New short-term rental rules in Quebec in 2026: Why choose long-term room rentals

Faced with the continuous and unprecedented tightening of rules surrounding Airbnb-style rentals, many Quebec homeowners now find themselves at a crossroads. For several years, the provincial government and municipalities have been tightening the screws on tourist accommodation to protect the residential housing stock. As of fall 2026, the strict implementation of the 2026 Quebec Tourist Accommodation Act has completely reshuffled the deck for amateur hosts.

At Roomlala, we see daily how worried hosts are about this mountain of administrative red tape. Between mandatory registration, tax collection, and the threat of colossal fines, short-term overnight rentals have lost their luster. The stress of managing transient travelers is compounded by a legal framework that has become particularly punitive for those who do not follow it to the letter.

Read also: 2026 rental reference rate in Switzerland: Shared housing to counter the increase, New EPB requirements in Brussels in 2026: What is the impact for renting out a room in your primary residence? and Generalization of the CIN in Italy for 2026: What are the obligations for renting out a room?

Yet, a simple, legal, and profitable solution exists: renting a room long-term in Quebec. By hosting a student or a worker for several months, you step out of the restrictive tourism framework and into the much more flexible world of conventional residential rentals. This article decodes the current legislation for you and shows why renting a room by the month or by the year is now the safest alternative for generating extra income.

Understanding the 2026 Quebec Tourist Accommodation Act

To make informed choices regarding your housing, it is crucial to fully understand the current legal framework. The Quebec short-term rental regulations have undergone major changes with the adoption of Bill 25, aimed at strictly curbing the excesses of impromptu tourist accommodation.

What is changing for short-term rentals?

In Quebec, the law is very clear: any rental lasting 31 consecutive days or less is considered tourist accommodation. Whether you are renting out your primary residence while on vacation or an unoccupied room for a weekend, you fall under these regulations. The cornerstone of the 2026 Quebec Tourist Accommodation Act is the absolute requirement to obtain a registration certificate from the Corporation de l'industrie touristique du Québec (CITQ).

This registration number is not just a formality. It must be displayed visibly on all your online listings, regardless of the platform used. In addition, tourist hosts are required to collect and remit the 3.5% lodging tax for each night sold. These steps transform the simple act of renting a spare room into a real business, with all the accounting and bureaucracy that entails.

Let's take a concrete example: Marc, a homeowner in Trois-Rivières, occasionally rented out his guest room on weekends. To continue in 2026, he must pay annual registration fees, keep a visitor register, report his taxes quarterly, and ensure his home insurance specifically covers tourist accommodation. This is a considerable mental load for a few hundred dollars a month.

Deterrent financial penalties and strict municipal zoning

The Quebec government is no longer joking with offenders. Penalties for non-compliance with the tourist accommodation law have become extremely severe. A host who rents without a CITQ number or with an invalid number now faces fines of up to $50,000. Online booking platforms, for their part, risk up to $100,000 per illegal listing hosted on their site.

But provincial registration is only the tip of the iceberg. Municipalities also have a say and are heavily using their zoning bylaws to limit or outright prohibit tourist rentals. In Montreal and Quebec City, for example, entire neighborhoods are now closed to short-term rentals. Even if you have the iron will to obtain your CITQ number, your borough could deny you the right to rent by the night if your area is exclusively zoned for residential use.

These strict rules create an environment of insecurity for hosts. A disgruntled neighbor can easily report an illegal listing, triggering a municipal investigation. Faced with these major financial and legal risks, more and more owners are looking for an honorable and safe exit to continue making their available space profitable.

The practical and human limitations of tourist rentals

Beyond the purely legal and financial aspects, short-term rentals impose a lifestyle that is often incompatible with a busy daily life. Managing a tourist rental is akin to running a mini-hotel. You must respond to booking requests at any hour, organize key handovers, handle unforeseen events (flight delays, lost travelers), and ensure the accommodation is spotless between each stay.

Cleaning is actually one of the biggest friction points. Washing bed sheets, cleaning the bathroom, vacuuming every two days... These tasks quickly become exhausting if you do them yourself, and very expensive if you hire a cleaning company, significantly cutting into your profit margins.

