Short-term rentals: Loophole found in Airbnb housing crisis crackdown
A tight rental market and housing crisis has led to a crackdown on short-term rentals, but some agents have found a way to get around it.
A historically tight rental market and ongoing housing crisis has led to a crackdown on short-term rentals, particularly in popular lifestyle locations.
As a result, would-be Airbnb or Stayz landlords may soon hit new hurdles.
However, one Byron Bay selling agent said for buyers still hoping to tap into the booming holiday home market that there is a listing loophole.
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“New holiday letting regulation has recently come in across the Byron Shire where a home can only be on the short term market for 90 days.
Whereas, if you have a multi-dwelling property and you’re living in one of those homes, you can still rent the others without restriction,” First National Byron Bay’s Denzil Lloyd said.
“Having more than one dwelling on the property allows for a ‘hosted stay’ permitting a 365-day per year income potential,” he added.
Short-term rental accommodation, or holiday letting, is the process of renting out a house or unit on a commercial basis for a short-term period.
Properties are usually defined as ‘hosted’ (where the owner lives on the premises for the majority of the time), or ‘non-hosted’ (where the owner simply plays landlord and the home is permanently off the long term market). It’s the latter category that has come under fire for inflaming the housing crisis.
According to airbtics.com, the average day rate on Airbnb for a property in Byron Bay is $297, while a long term weekly rent will earn a landlord less at $780 for a unit and $1195 for a house.
A proposed 90-day cap on short-term letting in parts of Byron Shire is expected to be implemented to alleviate a dire rental shortage.
The dramatic under supply of homes existed prior to the pandemic, but the race to the regions during Covid and the devastating flooding earlier this year all exacerbated the need for more full-time housing across the Far North Coast.
The cap, if passed, is set to be enforced from June 2024 to give landlords time to plan ahead.
Restrictions of no more than 180 days a year are now also in place for the greater Sydney region, Ballina area, Bega Valley, the City of Newcastle, Dubbo, parts of the Clarence Valley and Muswellbrook regions.
Other parts of the country are also tackling the issue. In Brisbane city, landlords who permanently park properties on short-term rental sites are now slugged with a 50 per cent higher rates bill.
Hobart City Council has passed a motion recommending limiting short term rentals for whole properties, but it is a decision of the Tasmanian Planning Commission.
Hobart selling agent Nina Schubert recently marketed a New Town home with a DA in place for a second dwelling, which would be approved for future short-term letting. She said the plans were an added bonus for buyers.
“I definitely had buyers in the mix attracted by the fact is was an existing home with approval to build a secondary dwelling that could earn that second income from Airbnb, which would be quite lucrative,” she said, adding that local politicians seemed to be taking a “use it or lose it approach”.
“I believe that in this example, if a buyer were to let an approval lapse and they didn’t start running it as an Airbnb then I doubt very much Hobart City Council would reinstate that. They’re just being a lot stricter and putting so many more parameters around it.”
Mr Lloyd currently has several multi-dwelling listings fitting the new short term rental category for potential holiday home landlords.
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“In the case of 65 Lilli Pilli Drive the layout and design of the property has worked seamlessly for the owners; two parents with two adult children.
With the family living and working between Bali and Byron, the set up has allowed for full private accommodation for the entire family, and partners, while also providing a rental income stream while they were away.”
Just outside of Byron’s town centre, the 1145sq m property is home to three separate dwellings, including a main two-bedroom residence, plus two one-bedroom cottages, with auction bidding from of $2.75m.
All three are solar powered. There is also an existing DA approval for a fourth 60sq m house on the same title.
A contemporary property at 15 Teven St, Brunswick Heads is a two-for-one listing that includes a renovated three-bedroom family home with an adjoining two-bedroom self-contained villa.
Both dwellings, listed with a guide of $3.8m to $4.1m, share a large backyard pool with a poolside cabana, outdoor shower and tropical gardens on a 1012sq m block.
In the highly sought-after Byron Hinterland region of Federal, a sprawling estate on almost 2ha totals 10 bedrooms over three dwellings has a price guide of $5.5m.
Known as First Light Farm, and on the market for the first time in 22 years, 66 Lizray Road comprises a five-bedroom main homestead, a three-bedroom original Queenslander as a two-bedroom cottage.
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Originally published as Short-term rentals: Loophole found in Airbnb housing crisis crackdown