Port Phillip residents list apartments on Airbnb during Grand Prix
As Formula 1 fans eagerly await the arrival of Daniel Ricciardo and co this month, enterprising locals living in trackside suburbs keen to avoid the noise and crowds have found a novel way to cash in on the event — and they’re earning big bucks.
Inner South
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Enterprising locals from suburbs around Albert Park Lake who are keen to escape the Grand Prix are making thousands by renting out their homes to F1 fans.
Airbnb is flooded with listings in trackside suburbs, offering people properties in pole position – within walking distance to the action.
Prices for four nights range from about $700 to $1500 for apartments depending on location.
Hosts offering easy access to the event include St Kilda West, Middle Park, South Melbourne and Albert Park.
One man has listed his Albert Park apartment as “perfect for F1 fans”.
He is charging $275 a night for the one-bedroom pad, which is just 800m from the track.
Another woman, who did not want to be named, has listed her two-bedroom St Kilda West apartment for $273 a night.
The place is a five-minute walk to the Grand Prix precinct.
She told the Leader it was a good opportunity to make some extra cash while she escaped the “madness that descends upon the area”.
Other listings include a “captivating St Kilda apartment” minutes from the F1 action for $230 per night, a one-bedroom South Melbourne pad in a “winning location” a hop, skip and jump away from the track — with a large spa bath — for $330 a night, and a private room in a three-bedroom home in South Melbourne for $110 per night.
Short-term rentals, including Airbnb, have caused angst in the community recently with brawls and out-of-control pop-up parties disrupting people’s “quiet enjoyment”, sparking calls for laws to help better regulate short-stay accommodation.
But Port Phillip Mayor Bernadene Voss said the council had no influence over how owners rent out their properties in a free market.
“Rented self-contained properties with a bathroom, kitchen and bedrooms, are not required to be registered with council as a form of accommodation, whether they have short or long-term leases,” she said.
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“Council’s role, which we take seriously, is to investigate any complains about the behaviour of tenants in accommodation.
“Landlords can be fined $1000 for each breach to council’s local laws … if there are detrimental impacts on the local amenity, unreasonable noise or safety associated with their residential properties being let for commercial purposes.”
Cr Voss said the council had this year responded to nine complaints related to short-stay accommodation.
In the past two financial years there had been six complaints relating to amenity issues at residential properties, including noise and litter.
If you have a complaint about excessive noise or safety-related accommodation, contact the council on 9209 6777 or lodge a report online.