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2019-02-12 Attachment 1 to Item 7 - Short Term Accom Online Platform Issues Paper
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Services and Organisation Committee
12 February 2019
Att 1 to Item 7
Short Term Accommodation -
Online Platform Issues Paper
Prepared for Noosa Shire Council
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Section 2
© Noosa Council 2019 www.noosa.qld.gov.au General Enquiries: By telephone: (07) 5329 6500 By email: [email protected] Street Address: 9 Pelican Street, TEWANTIN Postal address: PO Box 141, TEWANTIN QLD 4565 Endorsed by Noosa Council [date to be inserted]
Section 3
Table of Contents
1. Background .......................................................................................................................... 3
2. Noosa Tourism and the Tourism Levy ............................................................................... 6
2.1 Tourism Noosa Ltd ................................................................................................... 7
2.2 Tourism and Economic Levy .................................................................................... 7
3. The Share Economy – Accommodation ............................................................................. 8
3.1 Online Accommodation Providers ............................................................................ 8
3.2 Diverse Accommodation .......................................................................................... 8
3.3 Growing in popularity - accommodation share economy .......................................... 9
4. Negative Affects and Implications of Short-Term Letting ................................................. 9
4.1 Overtourism and Tourism Gentrification ................................................................... 9
4.2 Reduced Residential Liveability .............................................................................. 11
4.3 Disruption to Sense of Community ......................................................................... 13
4.4 Permanent Rental Market and Housing Affordability .............................................. 14
5. Key Challenges for Council .............................................................................................. 17
5.1 Current Planning Control Constraints ..................................................................... 17
5.2 Existing Lawful Use Rights ..................................................................................... 18
5.3 Lack of data and transparency ............................................................................... 18
5.4 Avoidance of the Tourism and Economic levy ........................................................ 19
6. Current Actions and Responses – Other Jurisdictions .................................................. 20
6.1 Queensland............................................................................................................ 20
6.2 Western Australian Government ............................................................................ 21
6.3 New South Wales Government .............................................................................. 21
6.4 Tasmanian Government ......................................................................................... 22
6.5 City of Busselton, Western Australia ...................................................................... 23
6.6 Byron Shire Council, New South Wales.................................................................. 24
6.7 Mornington Peninsular Shire Council, Victoria ........................................................ 25
6.8 Auckland Council, New Zealand ............................................................................. 26
6.9 Yountville, Napa Valley, California.......................................................................... 27
6.10 Barcelona, Spain .................................................................................................... 27
7. Current Actions and Responses – Key Stakeholders ..................................................... 28
7.1 Noosa Council ........................................................................................................ 28
7.2 Queensland Government ....................................................................................... 30
7.3 Airbnb .................................................................................................................... 31
7.4 Australian Tax Office .............................................................................................. 32
Short Term Accommodation - Online Platform Response Issues Paper Page 1
Section 4
8. Response, Recourse and Action – Noosa Council.......................................................... 32
8.1 Administration and Management of Responsive Actions ........................................ 32
8.2 Establish Key Performance Indicators .................................................................... 33
8.3 Monitoring, Registration and Information Collection ............................................... 33
8.4 Legislative and Planning Responses ...................................................................... 33
8.5 Social Responsive Actions ..................................................................................... 36
8.6 Economic Response Actions .................................................................................. 37
9. Guiding Principles ............................................................................................................. 37
10. References ......................................................................................................................... 39
Short Term Accommodation - Online Platform Response Issues Paper Page 2
Section 5
1. Background In recent years there has been a global explosion in the short-term home rental market, significantly and undeniably facilitated by online accommodation share economy platforms such as Airbnb and Stayz, which add volume and variety to the tourism supply chain1. These online platforms link hosts and travellers, providing a structured online portal for booking, communication with a streamlined payment gateway. They are part of the growing sharing economy, offering community-based online services that co-ordinate property, goods and services. Advantages are offered through direct marketing opportunities and ease of transactions, dramatically increasing the potential market for residential tourism. Airbnb, a market leader in the field, now offers rentals in over 200 countries 2. There has been significant growth in on-line short-term rental listings in recent years, with the Australian market now the most “penetrated” globally, with approximately 6 million members or subscribers to the service. Since Airbnb was launched in Australia, the number of listings has risen to over 130,000 properties. Nationally, Airbnb listings for whole homes represent around 3.5% of all rental accommodation. However, the rate is much higher in coastal communities and high tourist areas. For example, in Byron Bay, approximately 18% of the total housing stock is offered on Airbnb. Taken as a percentage of the total rental housing stock in that local government area, this amounts to 48.3% of Byron Bay’s housing rental properties being listed on Airbnb alone (excluding Stayz etc.) In 2017, Airbnb commissioned Deloitte Access Economics to assess the economic effects of Airbnb in Australia, aiming to quantify the economic contribution to Airbnb guest spending to the Australian economy, and evaluate the economic benefits enjoyed by guests, hosts and the wider community. Airbnb guests spent more than $244 million in regional Queensland in 2015-163 Annual Airbnb guests in Queensland exceed 343,8043 Annual expenditure by Airbnb guests in Queensland of over $330 million3 The ongoing discussion and debate around the impact of Airbnb has led to some misconceptions. One being promulgated by Airbnb is that their listings are private residences with owners present, thus ‘hosting’ their lettings. Airbnb also claims to be part of the “sharing economy”. However, the growth in Airbnb and other on-line short-term properties has been greater for whole houses or apartments being let than for actual home-sharing. Data from sources such as Inside Airbnb clearly shows that the majority of properties being let on Airbnb are entire homes, with no residents or hosts in situ. What’s more, the proportion of entire homes as opposed to home-hosted properties appears to be increasing. An ABC report by Sarah Farnsworth in February 2018 using Inside Airbnb figures noted that there had been an 87% rise in total listings across Australia in the previous 12 months, with the number of entire homes making up nearly 70 per cent of all listings 18. Nicole Gurran et al.’s report for the Australian Coastal Council’s Association (Sept 2018) notes that ‘online listings of frequently available whole homes amounts to the equivalent of nearly half the rental stock in Douglas, Byron and Bass Coast’. When considered in relation to rental vacancy rates, there are approximately 80 Airbnb listings for each permanent rental available in Douglas and around 50 in Byron Bay. In both cases this indicator has more than doubled in twelve months and increased across all of the communities in the sample 19. Short Term Accommodation - Online Platform Response Issues Paper Page 3
Section 6
The report also notes that the income from online holiday rentals is comparable to up to 170% of the income derived from existing permanent rental properties, thus making short-term letting a very attractive proposition for property investors. Many of the areas under scrutiny for the report (NSW South Coast, Byron Bay and Mornington Peninsular) advised that they had seen the rise of a new type of investor purchasing homes solely for the purpose of operating an online holiday rental. The use of residential properties for short-term rental in coastal areas of Australia, including popular and iconic coastal tourism regions such as Noosa, have long supported the development and growth of the tourism industry in these regions, offering supplementary accommodations, diversity in size and type of accommodation and fulfilling the needs of a broader range of tourist customer groups. Accommodation is arguably the base of the tourism industry, constituting its most important segment and playing a vital role in the tourism supply chain. The tourism industry in Noosa is recognised as the region’s largest single economic driver with flow- on benefits to the wider community8. In recent years, tourism has delivered a record $940 million to Noosa’s economy in total visitor expenditure, and as an industry sector is the largest employer in the region8. Whilst tourism is part of the economic fabric of the Noosa region, and the region has always offered a high volume of accommodation to tourists, the introduction of online accommodation share economy platforms has allowed a greater volume and diversity of accommodation to be offered. Property owners are now provided with a simple and accessible means to short-term let part of their property, or all of their property, for a portion of time or all of the time. Property owners are increasingly making economically rationalised decisions to list properties for short-term rental rather than lease to long-term tenants. Symbiotically, tourists and travellers are seeking more value for money, more travel affordability and a human experience offered by the peer-to-peer nature of share economy transactions. Whilst online accommodation share economy platforms have had an enormously positive impact on tourism innovation and growth in the Noosa region, the logical extension of Airbnb’s business model is to drive more and more people to host and travel through Airbnb. This inherently values the vibrancy and tourism amenity of a neighbourhood higher than community connectivity and social capital. It is reasonable to contend that Airbnb is in part succeeding as a commercial enterprise at the expense of community and residential liveability, by contributing to the negative consequences of increased visitation and infiltration into residential areas. It may also be viewed that the reliance of Airbnb, Stayz and others on peer-to-peer transactions within the sharing economy is concealing a problematic shift toward outsourcing of responsibility and liability, avoidance of consumer protections including adherence to safety regulations, and disruption of once stable industries. Arguably though, it should also be noted that the business model development and consumer interest in online accommodation share economy platforms can be viewed as a symptom of the tourist industry’s almost exclusive focus on growth, which has historically had little or no strategic consideration for the sustainability of tourism growth in a region. The Tourism Noosa Strategy 2017-2022 states a key goal is to achieve tourism growth, aiming to secure and build on Noosa’s position as one of Australia’s leading visitor destinations by identifying opportunities for growth. Furthermore, the Sunshine Coast Airport Expansion project is also designed to boost tourism and bring a greater volume of visitors to the region. Short Term Accommodation - Online Platform Response Issues Paper Page 4
Section 7
In essence, it is apparent that the disruption caused by the prevalence and popularity of online
accommodation share economy platforms has created a number of challenges such as:
The removal of long-term rental stock from the market, with a reduction in supply and consistent
levels of demand driving up prices of the remaining rental stock.
