Short-term rentals in Quebec City (Airbnb): the City’s rules in 2026

The rules in Quebec City at a glance

Rules checked on November 3, 2026 on ville.quebec.qc.ca, quebec.ca and citq.qc.ca. The City notes that no notice or reminder is sent before the certificate expires. Always check the source before buying or posting a listing.

Renting your principal residence in Quebec City: the steps

Quebec City calls this activity collaborative tourist accommodation. You first need a municipal certificate of authorization — $260 for 2026, valid 12 months and to be renewed every year before it expires —, then CITQ registration. Proof of principal residence is your most recent provincial or federal notice of assessment, redacted. Renting is limited to 90 nights a year, and each stay to 31 consecutive days or less.

Commercial accommodation and the Old Québec freeze

Outside a principal residence, commercial tourist accommodation must comply with zoning: you need a certificate of authorization for the use, then a compliance notice from the City before applying to the CITQ. In April 2026, the City introduced a temporary freeze on new establishments in certain areas of Old Québec and its surroundings; the page does not state how long it lasts.

The Quebec rules on top of the city’s

Any unit offered to tourists for 31 days or less must be registered with the Corporation de l’industrie touristique du Québec (CITQ), and the number must appear distinctly in the listing. For a principal residence, the government asks for two documents showing it really is your principal residence — “the place where you usually live and centre your family and social activities” —, liability insurance of at least $2,000,000, a zoning confirmation from the municipality and, if you rent or live in a condo, the authorization of the landlord or the syndicate.

Registration fees for a principal-residence establishment are $54 since January 1, 2026 (CITQ).

• Operating without registration: a fine of $2,500 to $25,000 for an individual ($5,000 to $50,000 in other cases).
• Not displaying the registration number distinctly: $1,000 to $10,000 ($2,000 to $20,000).
• A platform publishing an offer without a registration number: $5,000 to $50,000 ($10,000 to $100,000).

What a professional checks before you buy to rent in Quebec City

The rules above say what the City generally allows. The real question, before an offer, is narrower: can this unit be rented short-term, and does the project still work without that income? Four professionals answer it, each on their own ground.

• The real estate agent checks the zoning of the exact address and, in a condo, what the declaration and bylaws allow, before you make an offer.
• The mortgage broker checks whether the lender will finance a unit rented short-term and whether it will count that income to qualify you: a lender may refuse to count it.
• The notary checks, before signing, any registered restrictions that could prohibit renting.
• The appraiser sets the value of the unit without taking for granted short-term rental income the rules could prohibit.

The rules in other cities

Compare with Montreal · Toronto · Ottawa · Vancouver · Calgary, or see the rules by province in Canada.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• Quebec City — Collaborative tourist accommodation (French)
• Quebec City — Tourist accommodation, business (French)
• Government of Quebec — Registering a tourist accommodation establishment (French)
• Government of Quebec — Offences and fines, tourist accommodation (French)
• CITQ — Registration fees (French)