Tourist accommodation · Penalties
These are not symbolic tickets, and whoever helps pays the same as the operator.
The scale, section by section
- Section 26: failing to provide required information or a document, $500 to $5,000 for a natural person, $1,000 to $10,000 in all other cases.
- Section 27: contravening section 48 or a regulatory provision determined by regulation, $1,000 to $10,000 and $2,000 to $20,000.
- Section 28: $2,500 to $25,000 and $5,000 to $50,000 for anyone who operates or purports to operate without registration, makes a false declaration, produces a false or inaccurate document, enters a registration number that is false, inaccurate, expired, suspended or cancelled, or contravenes section 7.
- Section 29: operating where registration has been refused, suspended or cancelled, $5,000 to $50,000 and $10,000 to $100,000.
- Section 29.1: a digital platform contravening its verification duties, $5,000 to $50,000 and $10,000 to $100,000.
Repeat offences
Section 30: "The minimum and maximum fines prescribed by this Act are doubled for a second offence and tripled for any subsequent offence."
A second unregistered operation therefore sits between $5,000 and $50,000 for an individual. A third, between $7,500 and $75,000.
The section that catches everyone else
Section 32: "Anyone who, by an act or omission, helps or, by encouragement, advice, consent, authorization or order, induces a person to commit an offence under this Act or the regulations is liable to the same penalty as that prescribed for the offence."
The words "advice, consent, authorization" cover a lot of ground. That alone is reason enough for a professional never to advise you to work around registration.
Registration cannot be transferred
Section 7 of the Act: "No person may transfer the registration of a tourist accommodation establishment."
This is the classic trap on a purchase. The seller's number does not follow you. You start over, with your own file, your own proofs and, in a condo, your own authorization from the syndicate.
And a possible refusal for three years
Section 9: the Minister may refuse to register an establishment where the person has, in the three years preceding the application, been found guilty of an offence under this Act or under an Act related to the operation of such an establishment, including the Building Act, the Consumer Protection Act or the Environment Quality Act.
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 operating without registration cost?
$2,500 to $25,000 for a natural person and $5,000 to $50,000 in all other cases.
Do fines increase for repeat offences?
Yes. They are doubled for a second offence and tripled for any subsequent offence.
Can I buy the seller's registration number?
No. Section 7 prohibits transferring a registration.
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.