Pressure on tight rental vacancy rates in high demand areas which is exacerbated where online
holiday listings of entire homes expands.
Increasingly transitory nature of communities and regions.
Impact on housing affordability, as property owners realise that short-term letting is a financially
viable activity to retain ownership of a property rather than selling, thus decreasing the property
sale stock and driving up prices.
The boom in short-term rental removes stock from the general rental market.
The influx of tourists in an otherwise quiet residential area impacting on public and private
residential amenity, with tourists generating increased noise, waste issues, traffic and parking
congestion.
A range of land use planning concerns.
Potential for active tax evasion (including income tax, GST, and applicable state or local
government charges).
Lack of regulatory controls over safety issues (i.e. fire safety).
The risk of tourism gentrification and over tourism.
Local and State governments are now grappling with how to address the consequences and
implications of the rapid uptake in usage of online booking platforms. Existing planning policies and
planning schemes do not typically have the capacity currently to address these issues, lacking
parameters to protect the desired land use within a region from the effects of short-term holiday
rental activity infiltrating residential areas previously void of tourism. Compounding this, it is
understandably challenging to regulate an industry where the commercial enterprises have such
different business models, perspectives and goals.
As acknowledged, tourism is a critical economic industry in Noosa and the wider region. However,
without appropriate response and recourse, and the right mix of legislation, intervention and
enforcement, the Noosa community may be permanently altered and the tourism reputation of the
region compromised.
This paper aims to comprehensively explore the challenges arising from the sharp growth of the
short-term online rental market in the Noosa shire, and in doing so explore the complexities of the
issue in order to facilitate over time the development of a suite of reasonable and actionable
responses. The role and actions to date of Noosa Council (Council), the Queensland Government,
other private service providers, the Australian Tax Office and Airbnb are also examined.
Online accommodation share economy platforms, such as Airbnb and Stayz, are now a vital part of
the tourism industry in the Noosa region, contributing to the revenue and economic activity generated
by tourism. Council also recognises that the existence of these platforms is symptomatic of a
continued focus on tourism growth in the region.
Strategic awareness of the issues and the development of actionable responses is critical to the
sustainable and amenable future of the Noosa shire. Council’s response should consider the legal,
economic, social, administrative and monitoring issues, with a clear undertaking not to impact
negatively on the region’s tourism through overregulation and onerous legislation. It is important to
make sure that the response to “home sharing” is in the best interests of both the community and
the economy.
Short Term Accommodation - Online Platform Response Issues Paper Page 5
Section 8
2. Noosa Tourism and the Tourism Levy
In the Noosa Economic Profile 2017 Update, prepared for Council in February 2018 by Lucid
Economics, the following was reported:
The tourism industry has exhibited a considerable increase in visitor nights from a slight increase
in visitors.
The region’s popularity as a tourist destination ensures that retail trade, accommodation and
food services and rental, hiring and real estate services sectors are comparatively stronger
contributors to the regional economy than the State average
For the year ending September 2017, it is estimated that total visitor expenditure in Noosa is
estimated to be $842 million, with overnight and day trip visitation generating $715 million and
$127 million respectively.
Tourism directly contributes 10.6% to Gross Regional Product (GRP) and 14.9% to employment,
making it a significant contributor to the local economy14.
Figure 1 (E.2) graphically shows the increasing overnight stays in Noosa from a fairly stable volume
of tourists. Table 1 provides a numerical count of the increasing number of overnight visitors to
Noosa, highlighting the particularly rapid growth between 2014 and 2017.
Source: TRA (2017)
Table 1. Overnight Visitors (‘000), Noosa
Domestic
Year International Total % Increase
Overnight
2006 676 127 802
2007 702 140 842 5.0%
2008 675 126 800 -5.0%
2009 676 133 809 1.1%
2010 646 134 779 -3.7%
2011 631 117 748 -4.0%
2012 699 113 812 8.6%
2013 641 115 755 -7.0%
2014 716 122 838 11.0%
2015 825 137 962 14.8%
2016 875 147 1,022 6.2%
2017 897 170 1,067 4.4%
Source: TRA (2017)
Short Term Accommodation - Online Platform Response Issues Paper Page 6
Section 9
2.1 Tourism Noosa Ltd
The growth in the tourism industry is supported and facilitated by Tourism Noosa, the official tourism
organisation for the Noosa region. Tourism Noosa works collaboratively with Council, local
businesses and key stakeholders to promote the diversity of the destination to domestic and
international consumers, trade and the media15.
Tourism Noosa is a not-for-profit organisation that reports to a board of directors, consisting of
representatives from membership, industry and community. Tourism Noosa is guided by the Tourism
Noosa Strategy 2017-2022, which identifies that the key goals for Tourism Noosa are to:
focus on value over volume by targeting high-yielding visitors, particularly from interstate and
international markets,
identify, attract and nurture new world-class visitor experiences, events and accommodation
options,
spread the benefits and reduce the impacts of seasonality with greater dispersal of visitor
expenditure across the destination and through increased off-peak and mid-week visitation, and
lift customer satisfaction by assisting our tourism operators to deliver exceptional customer
service.
2.2 Tourism and Economic Levy
Council recognises the economic contribution of tourism and is currently committed to its ongoing
sustainability as well as appropriate promotion and marketing via its agreement with Tourism Noosa.
Funding for these activities is achieved through the levying of a special rate, the Tourism and
Economic Levy, which is applied to all rateable land that is categorised as transitory accommodation
(Principal Place of Residence - PPR or Not PPR), commercial or industrial.
Different rates currently apply depending on whether a property or business is rural or urban, and
whether a transitory accommodation property is the principal place of residence. Levying occurs on
the premise that these properties benefit directly and indirectly from projects and activities that have
a key focus on tourism promotion strategies, carried out by either Council or an approval external
agency, such as Tourism Noosa. It is currently assumed that identified short-term online rental
properties benefit from the destination marketing that the Tourism & Economic Levy supports.
Table 2. Summary of rateable properties – Tourism and Economic Levy
$ Levy
Number of Properties collected
($’000)
Category
Units Dwelling Total % of Levy
(Strata) (Non Properties collected
Strata)
Urban Transitory - Not PPR 3,700 356 4,056 79.2% $2,225
Urban Transitory - PPR 40 60 100 1.1% $32
Rural Transitory - Not PPR 48 15 63 0.7% $20
Rural Transitory - PPR 0 13 13 0.1% $2
Commercial & Industrial - Urban 1,015 352 1,367 17.3% $487
Commercial & Industrial - Rural 45 164 209 1.6% $44
Total 4,848 960 5,808 100% $2,810
Funds collected from the levy by Council specifically for the promotion of tourism and related
activities are provided to Tourism Noosa under the terms of an existing funding deed.
Short Term Accommodation - Online Platform Response Issues Paper Page 7
Section 10
3. The Share Economy – Accommodation
3.1 Online Accommodation Providers
The current leaders in the online short term and holiday rental market are Airbnb, Stayz and
Tripadvisor.
Table 3. Main online short term accommodation providers and facilitators
Airbnb is a community- Stayz is owned by travel and Tripadvisor is an online travel
based, two-sided online tourism conglomerate research company that offers
platform that facilitates the Expedia, and is based in property owners and
process of booking private Sydney, Australia. travellers a booking
living spaces for travellers. The business model of Stayz transaction platform.
On one side it enables is a purely one-sided It also promotes the planning
owners to list their space and commissioned base, of trips, aggregates views
earn rental money. On the charging a commission rate and opinions of members
other side it provides to property owners of up to about destinations,
travellers easy access to 10%. accommodations and
renting private homes. activities throughout the
Airbnb have a unique world.
business model, charging Booking transactions have a
both the property owner and one-sided commission base,
guest a commission for each charging property owners a
booking. percentage of each booking.
3.2 Diverse Accommodation
Accommodation options available via online accommodation share economy platforms are varied,
offering a greater diversity than traditional holiday accommodation providers. The table below
summarises the types of short term letting typically available.
Table 4. A diverse range of accommodation
The types of accommodation typically offered via online share economy platforms
Renting a bedroom located Renting an entire property for a
within a unit or a house, where temporary period of a person’s Renting an entire property on
the owner remains present in principal place of residence i.e. a full-time basis.
residence during the stay. when the owners are away.
