NSW mayors call on Airbnb cap expansion to ease housing crisis across state
Mayors of NSW’s coastal towns have called on Premier Chris Minns to expand a newly announced Airbnb cap in Byron Bay to their own councils to ease the state’s housing crisis.
Mayors of NSW’s coastal towns have called on Premier Chris Minns to expand a newly announced Airbnb cap in Byron Bay to their own councils to ease the state’s housing crisis.
On Tuesday, Planning Minister Paul Scully revealed short-term rentals would be limited to operating for 60 days a year, in a move to free up supply in the tourist-heavy town.
The caps would apply across the majority of the Byron Shire, although some precincts with “high-tourism appeal”, like beachfronts, could operate without restrictions.
Hosted stays – where the homeowner lives on the property – are unaffected by the cap, which will not come into effect until September 2024 and is planned to be rolled out only in Byron.
It comes after a recommendation from the Independent Planning Commission, which was asked to assess Byron’s housing market.
“There has been an under-supply of housing, particularly affordable and diverse housing, across Byron for many years,” Mr Scully said.
The shire saw more than a 100 per cent increase on homelessness this year and has about 2300 short-term rentals.
The move was welcomed in Byron. Long-term “cap campaigner” Liz Friend said the decision was “heartening” and a “pleasant shock … We didn’t know if a 60 or 90-day cap would be introduced, so it’s really positive and goes a step further”.
Ballina NSW MP Tamara Smith said the precinct model was “better than we’d hoped for”.
“It’s great for the community who have been suffering housing stress, particularly businesses whose staff couldn’t find places to live,” she said.
Concurrently, the Tweed and Shoalhaven mayors urged the government to introduce the same cap in their councils.
“Given the intense housing crises we’re facing, anything that delivers housing back into the market is a good thing,” Tweed mayor Chris Cherry said.
About 1000km south in Shoalhaven, mayor Amanda Findley said they’d called on the government for similar caps previously and would continue to do so.
“The target should be a nuanced approach where the cap is on properties that should be back on the open market,” she said.
Other tourist-heavy spots were less keen on a one-size-fits-all approach.
“We support Byron’s cap … but the accommodation sector is very important to us,” Ballina mayor Sharon Calderwater said.
“We’d be hesitant (for a cap) that could deter tourism, and the money and jobs it creates.”
Airbnb Australia public policy head Michael Crosby said the company was “disappointed”.
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