Tourist accommodation · Classes
Two identical dwellings, two different regimes. The difference is not the dwelling. It is who lives in it.
The three classes
- Principal residence establishments: establishments "that offer, following a single reservation, accommodation in the principal residence of the natural person who operates the establishment for one person or one group of related persons at a time and not including any meals served on the premises".
- Youth tourist accommodation establishments: at least 30% of units consist of beds in dormitories, or accommodation is mainly offered as part of activities intended primarily for underprivileged individuals or individuals who have a disability.
- General tourist accommodation establishments: all the others.
The fees
Identical at registration and at annual renewal: $54 for a principal residence establishment, $131 for a youth establishment, $156 for a general establishment.
The protection a principal residence gets, and its limit
Section 23 of the Act: "No provision of a municipal by-law adopted under the Act respecting land use planning and development may operate to prohibit the operation of a tourist accommodation establishment in which accommodation in the principal residence of the natural person operating the establishment is offered, by means of a single reservation, to one person or one group of related persons at a time and not including any meals served on the premises."
The second paragraph opens a door. That protection does not apply to a zoning by-law or a conditional use by-law introduced under the prescribed procedure, and for such a by-law the number of applications needed to trigger a referendum poll is reduced by 50%.
Translation: a municipality can regulate short-term rental in a principal residence, but it has to follow a specific route, and the referendum threshold is lowered. That is why the rules vary so much from city to city, and sometimes from zone to zone inside one city.
Three cumulative conditions, often misread
To be a principal residence establishment, all three must hold at once: the accommodation is in the operator's own principal residence, offered by a single reservation to one person or one group of related persons at a time, and with no meals served on the premises.
Renting two rooms to two different groups at the same time takes you out of the class. So does serving breakfast.
The other conditions that apply
- Insurance: civil liability insurance of at least $2,000,000 per claim, taken out and maintained.
- Renewal: the application is filed within the 60 days preceding the end of the registration.
- Duration: the Act covers rental to tourists for a period not exceeding 31 days.
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
What does registration cost?
$54 for a principal residence establishment, $131 for a youth establishment and $156 for a general establishment, at registration and at annual renewal.
Can a municipality prohibit renting a principal residence?
Not through an ordinary planning by-law, but it can through a zoning or conditional use by-law made under the prescribed procedure, with the referendum threshold reduced by 50%.
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.