Frankston Council plans crackdown on short-stay party houses
Airbnb party houses are in the sights of Frankston lawmakers, with plans to make property owners responsible for unruly guests, noise, rubbish control and even swimming times. Here’s what they have in store.
South East
Don't miss out on the headlines from South East . Followed categories will be added to My News.
Stringent new short-stay accommodation laws would force Frankston property owners to fork out a registration fee and even clean up the trash left behind by dirty guests.
If the rules get the green light, hosts would be made liable for loud or aggressive holiday renters, face non clean-up fines and would have to make sure guests are out of pools between 11pm-7am.
Owners also face fines if a designated person is not made available for contact at any time of the day or night, under the proposed new regimen.
The draft plan, under discussion by Frankston City Council at a meeting last week, came on the back of complaints relating to just two properties.
The rules — which could land hosts who fail to register their property with a $500 to $2000 fine — will be further discussed at another meeting on January 28.
A Frankston City Council spokesman said because tenants at short-stay properties, such as Airbnb rentals, were transient, it was not possible to undertake enforcement on them.
“The owner must be responsible for their own property,” he said.
“The new local law will ensure there is an appropriate standard of management for short stay properties, currently not covered under any other legislation.”
He said there were between 100 and 120 short-stay properties active in the area.
But ex-Airbnb host Rosemary Russo, who works as a schoolteacher and hypnotherapist in Frankston, told the Leader that council had failed to recognise the area’s “99 per cent” success rate with Airbnb.
She said the law was unfair for hosts who had received no complaints and the council should be proud of its community “and their entrepreneurial skills in business and doing something positive to earn an income.”
“This meeting was held based on an outlier … less than one per cent of neighbour complaints.
“How can a council put forward a proposal to government to have a local law passed based on such an extreme outlying statistic – with research backing no major or even minor threat to the community.”
Another woman on social media urged the council to “remember that Airbnb houses have tourists in them and people who have come to Frankston to spend their money in our community.”
But other residents welcomed the new plan, which is similar to rules implemented by the Mornington Peninsula Shire Council as it tackled out-of-control short stay guests in May 2018.
The Shire laws mean short stay hosts must register with the council, appoint a designated contact person to respond to complaints within two hours, and provide adequate off street parking and garbage bins and ensure guests adhere to a conduct code.
“More should be done to increase the rates for Airbnb hosts … (Airbnb) buys up properties and increases prices so the average Joe cannot afford to buy in the area,” one man said on social media.
MORE NEWS
SLEAZY NURSE SUSPENDED FROM ROYAL MELBOURNE HOSPITAL
NEGLECTED DOG’S AMAZING ROAD TO RECOVERY
VICTORIA’S WORST ANIMAL CRUELTY AREAS REVEALED
Last November, a Blairgowrie party house owner was slapped with a hefty fine in court after neighbours blew the whistle on wild guests.
Frankston Mayor Sandra Mayer said the council acknowledged the majority of owners did “the right thing” but wanted to set a “standard” of management for properties.
Public feedback can be made on the Frankston City Council web page or via email with submissions closing on Friday.