Toowoomba homes in Middle Ridge, East Toowoomba approved for Airbnb by council amid housing crisis

Toowoomba’s supply of rental properties is at an lowest, but that hasn’t stopped more homes from being approved for short-stay purposes like Airbnb. Find out the latest here:

Two more homes in leafy Toowoomba suburbs have been cleared to become Airbnb properties amid the city’s worst housing and rental crisis in years.

The Toowoomba Regional Council gave approval last week for a three-bedroom home on Tant Street in East Toowoomba and a four-bedroom house on Ramsay Street in Middle Ridge to be used as “short-term accommodation”.

The properties will now be added to the litany of homes listed on Airbnb, which as of Monday numbered more than 280 for as much as $1200 per stay.

It comes as the Garden City’s rental vacancy rate sits at below 0.5 per cent.

359 Ramsay Street in Middle Ridge has been approved as an Airbnb property by the Toowoomba Regional Council.

Planning documents and submissions from neighbouring landowners indicated the Middle Ridge property had been used as an Airbnb for some time before the application was lodged with council in June last year.

Residents Peter and Wendy Schilf opposed the application by property owner Prethink Pty Ltd, and said it had been used a party house in the past.

“There have already been parties held there regularly with loud music, constant swearing and loud voices until the early hours of the morning,” the couple wrote in their submission.

“On one occasion there were about 40 people there partying.”

Council planning officer Bevan Koelmeyer said noise impacts could be mitigated by limiting the number of guests at the home to 10 people, erecting a 1.8m acoustic barrier fence along its boundaries and installing of monitoring systems.

“The noise management measures include the installation of a noise monitoring system to record any elevated noise emissions to be located in the living room and on the deck with guests to be briefed on this technology upon their arrival to the premises,” he wrote.

“It is noted that a ‘party house’ which would facilitate the use of a premises to provide host accommodation or facilities for parties (bucks parties, hens parties, raves, or wedding receptions, for example) has not been applied for and is separately defined under the planning

scheme.”

1 Tant Street in East Toowoomba has been approved as an Airbnb property by the Toowoomba Regional Council.

In an unrelated application, the council approved the East Toowoomba home for short-term accommodation under the condition that no more than six people stayed at the property at once.

The property sold through Hodge Real Estate in February for $600,000.

The council indicated in August it could explore imposing higher rates for Airbnb owners as part of a review.