Login
‘New red tape’: Airbnb blasts Sydney council’s short-term rental proposal
Airbnb has hit back at the council after it announced it would look into implementing restrictions on short-term rentals in a bid to ease the housing crisis.
The City of Sydney’s plan to possibly restrict short-term rental accommodation (STRA) properties further has been slammed by Airbnb, arguing that the housing crisis was a result of other factors.
The council is looking into a potential suburb-by-suburb ban after a motion by the Greens was passed earlier this year.
The restrictions would apply to properties that are not used as the owner’s primary residence, and may take place under specific conditions, such as the rental vacancy rate falling below three per cent.
In its submission to the City of Sydney’s Housing for All Discussion Paper, Airbnb argued that planning constraints, high construction costs and approval delays were at the root of the housing crisis, not STRA.
Additionally, it said restricting short-term rentals would particularly impact vulnerable people fleeing harmful situations, and those who depended on them for their source of income.
A spokesperson said that the company was urging the council to focus on enforcing existing rules and accelerating new house supply, rather than introducing “new red tape”.
“Successful policy must target chronic undersupply, which is the primary driver of the housing crisis,” they said.
The company argued that short-term rentals only represented a small fraction of the housing market and were not the cause of the shortage.
It also said the vast majority of listed properties were primary residences and homes used periodically by their owners, making them unsuitable for the long-term rental market.
“Evidence shows that blunt caps and bans do not solve housing pressures, but they do cut off crucial economic lifelines.”
“Around 80 per cent of Sydney hosts share just one home to help manage cost-of-living and mortgage pressures, while guests spend hundreds of dollars a day directly in local neighbourhood cafes, shops, and restaurants.”
Airbnb added that NSW already had a comprehensive framework in place, including a cap preventing STRA properties from being unhosted for 180 days a year.
“Airbnb is going above and beyond to support compliance by sharing booking data daily with the State Government and providing the Council with our free City Portal tool,” it added.
“We urge the Council to focus on enforcing these existing, robust rules and accelerating new housing supply, rather than introducing new red tape that would penalise everyday families and local businesses,” Airbnb said.
In May, Greens councillor Matthew Thompson said he and his colleagues had consulted with community groups and housing experts, deciding that a cap wasn’t strong enough.
He said the current housing crisis called for a return of supply to the long-term rental market, with renters finding it harder than ever to access affordable housing.
“Since 2021, we’ve seen an explosion of Airbnbs across the city, thousands of homes ripped away as homes for people to live, turned into mini hotels,” he said.
NSW Premier Chris Minns said there needed to be consideration of the concurrent impacts of the potential ban on the tourism sector.
“We’ve taken steps in some areas, in coastal towns where there’s a big homelessness issue, or there’s just a complete lack of housing, to intervene, but they’ve been extraordinary interventions,” Minns said.
Want to see more stories from trusted news sources?
Make Smart Property Investment a preferred news source on Google.
Click here to add Smart Property Investment as a preferred news source.