Public invited to have say on new 60-day short-term rental cap in Byron Shire, northern NSW

The public can now have a say on Byron’s short-term rental cap being slashed by two-thirds – as the visitor hubs’ mayor warns council cannot tackle all the “heavy lifting”.

Byron Shire Council will be decreasing the holiday letting cap to 60 days in September 2024.

The public can now have a say on Byron Shire’s annual short-term rental cap being slashed from 180 days to 60 days as the region – and much of the state – battles a housing crisis.

The cap is set to be introduced on September 26 in a bid to make more housing available in the northern NSW tourism hot spot.

One former business owner, Brad McCormack, 59, of Byron’s Singhs Tyre and Mechanical said he had been forced to shut in recent days due in part due a lack of workers.

He said: “If you don’t already live here, it’s too expensive to come and rent here … so there are no new people in our industry coming to town.”

Mr McCormack spoke of the increase of two, three, four, five million” dollar properties and said those who are moving to town “are not coming to work in a tyre shop or be a mechanic.”

The NSW government has released a discussion paper on short and long-term rental accommodation, allowing the public to weigh in.

Byron Shire Mayor Michael Lyon said the council has been vocal and active in calling for regulation of short-term rental accommodation.

Byron Shire Mayor Michael Lyon. Picture: Provided.

“It’s terrific to see the NSW government is also looking at this as a potential way of improving housing availability across the state,” he said.

“Our Council has done the heavy lifting in this area for several years as we have tried to find our solutions to our accommodation crisis.”

The new regulations is due to come into play for un-hosted properties across much of the shire, except parts of Byron Bay and Brunswick Heads.

Cr Lyon said the shire was the only council in the state approved to impose the restrictions.

He said it was an acknowledgment from the government of the impact of holiday rentals in the region.

Wategos Beach in Byron Bay. Picture: Destination NSW

“(The council) have always maintained that limiting STRA will not solve our housing problem, but we expect we will see more properties available for long-term rentals as a result of the restrictions,” he said.

“The release of this discussion paper is a terrific opportunity for people in other parts of the state to let the NSW government know what they think needs to happen about easing the pressure on housing.”

It’s hoped the new rules will free up more rentals and help alleviate rising homelessness, though many properties listed online will be prohibitively expensive to the majority.

Cr Lyon previously said he expected to see landlords offloading properties and more long-term rentals on the market ahead of the change.

“This will decrease house prices and rent … When tourism returns in full force there will be regulations in place,” he said.

“We are future-proofing the housing supply.”

Suffolk Park is a three minute car drive from Byron Bay. Picture: Google

A Suffolk Park property owner was recently slapped with two fines amounting to $12,000 for exceeding the shire’s current 180-day holiday rental cap.

The NSW government’s discussion paper on short and long-term rental accommodation can be found on the Department of Planning website.

Submissions close on March 14.