Sunshine Coast Council accused of ‘cash grab’ over short-term rate rises

Over 40 per cent rate rises for certain owners has led to Sunshine Coast Council being accused of money grabbing, in its bid to improve the long-term rental market. What do you think? VOTE IN OUR POLL

John Vine at his unit in Mooloolaba, which he rents out as short-term accommodation for eight months of the year.

Sunshine Coast Council has been accused of a money grab after ramping up rates for certain properties used for short-term accommodation in a bid to ease the long-term rental crisis.

Rates went up an average of 42.9 per cent for short stay homes in the 2023-24 budget.

The budget was handed down in July but residents are now beginning to receive rates notices.

Mayor Mark Jamieson said the move was made to remain consistent with other South East Queensland tourism destinations and to tackle the challenge of a long-term rental shortage.

He said the shift from long-term rental to short-term accommodation for many properties had contributed to the tightening of the rental market.

“We wanted to encourage owners to leave properties in, or return them to, the long-term rental market,” he said.

“And we are not the only local government facing this challenge.”

The Sunshine Coast currently has a one per cent vacancy rate for rental property as of January 2023.

But 75-year-old retiree John Vine, whose rates on his one-bedroom Mooloolaba apartment have gone up 38 per cent, said the increases were a “cash grab” from the council that would not tackle the issue long-term.

“There are a hell of a lot of people affected,” he said.

“It’s clearly just a money grab by the council.”

Mr Vine and his partner live in Melbourne but stay in the Mooloolaba Esplanade apartment during the winter for about four months each year and have done so since buying it in 1999.

The rental vacancy rate on the Sunshine Coast is one per cent.

The pair rent it out for short-stay accommodation for the rest of the year.

“So we may potentially take our rental out of the rental pool altogether,” Mr Vine said.

“I live in Melbourne but we spend the winter up here, so if we don’t come up here then they lose the money that I otherwise would spend.”

The rates for low-rise unit short-term accommodation went up 48.4 per cent.

High rise units went up 45.6 per cent and houses rose a minimum of 34.8 per cent.

John Vine said he might take his Mooloolaba apartment off the rental market completely.

Mr Vine said the approach was ill thought out and would impact the Coast’s tourism economy drastically and make the problem worse.

“If they cut out short-term accommodation where do the tourists go?,” he said.

“If it has an impact on tourism, then you will find people put out of work in tourism and related industries and therefore you'll have more people out of work and more people looking for houses because they won’t be able to afford the house they’re in.

“Rather than fix the problem they’ll exacerbate the problem.”

Sunshine Coast Council would not respond to questions about whether this tactic had been proven successful in other jurisdictions or whether they had any concerns over the tourism impact.

A council spokesman said council had prepared a Housing and Homelessness Action Plan, which outlined actions to help address housing and homelessness on the Sunshine Coast.

“This will be presented to Council at the July Ordinary Meeting next week (Thursday, July 27),” he said.

Noosa Council has been in the midst of a long-running battle with the rise of short-term accommodation in the tourist hotspot and the effects it was having on the local market.

Originally published as Sunshine Coast Council accused of ‘cash grab’ over short-term rate rises