Short-term-rental rules in Québec City
This is a dated record of short-term-rental rules in Québec City, summarized from the official government sources listed below. Source-read status is shown separately; the official link governs.
5/5 source reads recorded · latest successful read September 7, 2026 · record generated September 7, 2026
The rules, source by source
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Registration (municipal authorization + CITQ)
Offering collaborative short-term tourist accommodation in Québec City (hébergement touristique collaboratif) requires obtaining a municipal authorization certificate from the city FIRST, then registering with the province's CITQ using the compliance notice the city issues; stays are capped at 31 consecutive days and 90 nights total per year, hosting one group of guests at a time.
Official source: ville.quebec.qc.ca ↗ -
Number display
The CITQ registration number — ⚠ AND, where applicable, the NAME of the establishment — must appear distinctly in ANY advertising used to promote it; the province specifies every social medium and every website, transactional or not, so it is not limited to the big platforms. Failing to display them draws $1,000–$10,000 for a natural person ($2,000–$20,000 otherwise). Displaying a false, inexact, expired, suspended or cancelled number is a separate and more serious offence at $2,500–$25,000 ($5,000–$50,000 otherwise). ⚠ A THIRD, EASILY-MISSED DUTY: where the advertising is VERBAL, or where one advertisement covers SEVERAL establishments run by the same person, you must state that the establishment is registered under the Tourist Accommodation Act — $1,000–$10,000 ($2,000–$20,000 otherwise).
Official source: quebec.ca ↗ -
Eligibility (principal residence, precisely defined)
Only a host's principal residence qualifies — defined by the city as the dwelling where the person centralizes their family and social activities, with the address matching most of their government identification; each person may hold only one principal residence, and only that residence may be listed. This is a more precisely worded definition than most other Canadian cities, which typically just require majority-of-year occupancy.
Official source: ville.quebec.qc.ca ↗ -
Fees (municipal authorization certificate)
Québec City's own municipal authorization certificate costs $260 for 2026 — a separate, additional cost on top of the province-wide CITQ registration fee.
Official source: ville.quebec.qc.ca ↗ -
Municipal certificate — annual re-application & proof of residence
The City's authorization certificate is NOT open-ended: a new application must be made EVERY YEAR before the expiry date shown on the document. ⚠ ALLOW TIME: the City states roughly 30 days before a first response. The process has a fixed order — you must first register a request through the Centre de relation avec les citoyens (311), and only then submit your proof of residence, which must go through the City's permit-application deposit site and must be REDACTED according to the City's published standard to protect personal information. The proof must show that the dwelling is actually occupied by the applicant.
Official source: ville.quebec.qc.ca ↗ -
Briefing your guests on municipal norms
⚠ A DUTY ON THE HOST, not the guest: as a host you must advise the tourists staying in your principal residence of the norms they have to respect. The City names FOUR things to cover. ① NOISE AND TRANQUILLITY — any noise disturbing people who live, work or happen to be nearby is a nuisance (Règlement sur le bruit, R.V.Q. 978, arts. 2 and 4), and it is prohibited in a street, a public place or any building to behave in a way that disturbs the peace or public tranquillity (Règlement sur la paix et le bon ordre, R.V.Q. 1091, art. 7). ② WASTE — tell guests where the bins are, how to sort recyclables, and the collection days. ③ GOOD NEIGHBOURLINESS — a quiet period generally applies between 21h and 7h (your building's own rules may differ), discretion is expected for arrivals and departures in that window, and loitering or leaving objects such as suitcases and waste in common areas is prohibited. ④ FIRE PREVENTION — point guests to the fire-safety advice for short-term stays under the ministère de la Sécurité publique's national prevention programme. ⚠ Separately, the City RECOMMENDS (does not require) telling your neighbours you host and giving them your rental dates.
Official source: ville.quebec.qc.ca ↗ -
Fees (provincial CITQ layer)
The CITQ registration/renewal fee, which applies to any Québec short-term rental including Québec City, is $54/year for a résidence principale establishment and $156/year for a general tourism-accommodation establishment, both effective January 1, 2026. The fee is payable on receipt of the notice.
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Certificate display & transmission (provincial CITQ layer)
Two duties attach to the registration CERTIFICATE itself, separate from displaying the number in advertising. ⚠ AT THE PREMISES: the certificate must be displayed in view of the tourist clientele at the establishment's main entrance — failing to do so draws $1,000–$10,000 for a natural person, or $2,000–$20,000 otherwise. ⚠ TO THE PLATFORM: you must transmit your registration certificate to the operator of any digital platform on which you offer the establishment for rent, on the same fine tiers. Both are province-wide under the Loi sur l'hébergement touristique and apply on top of any municipal requirement.
Official source: quebec.ca ↗ -
Fines & penalties (provincial CITQ layer)
The province-wide CITQ fines apply in Québec City: $2,500-$25,000 (natural person) or $5,000-$50,000 (entity) for offering tourist accommodation without a registration certificate, and $1,000-$10,000 (natural person) or $2,000-$20,000 (entity) for failing to display the registration number in advertising.
Official source: quebec.ca ↗ -
Insurance (provincial CITQ layer)
Under Québec's Loi sur l'hébergement touristique, a registered tourist-accommodation establishment must hold — and keep in force — civil liability insurance of at least $2,000,000 per event, covering bodily or material injury caused in the course of operating the establishment; failing to hold or maintain it draws a fine of $1,000–$10,000 (natural person) or $2,000–$20,000 (legal person). Québec's registration duty itself covers principal AND secondary residences, and the province states this penalty without naming any exemption on the pages we monitor — so treat the requirement as applying to you and confirm your establishment class with the CITQ if unsure. Province-wide, separate from any municipal rule.
Official source: quebec.ca ↗ -
Registration renewal — the 60-day provincial window
⚠ THE WINDOW OPENS, IT DOESN'T ONLY CLOSE: Québec's Tourist Accommodation Regulation requires the renewal application to be sent WITHIN THE 60 DAYS PRECEDING the date your registration ends — so you cannot file it early, and nothing suggests a grace period after. The renewal must also be accompanied by a declaration UPDATING your accommodation offering and the related activities and services, not a repeat of last year's file. (Different fixed windows apply to outfitting operations, 1 February to 31 March, and to camping grounds and trailer parks, 1 September to 31 October; neither applies to a principal-residence establishment.)
Official source: legisquebec.gouv.qc.ca ↗
Related reading
Informational only — not legal advice. This service summarizes publicly available government information and may be incomplete, out of date, or in error. Rules change frequently and can be altered by courts without notice. Always verify against the official source and consult a qualified attorney before making decisions. No attorney-client relationship is created.
We describe the rules and when they change — we never tell you whether your specific situation is compliant. That’s between you, the official source, and your own advisor.
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