Australia needs new planning tools to manage the rapid growth in listings on Airbnb and other online holiday rental platforms, according to a new study by researchers at The University of Sydney. A study into planning responses to the impact of short-term holiday rental platforms was conducted by a University of Sydney research team led by Professor Nicole Gurran, Chair of Urban and Regional Planning and Policy. The research project was commissioned by the Australian Coastal Councils Association. The report finds that since Airbnb was launched in Australia in 2011, more than 130,000 properties were listed, equating to approximately 0.2 percent of total housing stock. In coastal communities, however, the study identified a median rate of 4 percent of all housing stock, with rates in key locations found to be even higher; in the Byron Shire Council area over 17 percent of all housing is listed on online holiday rental platforms. This can create a real problem for those looking to find traditional, long-term rental properties. The report also found that in just over 18 months, from April 2016 to December 2017, the number of Airbnb listings doubled in NSW, Vic, Qld and WA. Holiday homes are part of the character of coastal towns and there is no dispute that online rental platforms have created new tourism opportunities in coastal areas. However, in some communities, the rapid growth in listings has emerged as a major challenge with potentially serious consequences.“ Coastal councils have found long-standing planning and management practices have not kept pace with the changes occurring in the holiday rental market,” said Barry Sammels, Chair of the Australian Coastal Councils Association. “Traditional holiday accommodation providers are required to meet minimum fire and safety standards. As matters stand, these requirements do not apply to properties listed in Airbnb and similar platforms, posing a potential risk to guests.” Professor Nicole Gurran said holiday home-sharing via online platforms, has a particular significance for coastal communities where tourism forms an integral part of the local economy.“ Getting the right planning and regulatory framework in place to manage short-term rentals in the digital era is critical to the economic and social sustainability of these communities,” she said. The University of Sydney study found that in some areas of coastal Australia online listings of holiday lets far exceed existing tourism accommodation. For example, on the Mornington Peninsula and in Byron Bay beds in Airbnb listings are more than five times those of traditional accommodation. The report identified that State governments need to help councils by setting baseline standards for short term rentals in residential areas and clarify the definition and use of short-term rental accommodation. They should support local planning and regulatory responses which reflect the specific contexts of each community and ensure that online platforms share data and help ensure local requirements are met. Professor Gurran said providing data on short-term holiday rental listings to councils is necessary to inform local planning and management responses and to maximise the benefits that online platforms can bring to coastal communities. The report notes that Airbnb, which is just one holiday rental platform, advertises more than 3 million properties worldwide since it commenced operations in 2008. This is more than the total number of rooms provided by the Hilton and Marriott hotel chains combined. Barry Sammels said the study found there are significant differences in the impact of the online holiday rental sector in different coastal communities. “Some of the 12 councils taking part in the study reported an increase in resident complaints and other disruptions caused by visitors staying in short-term holiday rentals,” he said.“Some permanent residents felt their community had been invaded by tourism and spoke of the stress involved in not knowing when a new party of visitors was likely to arrive next door and how they were going to behave within residential neighbourhoods.” The research identifies a definite need for clearer guidelines from state governments on how to manage these issues which are rapidly emerging around Australia.Click here for the final research report Eurobodalla Shire Council participated in the study Thanks go to the AUSTRALIAN COASTAL COUNCILS ASSOCIATION for allowing the above to be republished ********************************************************************* Further controls to be set in place for Holiday Rentals across NSW There are also new tools coming on-line that will bring a little more control to the annual bug-bear of unruly guests with endless parties that can be found in all of our local holiday houses that sit adjacent to permanent residents. Airbnb guests and hosts will be banned from short-term rentals for five years if they repeatedly disrupt neighbours in New South Wales. New regulations passed by NSW state parliament have introduced caps on the number of days a property can be leased and allows owner stratas to impose bans in their apartments. The Bill is part of a proposed new rules which will impose a blanket maximum 180-day cap in Sydney, but free regional and rural areas to impose their own cap of not less than 180 days. A mandatory code of conduct will also come into effect from next year in a bid to crack down on party houses. Guests and hosts could be banned from all platforms for five years if they seriously breach the code just twice in two years . The properties would be added to an exclusion register that services all accommodation platform so that users can not "platform shop". A serious breach could include any behaviour interfering with “a neighbour’s quiet and peaceful enjoyment of their home”. It is understood that online platforms – like Airbnb and HomeAway, known as Stayz – would face civil penalties of up to $1.1 million for corporations and $220,000 for individuals if they don’t comply with the code. In consideration of the bill a Local Government NSW spokesperson said “The most important thing is to ensure this legislation delivers a careful balance between the local economic benefits of short-term holiday letting and the protection of long-term residents”. “The impact of home sharing differs across NSW, from central business districts through regional and rural cities and towns, and coastal locations.
“LGNSW has consistently argued that individual councils are best placed to determine the caps that best balance economic development with rental affordability and public amenity for residents in their areas.”
LGNSW said the Government Bill went some of the way to delivering the best outcome for local communities, but she called for amendments which would make the system easy to monitor and regulate.
“Community confidence in the system will be underpinned by effective compliance and enforcement, and the sensible way to achieve that is through the registration or licence of all short-term rental property owners.
“A simple state-wide registration system would allow data to be collected on growth and supply of the short-term holiday letting market, evaluation of the costs and benefits over time, and assist code enforcement.
LGNSW also called on the Government to commit funds for ongoing research to monitor the local impact of short-term holiday letting.
“The last thing we want is the situation which has arisen overseas, where investors buying multiple short-term holiday properties drive up prices and keep young people out of the housing market.”
