Hundreds of Airbnb-style rentals paying more rates to Brisbane council

Hundreds of Brisbane property owners are handing more money to the council under its new rates category for Airbnb-style rentals, pitched at making more homes available for longer-term tenants.

But seven months on, it is unclear how many properties have been returned to the long-term rental market.

Brisbane City Council announced it would hike rates for whole properties listed on Airbnb-style platforms for more than 60 days a year last June.Credit: Matt Dennien, Supplied

Despite urging owners to identify themselves if their properties met the criteria for the new rates category – a house or unit listed for rent for more than 60 days in a year – most were located via a big-data tech platform the council signed up for in October.

Of the 459 properties now under the Transitory Accommodation category, 394 were identified by the new platform, 61 from owners who came forward, and just four from complaints.

Those under the new category were warned they would face 50 per cent higher rates, which Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said at the time would be about $600 a year more than a property in the minimum rate category.

The council is now expecting about $440,000 in extra annual rates revenue, its total rates and utilities income expected to pass $1.3 billion this financial year.

Council finance committee chair Fiona Cunningham said another reason for the push was to ensure owners who were using their private homes as “pseudo hotels” paid their fair share.

“We said from the beginning that this new approach will take time to be fully implemented and that we’d be happy if this new rating category didn’t raise a single dollar,” she added.

“Brisbane is Australia’s fastest-growing capital city and that means we need more homes.”

The number of properties contributing the higher rates represents a jump from the limited approvals previously granted by the council under existing short-term rental requirements.

Treasury analysis prepared for the state government’s housing summit in October suggested the number of dwellings used as holiday rentals had actually declined over the previous three years.

University of Queensland urban and economic geography associate professor Dr Thomas Sigler said there were about 9000 listings across platforms such as Airbnb and Stayz in Brisbane – about three-quarters of which were entire homes or units.

The push by Brisbane, Australia’s largest local government, marked one of the more significant moves to regulate the sector nationwide, alongside other tourist hotspots and the Greater Sydney region some 10 years after the arrival of Airbnb.

Accommodation platforms have repeatedly pushed for a statewide approach rather than a patchwork of council-based initiatives.

“I think regulation needs to be smart, regulation needs to be effective, so it isn’t too onerous ... but there is growing recognition that this housing crunch we are experiencing is not being caused by short-term rentals,” Sigler said.

The Queensland government’s review – prompted by housing availability and affordability issues – had been set to arrive by December but has been pushed back.

Deputy Premier Steven Miles said the expanded work would give detailed analysis of the positive and negative effects short-term rentals had on housing and tourism in communities across the state, and would inform any potential regulatory or non-regulatory action.

The Morning Edition newsletter is your guide to the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up here.