Short Term Accommodation - Online Platform Response Issues Paper Page 8
Section 11
3.3 Growing in popularity - accommodation share economy
Whilst Stayz and Tripadvisor have had a consistent presence in the online short-term
accommodation market during the last decade, Airbnb is relatively new. Airbnb officially launched its
Australian operation in 2012 and has experienced huge success due to its business model and
benefits for property owners and travellers. It is now the most popular online accommodation listing
and booking platform in Australia, with more consumers consistently electing to link or share directly
with providers via Airbnb.
Airbnb charges both participants in a transaction (host and traveller) a commission for each booking.
The business model effectively conceptualises and executes a free market, allowing the ebb and
flow of supply and demand to set prices, rather than prices for accommodation being set in a
traditional hotel or motel setting to ensure overall business profitability.
Property owners are provided a simple and accessible means to maximise utilisation and
monetisation of their homes, with relatively minimal effort depending on the set up. The consistently
growing traffic to the online platform is leveraged by property owners to achieve a new and
supplementary income source. Benefits are offered to tourists through affordability, trendiness,
simplicity of transaction and a peer-to-peer service that may promote a sense of “connection” with
strangers from other places.
The popularity of Airbnb also stems from the provision of a greater diversity of accommodation
opportunities at more affordable pricing for travellers. Airbnb consciously offers greater tourism
affordability by leveraging the location of residential homes and spaces away from the clustered
hotels and motels in areas that are in high demand and are at a premium price.
4. Negative Affects and Implications of Short-Term
Letting
4.1 Overtourism and Tourism Gentrification
4.1.1 Overtourism
Overtourism can be defined as the excessive growth of visitors leading to overcrowding in areas
where residents suffer the consequences of temporary and seasonal tourism peaks, enforcing
permanent changes to their lifestyle, access to amenities and general well-being 9. In essence, it is
a level of tourism in a region that exceeds the threshold that a community can appropriately support.
Tourism growth equates to higher revenues, gross regional product (GRP) and stronger economic
activity within a region. Within the Noosa shire, this has benefited the local economy through the
opportunity and uptake of residents earning extra income to generate additional economic activity.
(Survey paper, ACCA Inc.). Airbnb accommodation listings have vastly expanded the supply of
accommodation for visitors to the Noosa region.
However, there is a saturation point where tourism can start to irreparably erode a community, a
region’s social capital, as well as to strain infrastructure and drive up prices. There are many
contributing factors to overtourism, and the commercialisation of the “home share” concept is one
such factor. Overtourism is symptomatic of the approach of the travel and tourism industry, to almost
always focus exclusively on growth, with limited consideration, concern or planning for the impacts.
Short Term Accommodation - Online Platform Response Issues Paper Page 9
Section 12
The impact of overtourism is best described as a chain of impact – as regions transform to cater for tourists, the tourism industry prospers, coinciding with infiltration of tourists into previously pure residential areas, increasing property prices and raising costs of living for local communities. Ultimately, the level of tourism becomes unsustainable as residents and workers leave, the cost of products and services is too high, the tourism reputation of a region is qualitatively decremented, and the region then can no longer support the level of tourism. Key indicators of overtourism are: Strained local amenities and infrastructure. Road and traffic congestion. Residents priced out of the home rental and ownership market. Residents displaying lack of tolerance for the tourism sector and visitors. The Noosa shire may not yet be experiencing overtourism, as the benefits of tourism arguably still outweigh the problems caused by the rapid rise of short-term rental accommodation. However, some of the key indicators of this phenomenon are clearly apparent, and the legislative, planning and regulatory environment has not yet recognised or adopted necessary limitations to tourism expansion. Furthermore, there are a number of projects and strategies that are focussed on tourism growth, including the key goals of the Noosa Tourism Strategy 2017-2022 and the Sunshine Coast Airport Expansion Project. It is noted that Council has established the ‘Sustainable Tourism Stakeholder Reference Group’ to consider these issues. The group includes peak bodies representing business, resident and environmental interests, as well as Tourism Noosa. The group has been meeting since mid-2018. 4.1.2 Tourism Gentrification Tourism gentrification can be defined as a process of socio-spatial change in which neighbourhoods are transformed according to the needs of affluent consumers and visitors 10. Whilst gentrification is usually related to the process by which middle income earners move into a lower income earning area and displace the community, the effects of tourists and visitors moving into these areas is also considered a gentrifying process. A key aspect of the transformation of neighbourhoods is displacement of residents, particularly lower income earners relying on affordable rental accommodation stock. This is occurring in Noosa, as tourism driven gentrification is supported by the facilitation of a rapid rise in consumer uptake of short-term rental of properties within residential neighbourhoods. The actual gentrification is driven by both the dynamics of the housing market (increasing prices and reduced affordability) and the changing nature and use of neighbourhoods. In the process of tourism gentrification, residential areas undergo a degree of commercial upgrading and consequential transformation into spaces for entertainment and consumption. The transformation of uses and users in neighbourhoods causes residents to leave, as tourism gentrification is an exclusion mechanism that constrains the quality of life for residents10. Tourism gentrification, enabled and encouraged by short-term rental platforms such as Airbnb, has significant potential to mutate how a neighbourhood is used and by whom, including loss of services which low income residents rely on for their everyday life, such as access to public space and affordable services. Short Term Accommodation - Online Platform Response Issues Paper Page 10
Section 13
4.2 Reduced Residential Liveability Noosa residents have typically enjoyed quiet residential neighbourhoods, low traffic volumes in residential areas, a coastal lifestyle and the benefits of a tourist destination via high quality café and restaurant amenities, beaches, lifestyle infrastructure and active/recreation services. As property owners leverage the online accommodation phenomenon, and exposure of these opportunities to tourists and visitors rapidly increases, the high quality residential liveability of the shire is arguably being reduced (in specific localities) by the infiltration of tourists into inner urban residential areas. Residential liveability is a multifaceted concept, and for the purposes of this paper, is considered to be the benefit enjoyed from both the private external space which is part of the private home (private residential amenity), and common areas of public space in close proximity to a private home, such as the adjacent pavement, kerb, street parking and road reserve (public residential amenity). Council considers the protection of the residential amenity of existing and future occupiers to be of paramount importance. The need to address amenity is important as it is linked to the quality of life and the wellbeing of residents. 4.2.1 Private Residential Amenity Private residential amenity can reasonably be described as the benefit enjoyed from the internal and external spaces of a private home and is highly valued in Noosa given the sub-tropical climate allowing almost year-round outdoor activity. The level of enjoyment is dependent on a number of factors, including the location, size, orientation, sounds, noise, accessibility and enclosure of the private home. Private residential amenity is achieved through the allowance for individuals to carry out typical household and leisure activities, such as gardening, drying clothes, playing with children, dining, sleeping, working from home and so on, without interference. Typically, residents within the low density inner urban areas and outer areas of the shire have enjoyed a high level of private residential amenity. Land parcels are typically larger than average, road and traffic accessibility is largely unimpeded outside of peak periods, land parcels are typically fenced and ambient sound is appropriate with minimal noise during week days (with some spike in ambient sound during the late afternoon and also on weekends). This can be interspersed with occasional night time noise from a private party or celebration. The increased utilisation of private homes in residential areas for short term rental accommodation is arguably interfering with, and reducing the private residential amenity of Noosa’s residents due to noise, loss of accessibility and loss of privacy. A typical routine for a residential neighbourhood is that homes are fairly quiet throughout the week, with an increase in ambient noise during late afternoon and on weekends as individuals are not at work, children are home from school and families are more highly utilising private external space. However, if a home within a residential neighbourhood is occupied for a short-term stay by tourists, ambient noise is likely to be generated consistently regardless of the week or weekend day. Accessibility can be affected due to increased vehicle usage on the street, with street parking also impacted, particularly where multiple visitors co-occupy a short-term property. There may also be higher ambient noise levels from daytime traffic that previously wasn’t occurring. Short Term Accommodation - Online Platform Response Issues Paper Page 11
Section 14
Of particular impact on private residential amenity is the rising occurrence of party houses, which
are entire homes rented through Airbnb that are being consistently used for events or celebrations
associated with birthdays, holidays, weddings and other occasions. The utilisation of a rented house
for parties often causes impacts on the amenity of neighbours, who are subjected to unreasonable
noise, health, safety and security hazards, damage to common property or obstruction from using
their property.
There appears to be an exponential increase in the type and number of complaints about amenity
issues arising from neighbours residing near short-term let properties.
Gurran et al. note that, ‘In the Mornington Peninsular, where online accommodation is more urban
in nature, there has been a significant rise in resident complaints about unruly guest behaviour,
excessive noise, nuisance dogs, rubbish and illegal parking’ 19.
Confronted with possible legislation and local laws enforcing a code of conduct on guests, Airbnb
and Stayz have argued that they already offer complaints processes to deal with unruly guests and
party houses. However, the Gurran report notes that such reporting to the platforms has been
ineffective, in part because the person who must respond is generally remote from the location of
the problem, and secondly because many properties are listed on multiple platforms, making it
difficult to know who should handle the complaint.
4.2.2 Public Residential Amenity
Public residential amenity are the qualities, characteristics and attributes people value about a place
which contributes to their experience of a high quality of life11. The public amenity attributes which
people seek and appreciate are varied, according to an individual’s own values. There are a number
of general elements that make a positive contribution to a resident’s life and which contribute to the
broader public amenity of a residential area, including:
Physical landscape or streetscape.
