Why Cairns Regional Council should crack down on Airbnbs
Cairns Regional Council has let the lucrative Airbnb phenomenon go unchecked in our city, at a time people are struggling to afford a roof over their head. Have your say.
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The phrase “you can’t manage what you don’t measure” rings true in many scenarios, and particularly so in the midst of a crippling housing crisis.
The country’s shortage of rental stock combined with cost-of-living pressures has created a nightmare for renters.
Across Australia, and particularly in cities like Cairns, it’s becoming harder and harder to find a secure, affordable place to live.
Despite the demand for rentals, investors faced with rising interest rates are often finding it far more lucrative to put their home up for short-term rent.
That idea is particularly attractive in Cairns where southerners may want to stay in their tropical holiday home at their will and let it out to tourists the rest of the time – often for four or more times the price than if they put it on the long-term rental market.
Airbnb estimates property owners in Cairns could earn $2090 per week for letting out a two-bedroom home. That compares to about $475, the average weekly rent for a two-bed unit on the long-term market.
Even a single room with shared common spaces is estimated to bring in more than $100 a night through Airbnb.
We live in one of the country’s most popular holiday destinations and yet Cairns Regional Council does not know how many Airbnbs or the like are operating in its patch.
Even though owners are supposed to have the appropriate zoning permissions to operate a holiday home, as we’ve seen play out at Clifton Views apartments, there are some who are either unaware of the rules or are just plain ignoring them.
And you can understand why when the council isn’t actually monitoring the issue or effectively cracking down on those doing the wrong thing.
Deputy mayor Brett Olds, who’s the Division 9 councillor in the northern beaches where he admits this issue is rife, says people operating Airbnbs in traditionally residential areas and without the permissions to do so are simply “getting away with it”.
He says the council is looking into whether it should have greater powers for regulating Airbnbs in its next planning scheme, but at the moment it has no idea how many there are, where they are or how these properties are hurting both the rental market and small accommodation businesses.
The incoming changes could also include extra rates for those putting their property on the short-term letting market, in line with the added pressures these properties put on council resources.
“They just need to be regulated better … if they’re going to be used as a hotel or short stay, they should be in certain areas and they should have to pay some of the same costs that hotels and resorts have to pay,” Mr Olds said.
“I’m not against competition, I’m not against people holiday letting and making money and investing but there has to be a like for like.”
Cairns Regional Council should take this issue seriously if it wants to support the region’s population growth and tourism industry.
Affordable rental stock is vital in attracting people to come and live in Cairns, and existing hotels, resorts, caravan parks and hostels should be given a fair chance of securing business.
That being said, Airbnbs are here to stay and tourists want the option to book them. If we deny them that in Cairns, they may just head elsewhere.
Extra rates seem reasonable when these properties can make a far greater fortune than if they were leased out to long-term tenants.
But it needs to strike the right balance and prioritise the interests of renters and genuine tourism operators.
Originally published as Why Cairns Regional Council should crack down on Airbnbs
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