Airbnb permits could raise costs for island getaways
The cost of a weekend getaway on one of the state’s best beach hideaways could rise if a bayside council introduces an Airbnb-style permit system.
Redlands Coast
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The cost of a weekend getaway on one of the state’s best beach holiday hideaways could be jacked up by 2 per cent if a bayside council decides to introduce an Airbnb-style permit system in its budget next week.
North Stradbroke Island businesses have lobbied Redland City Council to introduce a short-term accommodation permit system and step up regulation.
The call followed Brisbane City Council’s announcement of a permit system, planning approvals, guest code of conduct and 24/7 managers for short stay accommodation as part of its budget on Wednesday.
There are more than 450 holiday rentals on Straddie managed by five major real estate agents and also privately.
All offered short-term letting, with prices for a minimum two-night stay starting from about $450.
Island chamber of Commerce president Colin Battersby said there should be mandatory registration and a permit fee, along with a code of conduct for all operators providing short-term accommodation on the island.
Calls for a permit system have also been welcomed by some long-term island residents who claimed the holiday rental industry needed greater regulation.
Mr Battersby, the principal of Discover Stradbroke real estate agency, dismissed claims that the short-term rental market on the island was responsible for higher rents by squeezing supply, forcing people to move off the island.
He also argued against capping the number of nights a homeowner could rent a property for short-term stays, claiming the initiative had “spectacularly failed” in Byron Bay.
“It is not so much that the rents are high, but the lack of secure, well-paying jobs means that people have limited opportunities on the island,” he said.
“The places that are being used for short term accommodation of up to a week on the island are not the type of places that are suitable for long-term rentals.
“Many of these places are being rented out for more than $2000 a week as short-term lets and would not be in the price range of long-term residents, who are looking to pay about $500 a week rent.
“By capping the number of nights that an owner can rent out the property to 90 nights a year is ridiculous and just penalises mum and dad investors who want to make a small amount of money with a vacant property on the island.
“These properties would still not be part of the long-term rental mix anyway as most of these property owners use their holiday homes at least once a year.
“Greater regulation of the industry is necessary as more than a third of the 450 short-term rental properties on the island are self-managed,” he said.
“There needs to be a set of standards that everyone operates under so that both the visitor and the operator know what to expect.
“Mandatory registration of all operators would ensure all safety regulations are followed inside every rental and with a registration fee, the council could use that money for tourist infrastructure on the island that everyone can benefit from.”
The chamber of commerce’s request for a permit system was backed by the short-term accommodation industry peak body the Australia New Zealand Short Term Rental Association, Astra, which has 1500 members nationally.
Astra chief executive Mitchell Price advocated for a 2 per cent state government accommodation levy to be taxed on short-term accommodation owners on Straddie.
“We support a 2 per cent state-based levy on all bookings for practical reasons so that individual council policies are all consistent,” Mr Price said.
“That money should then be spent on affordable housing, promoting tourism and increasing skills and certification in the short-term rental industry.
“Forty-per cent of short-term stays on the island are for those servicing the tourism industry such as builders, cleaners, plumbers, electricians.
“Those properties were never on the long-term property market because the family that owns them uses them through the year.
“Our members across the country have told us that if there were restrictions on the number of nights they can rent out their properties, they would simply take them off the short-term market.
“Our industry is actually providing jobs for people on the island and those jobs have allowed those workers to buy their own homes on the island.”
One Amity resident of 24 years, who declined to be named, said short-term accommodation was ruining the idyllic island lifestyle and said many holiday rentals were being let in areas zoned for low density housing.
“I own my own home so I should not have to put up with strangers constantly moving into houses in my street on a rotating basis,” he said.
“We have to put up with people on their balconies swearing, or dogs left in the house during the day, or dogs off-lead and chasing the wildlife.
“There is a no-party policy already in place, but even if the visitors are not really a rowdy group there is often noise that the neighbourhood would not otherwise have.”
Other island renters have claimed the short-term Airbnb-style letting was gobbling up the rental supply and increasing rents.
“People have had to move off the island because there is nowhere for them to go and we are losing permanent residents,” he said.
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