Montrealer sole resident of condo building after other units rented on Airbnb

Andrew Chapman lives in a nine-unit condo building converted from a boutique hotelin downtown Montreal near the busy Berri-UQAMMetro station, a desirable home in a desirablearea of an internationally popularcity.

So much so, that Chapman has found himself to be the building's only full-time resident because the rest of the units are being rented on services like Airbnb.

"Gradually over the past couple of years since Ibought my condo, I've noticed the creeping in of more and more short-term renters," he said in an interview on CBC Montreal's Daybreak program Tuesday.

• 'They're basically running hotels': Property management companies Airbnb's biggest winners

"We buy houses, whether it's on a street with picket fences or in a condo, and part of the experience isto get to know your neighbours and build relationships with the people that live closetoyou," he said.

"In this type ofenvironment, you miss out on thata little bit. It can feel a bit lonely at times."

Chapman contacted CBC News about his experience after McGillurban planning professor David Wachsmuth said on Monday that new research he led shows Airbnb iseating into the available housing stock in Montreal, Vancouver and Toronto, as well as driving up rents.

Wachsmuth said a growing number of listings are for entire houses or apartments,and are owned by property management companies that have multiple listings in a city or even several cities.

"They're basically running hotels ...that are split across multiple apartments," Wachsmuthsaid.

Rentals on every street

Because many properties are being listed on Airbnb, it means fewer places are available to rent or buy in the city's most popular neighbourhoods, Ville-Marie, where Chapman lives, and thePlateau-Mont-Royal.

"On every street of Plateau-Mont-Royal, wepredict there are about 10or so listings that will be registered onAirbnb," said Gabrielle Renaud, a community organizer withPlateauMont-RoyalHousing Committee, a tenants'rights group.

• Airbnb users more numerous in Quebec despite new regulations

A property may be listed on the service, but not necessarily rented. However, data provided on the independent open-source website, Inside Airbnb, shows there were at least 2,952 listings for the Plateau areaas of May 2016.

According to the housing committee, there are 56,580places to live in the Plateau, meaning a little over five per cent of the neighbourhood's housing is listed on Airbnb.

Wachsmuth himself estimates about two per cent of the area's housing stock is not available to rent because it's for rent on Airbnb.

Leading to gentrification

Renaud said the group hasseen a concentration of listings around parks, like LaurierPark and Lafontaine Park, as well as the Mont-RoyalMetro station.

"Airbnb is participating greatly in the gentrification process," she said.

"Lots of landlords evicttenants just to make aplace into an Airbnb.There are rent increases, there are fewer and fewer placesthat are available for the residents of the Plateau, and are reserved for tourists."

LikeChapman,Renaud said there is a loss of solidarity and neighbourly feelings when an increasing number of units are being rented by Airbnbusers.

The property management company with the most listings on Airbnb in Montreal, Sonder, has somewhere between 47 and 52 listings in the Plateau alone, according toRenaud.

Sonder labels its properties for rent as "hometels." The company was started in Montrealand wasoriginally calledFlatbook, but rebranded in September2016, at the same timeit announced a $10-million funding round led by U.S. venture capital firm Spark Capital.

The company has more than 160 propertieslisted onAirbnb in Montrealalone, as well as properties in San Francisco, Vancouver, Los Angeles, Miami, Toronto and Boston.

Chapman was a formerAirbnbhost himself, butdecided to stop listing his home after his girlfriend moved in.

Chapman said he hasn't had any serious issues in the building, just the occasional bit of noise. He recently became president of his condo board, and is working with the other owners over issues, like building insurance, that may be affected by short-term rentals.

"It's important to me, as probably one of the largest purchases I'll ever make in my life, to makesure that's protected," he said."It's a bit of a concern when I have strangers wandering around thebuilding."