Areas of vegetation and public and private open space for recreation, such as parks and
reserves.
Urban design, including the scale and dominance of buildings.
Public views and outlooks.
Public services.
Physical safety.
In practical terms, this may mean the ability to park a car in the street adjacent to a home, sufficient
space for Council’s waste contractor to collect waste bins and a reasonable degree of physical safety
when exiting or entering a private residence.
The spread of tourism accommodation away from central tourism and accommodation hubs into
traditionally pure residential areas may be interfering with public residential amenity. There are
consistent anecdotal complaints in relation to:
more traffic and on-street parking;
reduced levels of traffic safety;
increased levels of noise and other emissions from traffic; and
greater potential for conflict between land uses.
Short Term Accommodation - Online Platform Response Issues Paper Page 12
Section 15
For Council to maintain private and public residential amenity, while tourism gentrification and rapidly rising short-term rental is occurring, it is critical that it recognises and incorporates the amenity values of local communities into the management and planning of the region. Complicating this is that what constitutes the public amenity space requirement in one area is not necessarily the same as in another area. For example, the public residential amenity expectation in Doonan is different to that expected in Witta Circle, Noosa Heads. Any provision for recognition and protection of public residential amenity should reflect that the region can be characterised by its density and compactness of living, location to transport corridors, land size and proximity to the natural environment. 4.3 Disruption to Sense of Community The changing nature and use of neighbourhoods as tourists, visitors and holidaymakers infiltrate these areas has also contributed to a disrupted sense of community, exemplified by feelings of mistrust, reduced perception of personal safety and increased alienation. Prior to Airbnb, the market for accommodation in Noosa largely consisted of holiday unit blocks, apartments and empty second homes. As a transformative travel business, Airbnb has provided an avenue and allowance for travellers to live as local residents do, with hosts able to provide a comparable simulacra of experience at a more affordable price. People choose to live in a neighbourhood for a complex set of reasons and variables, all of which connect a group of people to a given physical place in ways that may not be obvious, such as a desire to live close to the beach, or close to cafes and restaurants, or in a quiet street. By sharing a place, people shape it, both purposefully and incidentally11. Airbnb may be disrupting the sense of community in the Noosa shire, as property owners and hosts disengage from their home by transforming it to a commercial operation. As most residents or homeowners would attest, once you have lived in a street or area for a period of time, you experience a settled feeling and higher perception of safety and security from knowing your neighbours, sighting familiar vehicles each day and attuning to the social, work and travel movements of those that live around you. With the infiltration of tourists into these areas, the settled feeling and perception of safety is reduced by strangers, new vehicles and different transitory movements throughout the week and weekend. As property owners disengage, particularly owner-occupiers, the flow-on effect is that their neighbours become less engaged and connected to their home, as they see strangers coming and going. Arguably, homes neighbouring an Airbnb rental property incur the majority of social cost. In various global studies, neighbourliness and connection to one’s community have been shown to have positive impact on individual wellbeing. Disruption to community fabric caused by the arrival of short-term letting properties may have a flow-on impact by reducing social capital. This has been the basis of an argument made by the Mayor of Byron Bay, Simon Richardson, regarding the impact of Airbnb and other platforms. He has referred to the result as ‘gutting our community’ with its associated impact on volunteering, especially for essential services like lifesaving and the SES, as well as reducing participation in local community groups and sporting clubs etc. 18 Short Term Accommodation - Online Platform Response Issues Paper Page 13
Section 16
4.4 Permanent Rental Market and Housing Affordability
Housing advocates contend that the rising utilisation of online accommodation share economy
platforms are affecting the pricing of the permanent rental market and housing affordability. The
Noosa shire has certainly seen rising rental and property prices in recent years, particularly since
2013, outperforming the state market in terms of growth.
The Noosa shire is one of the strongest performing and most expensive in Queensland in terms of
median house price and unit price14. Additionally, median weekly rental payments in Noosa have
been consistently higher than the Queensland average, consistent with Noosa’s higher median
property prices.
Table 5. Historical Average Median Rents
2006 2011 2016
Median Rents ($/week) $250 $330 $380
Percentage Increase - 32% 15%
Source: ABS (2017b)
Table 6. Median weekly rents for the 12 months ending 31 March 2018
Noosa Noosa Noosa Sunshine
Dwelling Type Qld State Noosaville Tewantin
Shire Hinterland Heads Beach
1 bedroom flat or unit $310 $300 $248 n.a. $325 $300 $350
1 bedroom flat or unit $350 $385 $305 $420 $390 $360 $410
3 bedroom house $350 $465 $420 $575 $505 $460 $540
4 bedroom house $420 $560 $560 $705 $633 $520 $670
Source: Agenda – Planning and Environment Committee Meeting, Noosa Council, 7 August 2018
Table 7. Historical Annual Median Sale Prices for Houses and Units
Annual 5 Year
Median Sale Price
Change Change
Houses $615,000 9.2% 25.5%
Units $485,000 7.8% 16.9%
Source: ABS (2017b)
Affordable housing advocates attribute rising rental and property prices to the presence and
popularity of online accommodation share economy platforms, such as Airbnb and Stayz, on the
premise that property owners now prefer the higher return that can be generated from short term
letting and are electing to monetise their asset in this way, rather than through long-term renting or
selling. Property owners are aided and encouraged by the useability, accessibility and simplicity of
online accommodation share economy platforms (with a property also available for personal use
from time to time under this model).
Furthermore, properties that typically would have continued to circulate through the residential
property sale market are now considered of higher value as an investment property that can generate
a return as a holiday rental. Indeed, some local real estate agents in the Noosa Shire are advertising
properties for sale as being ‘great for Airbnb’.
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Section 17
Whilst it has merit to contend that the transition of long-term rental properties and properties circulating through the ownership market is eroding affordable rental housing stock to the detriment of communities, there are also a number of other macro-economic factors that have likely contributed. The proportionate effect of Airbnb and Stayz against other factors such as low interest rates and significantly higher property prices in Australia’s capital cities is not entirely clear. However, the recent Laura Crommelin et al. report for the Australian Housing & Urban Research Centre, which looked at Sydney and Melbourne only, noted that rental affordability is likely being impacted by Airbnb in high-demand inner-city areas with significant tourism appeal20. The Gurran et al. report for the Australian Coastal Councils Association notes that in some localities, attempts to increase housing supply for low income residents by way of new residential developments, including detached homes and medium density apartments, has resulted in those properties being purchased by investors to list as holiday rentals. Thus efforts to introduce affordable housing may be taken instead by investors looking at short-term rental returns. Interviewees in localities within a three hour radius of capital cities – Mornington Peninsular (Melbourne), Eurobodalla (Canberra), Kiama and Shoalhaven (Sydney), Byron and Sunshine Coast (Brisbane) all reported increased housing demand by investors looking for a lower priced entry into the property market. However, they also reported aggressive marketing by real estate agents of properties with potential holiday rental returns. The report concluded that, ‘in these locations, the rise of online platforms may contribute to house price inflation, making it more difficult for home buyers to achieve home ownership’19. There is also increasing evidence from overseas jurisdictions that the arrival of Airbnb and other such platforms has had a direct impact on housing affordability, increasing permanent rental prices and land values. Further to the issue of affordable housing, it is regularly suggested that Airbnb offers necessary additional income for home hosts, particularly retirees or those on fixed incomes. This may have had some truth in the early days of the online short-term letting industry, however, research does not support this theory today. The Gurran et al. report notes that, ‘the proportion of households who offer rooms or shared rooms to tourists, remains small – less than one per cent in the majority of the case study communities. Although home sharing represents a source of income for a small sector of the population, overall it does not represent a solution to wider housing affordability pressures’. This view is supported by a November 2018 Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute report by Laura Cromelin et al. which concludes that, ‘hosts are primarily focussed on financial gain in choosing to engage in short-term letting, and do so more for discretionary spending than to cover pressing housing expenses’20. Currently reduced housing affordability and loss of permanent rental stock are key issues for the Noosa shire. Short Term Accommodation - Online Platform Response Issues Paper Page 15
Section 18
4.4.1 Permanent Rental Market
Key aspects of the permanent rental market are affordability, suitability and availability.
Affordability Rent is no more than 30% of a household budget.
Suitability Appropriate for the number of people or the family type.
Availability Sufficient permanent rental stock.
As a highly sought after and affluent coastal location, the permanent rental housing and unit stock
has provided an affordable living option for many of the region’s residents working in industries such
as retail trade, accommodation, food services and real estate services (rental and hiring).
Traditionally, Noosa has enjoyed a healthy permanent rental market, with a diversity of permanent
rental stock offering a range of affordability and suitability.
