Eurobodalla council releases NSW Government response to housing crisis plea

Faced with a worsening housing crisis, leaders on the NSW south coast have called for urgent action to restrict Airbnb and increase stay-limits at caravan parks. Here’s how state leaders responded.

A series of letters between Eurobodalla mayor Mathew Hatcher and the NSW Government have been revealed, as local leaders push for action on a growing housing crisis. Picture: Nathan Schmidt

South coast councils have received pushback on targeting Airbnbs to help resolve the region’s housing crisis.

As the crisis deepens into homelessness for too many residents, community leaders are scrambling to find solutions as they ramp up pressure ahead of the 2023 state election.

Responding to one of many letters Eurobodalla Shire Council sent out earlier this year, the NSW Department of Planning and the Environment raised concerns with proposals to limit Airbnb rentals.

In a letter dated September 19, acting deputy secretary of planning policy Felicity Greenway said the rate of unoccupied homes in the Eurobodalla Shire was much higher than the number of active short-term rental accommodation registrations, suggesting there was a greater proportion of holiday homes or second homes held only in private use.

She said NSW DPIE had concerns about options Mayor Mathew Hatcher put forward, including proposals to limit the duration of Airbnb rentals while expanding long-term caravan park stays.

“The department is not aware of any evidence or modelling undertaken by councils that would suggest lowering the day cap on Airbnbs is likely to improve supply of long-term rental accommodation,” Ms Greenway wrote.

“Previous economic investigations undertaken as part of Byron Shire Council’s planning proposal to reduce the 180-day cap to 90-days in its local government area suggested lowering the caps has only a minor positive impact on increasing long-term rental availability.

Shoalhaven mother Lynette Wright became homeless after moving into a rental property without knowing there was an active development application. She found herself living in tents during big storms and then in a bus. Photo: Supplied

“The department will consider the issue of day caps for non-hosted (short-term rental) activities across the state as part of its policy review.

“It is anticipated this review will happen within two years of the commencement of the policy.”

Eurobodalla Shire Council voted earlier this year to publish a series of letters it had received from a range of State Government departments and ministers in relation to its advocacy on local issues, including housing shortages and calls to end native forest logging.

Eurobodalla Mayor Mathew Hatcher.

The council voted six times to write to state representatives, including Premier Dominic Perrottet, agriculture minister Dugald Sanders, and the NSW Department of Planning and the Environment. In total, the council received five responses.

In June, Mr Hatcher wrote to nonresident ratepayers urging them to consider releasing their homes back into the market.

Out-of-area ratepayers, mostly living in Sydney and Canberra, own more than 8000 homes in the region.

As of August, Mr Hatcher said as many as 30 homes had entered the long-term rental market as a result of the council’s advocacy.

The move prompted other south coast councils to pen similar letters.

In September, Shoalhaven mayor Amanda Findley introduced a motion to write to owners of the region’s unoccupied homes, which account for about one third of all properties across the Shoalhaven. A form of tax was also considered, but faced pushback.

The following month, Bega mayor Russell Fitzpatrick wrote to non-resident ratepayers on the far south coast.

An Airbnb spokeswoman said the company was proposing a series of new measures, including a statewide registration scheme and support of a tourism levy to fund housing and community projects and government reviews of eviction protections.

“Airbnb was born during the Global Financial Crisis to help families afford their homes and make ends meet, and we remain committed to empowering everyday people to combat costs of living,” Airbnb’s Australia and New Zealand country manager Susan Wheeldon said.

“Airbnb is keen to play a part in helping to provide meaningful solutions and tackle the issue of housing supply and affordability, in collaboration with a broad range of stakeholders.”

While aiming to restrict Airbnbs, Mr Hatcher also urged the department to consider allowing longer stays at local campgrounds.

Following the Black Summer bushfires, the council successively lobbied for an extension for residents whose homes were impacted.

Shoalhaven City Council mayor Amanda Findley wrote to non-resident ratepayers in September urging them to release their homes into the long-term rental market. Picture: Supplied

Mr Hatcher believed the housing crisis warranted a similar response, but faced pushback from the department on the proposal.

“To address acute, short-term housing pressures relating to the 2019-20 bushfires, changes were made to the Local Government regulation to provide caravan park operators to permit longer term stays on short term sites for up to two years,” Ms Greenway said.

“The current exemption to include people impacted by the housing crisis is not considered appropriate because there would be a lack of certainty about who would qualify for the exemption.

“A housing crisis has a much more complex set of drivers and is likely to persist over a longer time frame than a natural disaster.

“The economic impact of converting short-term tourist sites to long-term accommodations also needs to be carefully considered.”

Ms Greenway said the council could facilitate a caravan park operator’s desire to convert short-term accommodation into long-term sites through an application under the Local Government Act.

Shoalhaven activist and Brooman State Forest resident Takesa Frank authored a petition to be debated in NSW Parliament to end native forest logging. Picture: Nathan Schmidt

In addition to housing, the council also received a response from agriculture minister Dugald Saunders regarding calls to end Forestry Corporation of NSW’s native forest logging practices.

In the letter, Mr Saunders said the government was committed to an existing vision for sustainably-managed forests, which included an “economically efficient forestry industry”.

The majority of state-managed native forests, he said, were set aside for conservation.

“The NSW Government has purposefully established FCNSW to manage our dedicated state forests and forestry operations,” he said.

“Only about 1 per cent of state forests are harvested for timber and regrown each year.

“The NSW Government must balance a range of considerations — including environmental, social, and economic — to supply renewable timber from the small proportion of public native forest designated for timber production.”

In October, FCNSW appeared before Batemans Bay Local Court after allegedly breaching post-bushfire controls in Mogo State Forest.

A State Government petition earlier this year to end the practice entirely also garnered more than 20,000 signatures.

Eurobodalla Shire Council will debate the release of the documents on Tuesday November 8.

Originally published as Eurobodalla council releases NSW Government response to housing crisis plea