules change from zone to zone inside one municipality.
- Ask for the registration certificate, not the number. The certificate carries the expiry date, the class and the number of units.
- Remember the registration cannot be transferred. The seller's income was earned under their file, not yours.
Related
Frequently asked
Can I take over the seller's registration number?
No. Section 7 of the Act prohibits transferring a registration.
What happens if my rental is non-compliant?
The CRA denies the non-compliant portion of expenses and capital cost allowance, on lines 9366 and 9367 of form T776.
What insurance is required?
Civil liability insurance of at least $2,000,000 per claim, maintained in force.
Sources, consulted 13 September 2026: the Tourist Accommodation Act (CQLR, chapter H-1.01) and the Tourist Accommodation Regulation (chapter H-1.01, r. 1) on legisquebec.gouv.qc.ca, consolidated text current to 15 April 2026; announcements by the Quebec Department of Tourism published on quebec.ca for the amendments of 9 April and 1 September 2026; Canada Revenue Agency guide T4036. This page informs; it is neither legal nor tax advice, and municipal rules vary from one address to the next.
Published by the Loaa & Manseur team, number one team at RE/MAX Platine in 2024 and 2025. Tell us about your project.