With the uptake of tourists using online accommodation share economy platforms to book short
stays, houses and units that were traditionally offered as permanent rentals are now participating in
the tourism supply chain. Property owners are leveraging the popularity and established user base
of sites such as Airbnb, which includes the simplicity offered by these online platforms and smart
device applications. There is a growing realisation for property owners that even at an occupancy
level less than 50%, there is the potential ability to earn more from a property as a short-term rental
rather than as a permanent rental.
Historically, macroeconomics of supply and demand have kept permanent rental prices competitive
and steady. With the reduction of supply, the economics have shifted, resulting in upward pressure
on permanent rental prices, compounded by an increasing lack of permanent rental supply.
The indirect effects of rising permanent rental prices and lack of supply are varied and numerous:
Displacement of individuals and families in lower socio-economic categories, potentially leading
to a rise in the number of homeless and seriously disadvantaged in the shire.
Lack of housing for lower income producing families and individuals (i.e. those working in the
retail and hospitality industries) leading those individuals to leave the region and seek
employment elsewhere, reducing the number of prospective employees in these industries.
Flow on issues for the shires retail and hospitality sectors, with a lower regional worker base
potentially necessitating an increase in wage and benefits, pushing up the prices of retail and
accommodation at the consumer end of the supply chain.
At a broader level, these effects could potentially compromise the effective delivery of Council’s
Local Economic Plan and interrupt key goals to diversify the region’s economy, particularly if a lack
of affordable housing (through ownership or permanent rental) changes the nature of the available
worker base.
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Section 19
5. Key Challenges for Council
5.1 Current Planning Control Constraints
Council administers the region’s town planning legislation, and plays a vital role in planning for and
managing the sustainable development of the region. The Queensland Government also plays a
role, establishing the planning framework through legislation (Planning Act 2016), and monitoring its
operation.
The Planning Act 2016 was assented to on 25 May 2016 after being passed by the Legislative
Assembly earlier that month. In conjunction with the pre-eminent legislation, there is a hierarchy of
regulatory instruments which establish the land use planning system, roles and responsibilities.
Specifically, the Planning Act 2016 facilitates and empowers setting of regulatory matters,
establishes rules for certain processes (via statutory instruments).
The new suite of legislation was intended to focus on key areas such as:
enabling better strategic outcomes and high quality development outcome,
ensuring effective public participation and engagement in the planning framework,
creating an open, transparent and accountable planning system that delivers investment and
community confidence,
creating legislation that has a practical structure and clearly expresses how land use planning
and development assessment will be done in Queensland, and
supporting local governments to adapt and adopt the changes.
Council plays a vital role in land use planning, ensuring that land use is planned for and executed
to:
ensure appropriate density of land use,
promote and enhance the quality of the environment,
make safe and attractive places to live and work,
improve accessibility to jobs, homes and services across through improvement of opportunities
for walking, cycling and the use of high quality public transport,
promote good design in development so as to achieve high environmental standards and
optimum social benefits,
strategise for future housing demand and availability of suitable land,
consider the current and future level and capacity of infrastructure, services and facilities – this
includes public and private amenity space, green space and open space,
acknowledge the desirability of using land efficiently and reducing, and adapting to, the impacts
of climate change, and
retain the characteristics of the area, including the current and proposed mix of land uses.
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Section 20
5.1.1 Regulation of Short-Term Rental Accommodation Council’s current Planning Scheme defines Visitor Accommodation as accommodation that is designed and used for visitors to the shire and where social, recreational and dining services may be provided for visitors by owners or staff. Resident guests stay for a temporary period of time (typically not exceeding 3 consecutive months). Whilst the current Planning Scheme does distinguish between visitor zones and residential zones by detailing requirements and provisions for small scale Visitor Accommodation such as B&B, guest house, host farm or cabin park, the current planning scheme was developed prior to the modern phenomenon of online booking platforms such as Airbnb and the trending disruption to traditional methods of visitor accommodation in the Noosa region. This disruption poses a challenge to ensure appropriate land use and residential liveability in the shire. The new Planning Scheme (The New Noosa Plan) is will be clear in how it regulates and will reflect the current landscape that includes both short-term accommodation and visitor accommodation. 5.1.2 Planning Scheme Cycles Typically, land use planning works in 5 or 10 year cycles, as local governments elect to adjust and update their planning schemes to cater for changing societal, economic and emerging markets and to guide appropriate future land use. The acceleration in development and consumption of technological applications and platforms in recent years has created change and disruption that are challenging for local governments to address and to ensure that planning schemes contemplate and protect future land uses in a highly changing environment. 5.2 Existing Lawful Use Rights As local laws and local government planning schemes continue to change and update, they do not have retrospective powers. This concept is substantiated by the presence of “existing use rights”, included at section 260 of the Planning Act 2016. Section 260 explains the existing lawful use provision, stating that if a use of premises was a lawful use of premises immediately before a planning instrument change, the change does not: Stop the use from continuing, or Further regulate the use, or Require the use to be changed. A property or owner with an existing lawful use can seek to evoke the rules and allowances that were in force at the time they established a lawful use, even if they are now superseded, protecting an established and lawful use allowed within a superseded instrument. 5.3 Lack of data and transparency To date, Airbnb and Stayz have repeatedly refused to supply property addresses to regulatory authorities, claiming that to do so would be a breach of privacy. Their business model relies on the outsourcing of risk, which can lead to their clients avoiding tax obligations, in addition to planning and safety regulations. Short Term Accommodation - Online Platform Response Issues Paper Page 18
Section 21
The business models of Airbnb and Stayz are such that private addresses and home ownership
details are not made public, for several reasons. Airbnb and Stayz remain at arm’s length from the
income reporting, tax obligations and income declaration of hosts, shifting the risk and responsibility
of these aspects of providing short term rental accommodation to the property owner. They also
largely shift responsibilities relating to safety onto property owners.
Council is challenged by:
Increasing numbers of new short-term websites, making it difficult to identify and track properties
that are made available for short-term letting.
Difficulty proving that an identified property owner is offending or re-offending.
The cost, time and resources required to monitor multiple websites to try and identify properties
that are being short term rented.
Websites electing to withhold property location and other identifying information.
The operational model of online accommodation share economy platforms such as Airbnb and Stayz
allow for concealment of property addresses and owner details, at the homeowners’ discretion. It is
important to note that these companies do not promote or suggest concealment to property owners,
instead they have cleverly and effectively used the trending share economy to transfer any risk and
responsibility of tax, safety or legislative compliance to the property owner.
Airbnb and Stayz argue that mandatory registration of addresses and home ownership information
would be a breach of their privacy rules, as the business models are supposedly peer-to-peer
arrangements, rather than commercial business operations. Arguably, Airbnb and Stayz platforms
actually facilitate a business-client arrangement, just like any other holiday accommodation.
5.4 Avoidance of the Tourism and Economic levy
In its 2018-19 budget Council introduced changes to the Tourism and Economic levy structure to
recognise identified equity issues between levy amounts for home hosted short-term rentals (when
the host is present) and entire properties being let. In the urban areas, for example, Transitory
Accommodation that is not a Principal Place of Residence (i.e. not someone’s private home) will be
rated at 0.2224 cents in the dollar of the rateable value. For Transitory Accommodation in urban
areas that is a Principal Place of Residence (i.e. a home-hosted property letting out one or more
bedrooms in their house), the rate has been set at one-third the value of a non-principal place of
residence property (i.e. 0.0741 cents in the dollar).
The clear aim of the change in charging structure was to ensure that there is equity between the
Airbnb-type host who is simply letting out a spare bedroom (these properties do not generate the
sort of amenity problems and neighbour conflicts that non-principal place of residence properties
create) and those properties which are let in their entirely and generally serve as commercial
investments.
However, there are currently likely to be a large portion of properties that are not being levied, as
Council is not aware that they are participating in the short-term rental market. Arguably, all short-
term rented properties benefit from the destination marketing and promotion paid for through the
Tourism and Economic Levy, and should therefore contribute to the cost of these activities.
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Section 22
Following is an excerpt from the Airbnb hosting dashboard of a Noosa home listed for short term
letting, placing the burden of compliance on a host, and not Airbnb:
Please educate yourself about the laws in your jurisdiction before listing your space.
Most cities have rules covering homesharing, and the specific codes and ordinances can
appear in many places (such as zoning, building, licensing or tax codes). In most places,
you must register, get a permit, or obtain a license before you list your property or accept
guests. You may also be responsible for collecting and remitting certain taxes. In some
places, short-term rentals could be prohibited altogether.
Since you are responsible for your own decision to list or book, you should get comfortable
with the applicable rules before listing on Airbnb. To get you started, we offer some helpful
resources under “Your City Laws.”
By accepting our Terms of Service and listing your space, you certify that you will follow
applicable laws and regulations.
6. Current Actions and Responses – Other
Jurisdictions
Various entities, jurisdictions and local governments, both in Australia and internationally, are
working to address the implications and consequences of the continuing rapid increase in short term
letting facilitated by platforms such as Airbnb and Stayz, utilising various legislative approaches,
inquiries, local laws, codes of conduct and associated regulations.
