Toowoomba council to probe new rates for Airbnb owners amid rental crisis

Airbnb owners across Toowoomba could be forced to pay higher council charges as part of a review, placing scrutiny on the hundreds of properties being used for short stays during the rental crisis. Vote in our poll here:

Hundreds of Airbnb owners across Toowoomba region could be hit with higher rates as part of a council review, as greater scrutiny is placed on the gig economy rental market amid the city’s housing crisis.

Planning and development chair Councillor Megan O’Hara Sullivan confirmed officers were exploring options around putting houses registered for short-term accommodation in their own rates category.

It follows the Brisbane City Council announcing a 50 per cent rate hike in its June budget for properties listed on Airbnb, Booking.com and Stayz, with the move specifically to relieve pressure on the rental market.

A survey of both Airbnb and Stayz properties in Toowoomba suggests there could be nearly 300 houses or units being rented out for short-term accommodation instead of being occupied by standard tenants.

Toowoomba’s rental vacancy rates has not moved above one per cent since mid-2020 and was at a staggering 0.3 per cent as recently as May this year.

Ms O’Hara Sullivan said the council would consider it as part of a slew of potential rates category changes, the review of which occurs annually.

“Even if they have applied legitimately (for short-term accommodation), they’re still classed in the residential category,” she said.

“At the moment, we’re doing a differential rates review and the ones who applied properly could potentially be set up in their own category.”

Ms O’Hara Sullivan said the major challenge with this was enforcing rates, noting there were plenty of properties used as Airbnbs that their owners have not declared to the council.

“We don’t have the resources to police it,” she said.

“It is concerning (about the rental market), but there’s all the people asking how much we’re policing people’s lives.”

A set of existing units on North Street in Rockville could become accommodation on Airbnb to cater for a shortfall in short-stay living options near St Andrew's Toowoomba Hospital.

TOOWOOMBA UNITS TO BECOME AIRBNBS AMID CRISIS

A set of three units in Toowoomba’s northern suburbs are set to be used as Airbnbs to take advantage on demand for short-term accommodation near a major hospital.

The move comes as Toowoomba faces an extraordinary shortage of long-term rental properties across the city, with the vacancy rate having sat below one per cent since May 2020.

The shortage is putting pressure on rents, with existing tenants seeing increases of between $40 and $80 per week over the past 12 months.

A search of Airbnb reveals more than 230 properties in Toowoomba are available for rent, with prices ranging from $600 a night all the way up to $1400.

Precinct Urban Planning (PUP) submitted the plans on behalf of the applicant to the Toowoomba Regional Council last week for the two-bedroom units on North Street in Rockville.

The units, which were original built several years ago, are less than 100m from St Andrew’s Toowoomba Hospital.

Under the council’s planning scheme, homeowners have to submit a material change of use application if they want to use an entire home or unit as an Airbnb.

According to PUP’s Paul Kelly, the Airbnbs would be used by guests of the hospital to visit friends and family in care.

“The proposal seeks to meet an increasing demand for the provision of short-term accommodation for patients and relatives of the hospital,” the report said.

“The proposed short-term accommodation use will be managed to ensure each unit is only tenanted to a single household and the application is supported by an acoustic complaints procedure to manage the potential for off-site noise amenity impacts.”

The council has yet to respond to the application.