Short-term holiday rental homes in Adelaide should require development approval
Loud parties and parking problems are some of the issues being created by houses being rented out on platforms like Airbnb, one eastern suburbs councillor says. Now he wants tougher rules.
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Short-term holiday rentals are creating a nuisance around Adelaide and need to face stronger state regulation, a councillor says.
Norwood, Payneham & St Peters elected member Kester Moorhouse said the “time has come” for planning rules to change so property owners require council approval to use their homes as holiday rentals.
As it stands, using residential properties as short-term holiday rentals does not constitute a “change in use” – meaning it does not require any sort of approval.
Mr Moorhouse said he had been contacted by residents complaining of parking troubles and loud parties around short-term rentals.
He also pointed to an infamous Burnside Airbnb property – known as the Hollywood Treehouse – which has attracted attention after neighbours complained of noise and obscenity.
We’re operating on planning rules designed before Airbnb and similar short-term rental properties became more prevalent,” Mr Moorhouse said.
“A lot of cities have made changes to address these sorts of concerns about parking issues, loud parties and what this can mean about a shortage of long-term housing accommodation and SA should look to do something similar.”
Former Labor planning minister John Rau ruled out changing rules for short-term rentals in 2016.
Holdfast Bay Council made similar calls for legislative change in 2018.
An NP&SP staff response to Mr Moorhouse said such properties could “cause conflict with long term owners and occupants of adjacent premises, typically with respect to issues such as anti-social behaviour, excessive noise, vandalism, rubbish and carparking”.
However, it said “very few complaints have been received about residential properties which have been rented out via homesharing platforms such as Airbnb”.