(Bloomberg) -- Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will announce tax changes designed to curb the use of Airbnb Inc. and other short-term rental services in regions of Canada where those platforms are restricted, according to media reports.  

The measure will be part of Freeland’s fall economic statement on Tuesday, according to reports in Montreal’s La Presse and the Toronto Star. The government will prohibit property owners from deducting expenses on short-term rentals in areas where those services are already limited by other levels of government, the news outlets said.  

The tax change, which would come into effect Jan. 1, is meant to crack down on property owners who flout local regulations, according to the Star and La Presse. A shortage of available homes to rent is an issue in places like British Columbia, where the provincial government recently introduced new legislation that makes it harder for owners to list empty properties on a short-term basis on sites such as Airbnb, VRBO and Expedia. 

Freeland said last month she was examining what tools the federal government might use against short-term rental sites, which result in “fewer homes for Canadians to rent, especially in urban and populated areas of our country.” 

Canada Mortgage & Housing Corp., the federal government’s housing agency, will be granted C$15 billion ($10.9 billion) to offer loans to real estate developers at advantageous rates for the construction of rental housing as part of a new housing package, La Presse said. 

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