Airbnb hosts in battle with Gold Coast City Council over units and breaches of body corporate laws

GOLD Coast AirBnB hosts are dodging $500,000 fines and flouting state and body corporate rules in a secret underground trade renting out high-rise units.

GOLD Coast City Council is cutting down key boxes chained to power poles to stop homeowners illegally renting units to Airbnb guests.

Authorities said apartment owners were dodging $500,000 fines by asking visitors to find keys in hidden spots such as padlocked boxes, garden beds and under witches hats.

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They are doing it to flout body corporate laws, escape increased insurance and security payments, and to avoid having their property rezoned as short-term accommodation.

AirBnB hosts are using witches hats to help guests find where they have hidden their keys according to Southport councillor Dawn Crichlow.

Fed-up body corporates have written to Gold Coast and state politicians claiming their unit blocks are being overrun by illegal guests. They are also concerned law-abiding owners may not be covered from fire or damage that starts in adjourning apartments.

“(Unit owners) are putting chains around poles on council property,” Southport councillor Dawn Crichlow said.

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“Someone gets out their phone and the host gives them their code. They open their lock and take the key and swipe to get into a high-rise.

“The council cut the chains off the power poles and you know what they are doing now? They are burying them in gardens and putting witches hats down so you know where to dig to find the keys.”

AirBnB head of public policy for Australia and New Zealand Brent Thomas said the business was helping more Gold Coast ratepayers than ever before.

About 6700 Gold Coast homeowners rent their property on AirBnB. All up, 15,000 use subletting websites citywide.

Under the State Government’s Planning Act introduced in 2016, it is an offence to rent out a residential property without approval. Those caught face a maximum fine of $567,675.

A council spokesman yesterday said a fine was yet to be issued for the offence in the past three years. However, the number of complaints had increased from 32 in 2016 to 54 in the first four months of 2018.

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The spokesman said council officers had cut down key boxes chained to poles in the past few months.

AirBnB Head of Policy Australia and New Zealand Brent Thomas said the subletting website was helping more ratepayers than ever before.

He said, on average, Gold Coast Airbnb hosts earned $1500 through the Commonwealth Games period.

“Hosting is a big responsibility and we expect our hosts to meet our community’s high standards,” he said. “Home sharing is achieving what most governments, including Gold Coast Council, could only dream of. It is lifting living standards and easing the sky-high cost-of-living without spending a cent of taxpayer dollars.”

Airbnb hosts earned around $1500 each during the Commonwealth Games.

Cr Crichlow said those exploiting the law needed to be scrutinised as it was affecting other property owners.

“If there is a fire then there is no fire insurance because the building is not approved for short-term accommodation.”

Unit Owners of Queensland president Wayne Stevens said he had written to both the council and State Government about the issue.

“The complaints are endless because people buy into property believing it is residential only to find out owners are using it for short-term accommodation,” said Mr Stevens, who lives on the Gold Coast.