This section examines the responses and approaches from other local governments including
Tasmania, Auckland Council, Mornington Peninsula Shire Council, City of Busselton, Bryon Shire
Council, Barcelona and Yountville, Napa Valley.
The recent policy change implemented by the Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ)
is noted, in addition to the current inquiry being undertaken by the Western Australian Parliament
and the approach by the New South Wales Government to implement state-wide and industry-wide
reforms.
6.1 Queensland
In early November 2018, a motion was put forward by the LGAQ Policy Executive at the 122nd LGAQ
Annual Conference that the Policy Statement 2016 be amended by the inclusion of a new clause
6.1.5 in relation to the short-term letting of residential properties. The motion was passed with 202
votes in favour and 6 against, reflecting the consistent and broad view that local government
organisations should be enabled and supported to introduce and enforce regulation of short term
holiday accommodation. Table 8 outlines the new clause in the LGAQ Policy Statement.
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Section 23
Table 8. LGAQ Policy Statement – New Clause – Short Term Letting of Residential Properties
6.1.5 Short - term letting of residential properties
Local government should continue to establish and enforce appropriate planning,
6.1.5.1 local law and rating responses for residential properties used for short - term
letting, within their local government area.
Local government is committed to working in partnership with the State
6.1.5.2 Government and industry to effectively manage the growth of emerging short-term
accommodation styles and the impact of this on local communities.
Local government supports the state government in developing a Code of
Conduct, including:
- information regarding fire safety standards, for hosts and guests of residential
properties that are advertised for short- term letting,
6.1.5.3 - obtaining the agreement of online accommodation booking agencies to provide
- details regarding the location of residential properties that are advertised for
short -term letting, to regulatory authorities, and
- establishing a state wide data sharing system across the short term
accommodation sector, that is accessible by local government.
6.2 Western Australian Government
On 1 November 2018 a parliamentary inquiry into the regulation of short stay accommodation
commenced in Western Australia, after the state’s Economics and Industry Standing Committee
resolved to investigate the adequacy of current state-wide regular practices surrounding holiday
properties. The inquiry is aiming for a bipartisan plan on regulation of the industry and intends to look
at issues such as customer safety, insurance, land use planning, building standards, stay length,
neighbourhood amenity, registration, licensing and taxation. The inquiry is accepting submissions
from the public until 25 January 2019, and the Committee will report to the House by 27 June 2019.
The terms of reference of the inquiry include:
The forms and regulatory status of short-stay accommodation providers in regional and
metropolitan Western Australia, including existing powers available to local government
authorities.
The changing market and social dynamics in the short-stay accommodation sector.
Issues in the short-stay accommodation sector, particularly associated with emerging business
models utilising online booking platforms.
Approaches within Australian and international jurisdictions to ensure the appropriate regulation
of short-stay accommodation.
6.3 New South Wales Government
In 2016, the New South Wales (NSW) Government conducted a public inquiry on the Adequacy of
Regulation of Short-Term Holiday Letting in NSW. Following an Options Paper released in October
2016, the NSW Parliament subsequently passed the NSW Government’s short-term holiday letting
reforms on 14 August 2018. The new framework is expected to commence in 2019, and will introduce
state-wide planning rules and an industry-wide mandatory Code of Conduct.
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Section 24
The changes to short term letting rules include:
Hosts of houses and apartments in the greater Sydney are will only be able to let properties for
up to 180 nights per year. There is no automatic cap in regional areas, but councils will be able
to set their own limits, however they may not be less than 180 days (note that Byron Shire Council
currently has a limit of 90 days and is opposed to the State’s 180 day cap).
Changes to strata legislation to empower owner's corporations to pass bylaws with a 75%
majority banning short-term letting in their buildings, but not on properties which are owner-
occupied.
Airbnb and other operators will be required to share their data with the New South Wales
Government, as a compliance mechanism.
There will be a Mandatory Code of Conduct that online booking platforms are required to sign up
to, which will address issues such as noise and disruptive guests. If two serious breaches occur
in any two-year period, the property will be banned from all platforms for five years.
The Department of Fair Trading will also be given new powers to police the online platforms and
letting agents, and will use the data supplied by the platforms to assess complaints.
Notably, the new laws explicitly state that short-term holiday letting is allowed in residential areas.
In the latter part of 2018, the NSW Government sought feedback on the proposed amendments to
planning rules and prepared a publicly available Explanation of Intended Effect detailing the
proposed amendments. The consultation process closed on 16 November 2018.
It is worth noting that critics of the NSW scheme have claimed that a 180 day limit will have minimal
impact, as most short-term properties are let for less than half of each year anyway.
6.4 Tasmanian Government
Due to a growing tourism sector (much of it thanks to MONA in Hobart) and an increasing resident
population, Tasmania is struggling with a serious shortage of affordable housing and available long-
term rental properties.
Tasmania already has a legislated permit system in place for short-term letting properties. This was
introduced on 1st July 2017. Permits are required for all properties over 300 square metres other
than principle places of residence – in other words investment properties are included but own
homes are not required to register.
At a recent Australian Housing & Urban Research Institute conference titled “Disrupting the housing
market”, the Hon Roger Jaensch MP, Minister for Housing Tasmania, outlined a range of measures
to help deal with their housing shortage.
The conference was also advised that Tasmania was set to introduce legislation to enforce
compliance with the permit system for short-term lettings and also to provide for steep fines for non-
compliance. This was foreshadowed publicly in August 2018 but has yet to be introduced to
parliament.
Under the plan, online platforms will have to exhibit the permit number or permit exemption
associated with properties listed. Under the new legislation, platforms like Airbnb and Stayz will have
to provide the government with quarterly data of all listings on their sites. This data will be passed
from the State to local governments, so they can match the property addresses with their permit
listings.
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Section 25
If it proceeds this will be Australia’s first complete data set for a whole state, helping policy and
planning processes as well as demographic research through provision of property addresses of all
online short-term listed properties. Note that the Minister avowed that the data provided by platforms
would not be made public.
6.5 City of Busselton, Western Australia
The City of Busselton is a local government area in the South West region of Western Australia,
approximately 230 kilometres south of Perth. It contains two large towns, Busselton and
Dunsborough, and covers an area of approximately 1,454 square kilometres. Similar to Noosa, the
City of Busselton region is a significant tourist destination, and holiday homes have long been a
major part of the local economy, particularly given the proximity to Perth.
According to the Gurran et al report, of the whole homes frequently available as rental stock, 32.9%
are taken up by Airbnb. Airbnb listings amount to 5.4% of all housing in the Shire.
Holiday home stock is now more easily accessible to a much broader and variable tourism market,
effectively shifting the region’s traditional focus as an intra state destination16.
Current Approach:
Holiday homes are addressed within the local planning scheme, requiring approval subject to
criteria relating to size, potential amenity impacts, parking, water supply and bush fire safety.
Busselton has a designated tourism zone, and properties located within the tourism zone pay a
higher rate, with the additional revenue contributing to the City of Busselton’s budget for tourism
and events.
Development approval is required for holiday homes located within the residential zone, in
addition to a license. Licenses are renewed annually for a fee and are required to have a
nominated and locally available manager.
The City of Busselton is able to withdraw a license if the property is not managed property.
Key Issues:
The introduction of online platforms such as Airbnb has resulted in an increasing number of
properties being made available for holiday letting, without development approvals or licensing
in place.
Properties are advertised and utilised for holiday letting at a higher capacity (number of guests)
than would be permitted under the terms of a license.
There is inequality due to licensed and compliant holiday homes being subject to a higher level
of regulation and checking than holiday homes that are now being listed on online booking
platforms with necessary approvals and licensing.
Response:
A continued focus on a regulatory framework which combines local laws and planning provisions
to implement a register of addresses and subsequent licensing.
Waiting on the outcome of a parliamentary inquiry into the regulation of short stay
accommodation, which will include a particular reference to the existing powers available to local
government authorities (refer to Section 6.2).
Like many other local governments, Busselton is struggling to identify all of the actual property
addresses of short-term rental properties in the Shire order to regulate its approach.
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Section 26
6.6 Byron Shire Council, New South Wales
Byron Shire Council has taken significant and pro-active measures in recent years to address the
significant negative impacts of short-term holiday letting on residential amenity and housing
affordability. As one of Australia’s premier tourist destinations, the growth of short-term holiday letting
of residential properties within the region has grown exponentially with the advent of online booking
platforms.
The Gurran et al report notes that Byron is experiencing extreme impacts from the arrival of the
online short-term rental sector. For example, 17.6% of total housing stock in the shire is listed on
Airbnb. Of the whole houses available for rent in the Shire, 48.3% are listed on Airbnb. What’s more,
the Airbnb beds as a proportion of traditional tourism sector beds in Byron is a factor of 517%.
Whilst Byron Shire Council’s planning provisions do not have specific provision for holiday letting,
the use of dwellings for short-term holiday accommodation falls within the definition of ‘tourist and
visitor accommodation’ and is a prohibited land use in the residential zones of the Byron Local
Environmental Plan (LEP) 2014. In other words, short-term letting accommodation is prohibited in
residential zones. Tourist and visitor accommodation is specifically permitted with consent in the
LEP’s B2 Local Centre zone and SP3 Tourist zone.