Finally, on a human level, renting by the night makes it impossible to build real connections. Travelers are passing through, often in a hurry, and treat your home as a mere commodity. At Roomlala, we believe that homestays should remain an enriching experience based on mutual respect and sharing, which is difficult to achieve during 48-hour stays.

Renting a room long-term in Quebec: The winning alternative

Fortunately, there is a way to legally circumvent all the constraints of tourist accommodation: long-term rental. By choosing to rent your space for periods longer than 31 days, you completely change your legal and operational paradigm.

Zero administrative hassles: Goodbye to the CITQ

This is the golden rule to remember: renting a room for a period of more than 31 consecutive days is not considered tourist accommodation under Quebec law. Concretely, this means you do not need a CITQ registration number. You also do not need to collect or remit the 3.5% lodging tax.

This practice falls under the conventional residential regime. It is governed by the Tribunal administratif du logement (TAL). The rules are clear, well-known, and designed to cover primary residences. You sign a standard lease or room rental agreement, you define house rules, and that's it. No more anxiously monitoring your municipality's zoning changes or fearing fines from Revenu Québec for tourist non-compliance.

Case study: Julie, a resident of the Plateau-Mont-Royal in Montreal, could no longer rent her room on Airbnb because of her neighborhood's zoning. Through Roomlala, she now rents her room to a French student on an academic exchange for stays of 4 to 8 months. She is 100% in compliance with the law and did not have to complete any complex administrative procedures.

Stable and regular room rental income

The other major advantage of renting a room long-term in Quebec lies in financial predictability. With short-term rentals, your income fluctuates wildly depending on the seasons, weather, or local events. With long-term, you know exactly how much you will receive at the end of each month.

The market is actually very buoyant. The housing crisis in Quebec is pushing many high-quality profiles to look for homestays. Your potential tenants are varied and reliable:

• International or regional students looking for a home base for the university semester.
• Temporary workers or young professionals on probation.
• People in life transitions (separation, professional relocation) needing affordable, furnished housing quickly.

This room rental income constitutes a significant supplement to your salary to cope with inflation, pay your municipal taxes, or pay off your mortgage faster, all with minimal management effort. Once the tenant is settled, you no longer have to worry about the daily welcome or cleaning.

How to get started with room rentals on Roomlala?

Convinced by long-term rental? It is an excellent decision. However, even if it is much simpler than short-term, this activity requires following a few basic rules so that the cohabitation goes as smoothly as possible. At Roomlala, we support you every step of the way.

Check the rules applicable to your situation

Before publishing your listing, it is imperative to verify your status. If you own a single-family home, you have carte blanche. However, if you are a co-owner in a condo, you must check your co-ownership declaration. Some clauses may restrict the rental of individual rooms or impose a minimum lease duration (often 6 or 12 months).

If you are a tenant yourself, the Civil Code of Quebec allows you to sublet part of your home, but under certain conditions. It is mandatory to inform your landlord (the lessor) of your intention to sublet or host a roommate. The landlord cannot refuse without a serious reason, but transparency is the key to a healthy relationship. Also, be sure to clarify the occupant's status: is it an official subtenant or just an occupant sharing expenses?

Practical example: Thomas, who rents a 4 1/2 in Sherbrooke, asked his landlord in writing if he could rent his second room to a student. With the landlord's consent, he was able to publish his listing on Roomlala with complete peace of mind, sharing his monthly rent costs.

Report your income and secure your contract

There is one crucial point of vigilance that we often remind our community about: income generated from renting a room, even within your primary residence, constitutes taxable income. You must report it to tax authorities (Revenu Québec and the Canada Revenue Agency) in your annual tax return. The good news is that you can also deduct a portion of your current expenses (electricity, heating, internet, mortgage interest) in proportion to the rented area, thus optimizing your tax situation.

Finally, to ensure your peace of mind, it is essential to properly structure the rental. On Roomlala, we make this connection easier. Our platform allows you to chat with candidates before accepting a booking, verify their profiles, and secure payments. We advise you to always sign a written document (a TAL lease or occupancy agreement) detailing the rent amount, shared spaces, and house rules (cleaning, visitors, noise).

In conclusion, faced with the complexity of the 2026 Quebec Tourist Accommodation Act, long-term room rental stands out as the obvious choice. It combines legal security, financial stability, and human richness. Do not wait any longer to turn your unused room into a reliable and worry-free source of income by joining the Roomlala community of hosts today.