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Two tenants’ organizations are calling a ban on short-term rental platforms like Airbnb.

The Comité logement du Plateau-Mont-Royal and the Comité logement Ville-Marie say existing efforts to regulate platforms where tourists can rent homes for shot-term stays in the city aren’t working.

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“Airbnb is a real problem in the central neighbourhoods,” said Gabrielle Renaud, a community organizer at the Comité logement du Plateau-Mont-Royal.

Around five per cent of Plateau apartments are now being listed on short-term rental sites full-time, rather than being rented to residents, according to a study commissioned by the Comité Logement and released on Thursday.

“We’re talking about 1,500 to 2,000 apartments,” Renaud said. “It’s a lot.”

Vacancy rates in the Plateau are currently around 1.5 per cent, according to the report, making it hard for people to find places to live, Renaud said.