Byron Shire Council has taken direct action to seek compliance and regulation of short-term holiday
letting, including but not limited to:
the issuance of letters to owners of properties that Byron Shire Council has received complaints
about, advising them that there is reason to believe the premises are being advertised/used as
short term holiday rentals;
advising in such letters of Byron Shire Council’s relevant resolutions and the fact that the
obtaining of evidence via section 9.22 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act is a
tool which officers may employ in circumstances where a reasonable suspicion of unauthorised
short-term holiday let activity exists;
community enforcement staff manage a list of properties against which it may commence
enforcement proceedings based on the establishment of a prima-facie case of unauthorised
short-term holiday let and unauthorised tourist and visitor accommodation;
implementation of a Byron Bay Noisy Neighbour hotline to capture complaints and non-
compliance; and
establishment of a direct online link to report problem holiday letting to Byron Shire Council.
It is important to note that Byron Shire Council does not accept the NSW Government’s standard
state-wide approach to the issue. Subsequent to the NSW Government’s passing of short-term
holiday letting reforms on 14 August 2018, Byron Shire Council wrote to the Minister for Planning in
August 2018 to seek a deferral of Byron Shire Council from the new state-wide planning policy, in
the form of a pause to implementation. (Byron had previously proposed a 90 day cap in any calendar
year for short-term rental properties.)
Byron Shire Council is seeking to enable a full consideration of the impact of the changes to short-
term holiday letting, in terms of environmental, social and economic impacts, and also to enable
Council to tailor a local response to planning and regulation through either changes to the state-wide
policy or via Byron Shire Council local environmental plan provisions17. Byron Shire Council is
effectively seeking to preserve the current policy of restricting short term letting in residential areas.
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Section 27
Interestingly, Byron Shire Council has been caught out in its attempts to encourage a more affordable
housing supply. “Granny flats” are approved under the NSW Affordable Rental Housing State
Environmental Planning Policy, and as such were encouraged by Council which waived contribution
fees in order to support more affordable housing. The Council is now trying to deal with these “granny
flats” being used for short-term rental in residential areas, having to take enforcement action to
prevent such use.
6.7 Mornington Peninsular Shire Council, Victoria
The Gurran et al report notes that the number of Airbnb beds in Mornington is 585% of traditional
tourist sector beds. As a percentage of whole homes available as rental stock, Airbnb properties
equate to 18.8%.
Mornington Peninsular uses a Local Law and associated Code of Conduct to require short-term on-
line rental property owners to register their properties and adhere to a standard of management and
operation.
On 24 April 2018, the Mornington Peninsular Shire Council at its Ordinary Council Meeting resolved
to adopt the Short Stay Rental Accommodation Local Law. The Local Law came into operation on
17 May 2018 and will cease to operate on 17 May 2028, unless sooner revoked by the Mornington
Peninsular Shire Council.
The purpose of the Local Law is to:
Regulate and control the use of short stay rental accommodation within the Municipal District of
the Mornington Peninsula Shire Council.
Ensure an appropriate standard of management and presentation of such.
Minimise the risk of such accommodation affecting the peace of neighbours.
Implement a registration requirement; and
Provide for a Code of Conduct under the Local Law
The Local Law defines Short Stay Rental Accommodation as accommodation for no more than 30
consecutive days or 1 month in a dwelling for commercial gain, excluding other accommodation
premises required to be registered under alternate legislation.
Table 9 outlines the key requirements, conditions and parameters of the local law, which is supported
by a Code of Conduct. It should be noted that the use of local laws may be open to legal challenge.
Table 9. Key Aspects of the Short Stay Rental Accommodation Local Law – Mornington
Peninsular Shire Council
Registration
The owner of any dwelling must not use, or allow to be used, the dwelling for short stay rental
accommodation, unless the dwelling is registered under the Local Law.
An application for registration must be made by the owner of the dwelling, an application form completed
with all required details and be forwarded with the application fee to Council.
The owner must provide Council with the contact details for a designated person(s) for the dwelling who can
be contacted at any time, and that person must respond within 2 hours to any matter relating to the
dwelling.
The dwelling must be used in accordance with the conditions of registration and the provisions of the Local
Law.
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Cancellation
Registration may be cancelled when:
(a) Any material change occurs to the application details on the basis of which the certificate of
registration was issued.
(b) Council receives no less than three substantiated complaints concerning the activities taking place at
the dwelling from residents located within the proximity of the dwelling over a rolling period of 12
months.
(c) A substantiated complaint is of such severity that immediate cancellation is warranted.
Standard of Management
The use of the dwelling must comply with the Code of Conduct applicable to the Local Law.
The use of the dwelling is not to impact on the peace expected to be enjoyed by surrounding residents.
The owner is to provide adjoining neighbours on all boundaries and neighbours immediately across the
road from the dwelling with the current contact details of the designated contact person.
Offences
The Local Law employs a penalty system for offences, using the same meaning of Penalty Unit as the
Sentencing Act 1991.
Offences include:
- Not doing something required to be done, or doing something forbidden to be done by or under the
Local Law and associated Code of Conduct.
- Failing to comply with a notice to comply.
- Accepting a rental booking for a short stay rental accommodation not registered within the
requirements of the Local Law.
- Causing or permitting any act or omission which is a contravention of the Local Law or associated
Code of Conduct.
6.8 Auckland Council, New Zealand
In 2017, Auckland Council introduced an Accommodation Provider Targeted Rate (APTR), as a
response to increasing tourism and need for accommodation. The rates were applied to commercial
providers such as hotels, motels and other serviced apartments. This ensured that commercial
accommodation providers were contributing to the Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic
Development (ATEED) organisation, on the premise that the commercial accommodation industry
benefits from work undertaken by ATEED.
In early 2018, Auckland Council proposed changes to the APTR to include short-term rentals,
recognising that online platforms are now one of the most popular mediums of finding
accommodation in Auckland. The changes to the APTR came into effect from 1 July 2018.
The changes include a targeted accommodation rate, or bed tax, that will be applied to short-term
rental accommodation providers, applying to those using Airbnb and other similar platforms to
generate income. The aim of the bed tax is to apply a similar fee to that placed on hotels and other
commercial providers, with the location, occupancy and value of the residence taken into account
when Auckland Council calculates the charges.
The rate charged is partially determined by declared occupancy, with all short-term rental properties
charged business rates in a graduated scale if let for more than 28 nights per annum. The location
approach means that different areas within the Auckland region are charged different rates, with a
division of the region in Zones A, B and C. As expected, central suburbs are impacted the most,
whilst some outer districts are exempt from the rate.
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Table 10. Auckland Council – Methodology for APTR rates – Short Term Rentals
Number of nights
APTR Rates Level General property rates level
booked per year
Up to 28 Does not apply Continue to be rated as residential
25% of APTR if the property is in zone Rated as 75% residential and 25%
29 to 135
A or B business
50% of APTR if the property is in zone Rated as 50% residential and 50%
136 to 180
A or B business
100% of the APTR if the property is in
More than 180 Rates as business
zone A or B
The rate also applies where only part of the property is used for short-term accommodation, for
example of accommodation services are provided in a self-contained dwelling such as a studio unit
or granny flat, whilst the owner resides in the main residence on the property. Auckland Council is
assessing these situations on a case-by-case basis.
The introduction of the new accommodation rate has significantly increased rates for some property
owners, whilst other property owners have had minimal increases. A number of accommodation
providers have formed the Commercial Accommodation Rate Payers (CARP) group and have
commenced a judicial review in the High Court in Auckland to challenge the legality of the
accommodation targeted rate. As at November 2018, the judicial review is ongoing.
The Auckland Council has publicly stated that a shortcoming of the new rating method is that it
cannot identify all property owners that should be paying an accommodation rate, particularly without
the co-operation of the online booking platforms.
6.9 Yountville, Napa Valley, California
The approach taken in Yountville is an example of a strict legislative response to online booking sites
such as Airbnb, allowing the Town Council to issue legislative subpoenas and obtain records of all
rentals within the Town Council area. The approach supported the Town Council’s decision to be
diligent on code enforcement and to protect residents from the negative impacts of short term rentals.
Whilst such a legislative enforcement of obtaining information may not be feasible or suitable in
Australia, it is interesting to note that this level of response has occurred elsewhere and provides
some perspective to the arguably comparable mild response to seek a register of short-term rented
properties within the Noosa shire.
6.10 Barcelona, Spain
Barcelona has a vigilant permit system to control the number of short-term rentals across the city.
Barcelona Council requires all short-term rentals to obtain a council licence. The city is zoned
differentially - some where the number of licences can remain the same (prospective landlords have
to await license availability), some where the number of licences are allowed to increase, some
where the number is set to decrease (i.e. no new licences awarded even if others are not renewed).
