Holiday rental site slams council’s hopes for local rules

STAYZ has asked Byron council to shelve plans to help regulate short term rental accommodation within the shire.

BYRON BAY, AUSTRALIA - JUNE 20: An aerial view of Byron Bay on June 20, 2020 in Byron Bay, Australia. Domestic tourists have started to return to Byron Bay following the easing of travel restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 outbreak. All intrastate travel restrictions were lifted in NSW on June 1, allowing people to travel to regional areas within the state. Although borders between NSW, the ACT and Victoria remain open, Australians have been asked not to holiday interstate. Queensland, Western Australia and Tasmania's state borders remain closed, while South Australia is only open to travellers from WA, Tasmania and the Northern Territory while interstate arrivals to the Northern Territory must self isolate for 14 days. (Photo by Brook Mitchell/Getty Images)

THE head of holiday rental website Stayz has asked Byron Shire Council to halt plans for localised restrictions on non-hosted holiday lets.

The council voted to include 365-day zones within a local framework for holiday letting when the matter went before the planning meeting on Thursday.

But Stayz corporate affairs director Eacham Curry said he would still like to see the council shelve their proposal entirely.

"Byron Shire Council should be urging the NSW Government to implement the full suite of short-term rental reforms, particularly the register of all short-term rental listings, rather than seeking to implement an unproven and restrictive night cap," Mr Curry said.

"The NSW Government continues to drag its feet on the full suite of its long-promised reforms to short-term rental accommodation - particularly the register of all short-term rentals.

"At the same time, councils like Byron Shire are playing into the hands of the NSW Government by seeking to build a local regulatory response to key questions about our industry.

"Stayz urges Byron Shire Council to focus its advocacy on progressing the statewide policy response that will do far more to resolve the key questions about our growing sector.

"Holiday homes are a tradition in Byron Bay and Northern Rivers. In these well-loved destinations, holiday homes have never formed part of the long-term rental housing stock - they are often purpose built as a holiday rental and rented out to holiday makers when not used by the families who ultimately own them.

"Stayz advocates for statewide regulation that contains a simple register of all short-term rental listings, a code of conduct that is backed by a strikes-based disciplinary regime, and consistent planning rules for the breadth of the industry.

"We support Bryon Shire Council in their desire to get better certainty about the rules for short term rental accommodation. However, we call on them to join our efforts to push the NSW Government to implement its register of all short-term rentals and use the data that is collected by this tool point to solutions that will better address the key concerns."

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