To foster compliance to licensing, there's a 'flat detector' website to allow citizens and visitors to
report unlicensed dwellings:
http://meet.barcelona.cat/habitatgesturistics/en
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7. Current Actions and Responses – Key
Stakeholders
7.1 Noosa Council
7.1.1 Lobbying Efforts
There are complex regulatory, compliance, safety and legal issues surrounding the rapid rise in
short-term rentals, many of which are yet to be sufficiently addressed by state and local
governments.
Council is an active proponent in seeking appropriate responses and recourses to these issues,
focused on protecting the social capital and residential amenity of the region whilst recognising the
significant economic activity driven by the tourism industry.
In 2017, Council actively lobbied the Queensland Government to establish a taskforce to consider
the implications of short-term rental platforms. After a successful motion to the LGAQ conference in
October 2017, the Queensland Government established a Peer-to-Peer Economy and Short Term
Letting Industry Reference Group (the Industry Reference Group), with representatives from the
industry, local government, academia and accommodation sector. Noosa Council and Cairns
Regional Council are the only Local Governments represented. The Industry Reference Group has
met four times throughout 2017 and 2018, working towards the development of a clear policy for
managing short-term rental platforms such as Airbnb.
Participants in the Peer-to-Peer Economy and Short Term Letting Reference Group
Accommodation Association of
Airbnb Stayz
Australia
Tourism and Events Qld LGAQ Queensland Hotels Association
Australian Timeshare and Holiday
Property Council Australia Adventure Queensland
Ownership Council
Department of Innovation and
Tourism Industry Development Noosa Shire Council Cairns Regional Council
and the Commonwealth Games
Australian Resident
Caravanning Queensland Adventure Queensland Accommodation Managers
Association
Exhibition and Event Association
QUT Design Lab Restaurant and Catering Australia
of Australasia
Australian Timeshare and Holiday Department of Local Government,
Tourism and Events Queensland
Ownership Council Racing and Multicultural Affairs
Queensland Tourism Industry
UQ Business School
Council
In a letter dated 14 May 2018 from the Office of the Minister for Innovation and Tourism Industry
Development and Minister for the Commonwealth Games to a senior associate of Leanne Bowie
Lawyers, it was stated:
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“In exploring options for a balanced policy approach to this form of short-term holiday
letting, members have considered key issues for the visitor economy and local
government, including neighbourhood amenity, disruption to sense of community, guest
safety, land use planning, housing affordability and destination marketing. Options will be
progressed further by (the department) for consideration by the Queensland Government
in the near future.”
7.1.2 Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ)
LGAQ is the peak body for local government in Queensland, advising, supporting and representing
local councils and aiding them to improve their operations and strengthen relationships with their
communities. LGAQ are actively working on improved opportunities for local governments to manage
the short-term letting sector, largely through regular meetings with Queensland Government
representatives. LGAQ are also in close contact with Noosa Council on this matter.
7.1.3 BNBGuard Pilot Program
BNBGuard is a Sydney-based start-up that was conceived as a property monitoring service to alert
landlords to unauthorised subletting via an automated technology platform that monitors property
rental websites such as Airbnb, Flatmates.com.au and Stayz, sending an instant notification when a
listing for one of their properties is found online.
The application of this technology has now extended to the strata sector (due to strata management
companies having problems with owner-occupiers subletting their properties for short-term stays)
and to Local Governments, who are lacking data and information around properties that are being
short term rental.
Council has engaged Bnbguard to implement a pilot program, which is aimed at determining the
effectiveness of outsourcing the collection of short-term letting property data in the shire. This will
become increasingly important as Council considers the implementation of actions and responses.
The pilot program commenced in late July 2018 so is currently in the early phases, with weekly
update phone conferences held between relevant Council staff and Bnbguard. The technology
triangulates information from multiple sources and once the weight of evidence has reached a pre-
determined threshold, the property is considered an identification match.
As at December 2018 Bnbguard has identified 246 properties in Sunshine Beach that are listed
online for short-term letting. As expected in a pilot program, Bnbguard is working through some minor
challenges to the automation as part of property identification, whilst Council is providing assistance
where possible through the provision of data from Council’s spatial mapping system.
7.1.4 New Council Planning Scheme
The Noosa Plan 2006 is the current planning scheme that controls land uses and development
throughout the Noosa Shire. As the plan is now 13 years old, Council is undertaking a comprehensive
review of the Noosa Plan 2006 and the draft New Noosa Plan will soon be released for public
consultation.
Since 2006, the Queensland Government’s requirements for the drafting of planning schemes has
changed significantly, and whilst the new Noosa Plan comprises similar elements such as zones,
codes and overlays, the detailed provisions use substantially different terminology.
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The New Noosa Plan will likely incorporate a range of changes (below) to help address issues around
short-term rentals and terminology to address the adverse consequential impacts on liveability in
residential areas, due to the significant surge in visitation numbers following the emergence of online
share economy accommodation booking agencies:
A short stay area map that indicates the residential zones where certain forms of visitor
accommodation are acceptable (in areas situated near the Noosa River and near beaches).
Restriction of visitor accommodation in other residential areas, assuming a position that a B&B
with a resident host is much less likely to impact on nearby residents than a vacant house
available for holiday letting.
Separate definitions of dwelling house and short-term accommodation to those uses
respectively, enabling different rules to apply with regard to approval of these uses.
Party houses being defined as a specific form of holiday letting of a whole house. The Noosa
shire will be declared a party house restriction area, based on s276 of the Planning Act 2016. A
party house will be an impact assessable and inconsistent use in all zones and none will have
existing use rights.
7.2 Queensland Government
7.2.1 Task force
As outlined in section 6.1, the Queensland Government responded positively to lobbying for an
industry reference group and task force to share information and determine policy options for
managing the rapidly rising usage of short-term rental accommodations through share economy
platforms.
7.2.2 Potential creation of a local law for mandated property registers
In August 2018, the Director Strategic Policy for the Department of Local Government promised to
look into the creation of a model local law that would facilitate councils to establish registers of short-
term rental properties, and to implement penalties for non-compliance.
7.2.3 Possibility of Short-Term Letting ‘Code of Conduct’ and data sharing
In July 2018, immediately following the last Industry Reference Group meeting, Tourism Industry
Development Minister Kate Jones issued a media statement. That statement suggested that a code
of conduct for hosts and guests along with a limited number of ‘strikes and you’re out’ policy would
be central to Queensland’s response to short-term letting. The Minister also said the government
would look to introduce a system of data sharing in the short-term accommodation sector. ‘It’s
important for councils to be able to tell the difference between someone who is renting out their own
home and someone who’s running a business’, she said.
7.2.4 Assessing Party Houses
The State Development, Infrastructure and Planning (Red Tape Reduction) and Other Legislation
Amendment Act 2014 commenced on 1 October 2014, which included provisions for ‘party houses’
to be assessable development through:
Inclusion of a definition of a ‘party house’.
Provision for a planning scheme to declare that a ‘party house’ may be assessable development
and may also include a development assessment code.
For a ‘party house restriction area’ to be identified, which confirms that any residential dwelling
in that area does not, and never had the right to operate as a ‘party house’ as defined.
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For clarification, a party house is defined as a premises containing a dwelling that is used to provide,
for a fee, accommodation or facilities for guests if:
guests regularly use all or part of the premises for parties (bucks parties, hens parties, raves, or
wedding receptions, for example);
the accommodation or facilities are provided for a period of less than 10 days; and
the owner of the premises does not occupy the premises during that period.
In essence, the lawful development or use of a residential dwelling does not include the development
right to operate a party house, unless otherwise approved by local government. These provisions
only take effect if a local government applies the provisions through the planning scheme. Council
will declare the whole Shire a ‘‘party house restricted area’ within the draft new Noosa Planning
Scheme, in addition to the inclusion of restricted short stay areas. This is discussed in further detail
in section 6.1.
Notably, where a local government gives effect to these provisions then a ‘party house’ is a distinct
land use and cannot be considered to be short-term accommodation, holiday rental accommodation,
a reception room, a function facility or other land use separately defined in the planning scheme.
7.3 Airbnb
7.3.1 Financial support of host lawsuits
In 2018, Airbnb financially backed an Airbnb host in New York to file a lawsuit against New York City.
Whilst financially supporting the legal actions of Airbnb hosts in New York City is reflective of the
long-standing discord in this city, it does confirm that Airbnb will go much further than lobbying to
protect and support their hosts, revenue and business model.
7.3.2 Activation of targeted lobbying
Airbnb is actively lobbying in Queensland to minimise the establishment of regulation and data
sharing, through a website (https://www.airbnbcitizen.com/queensland/) and issuing
communications and emails to Airbnb hosts in Queensland.
Following is the content of an email sent to a Noosa-based Airbnb host in July 2018:
The Queensland Government is currently considering new rules for home sharing. We know
that our hosts want the right to responsibly and respectfully share their own home without
having to navigate onerous red tape, like restrictive caps or mandatory registration.
We also know that powerful special interests are trying to use their influence to restrict home
sharing. If they succeed, it will make home sharing and traveling harder and more expensive
for hosts and guests, while hurting the thousands of small businesses that rely on our
guests.
We encourage you to let the Premier and Tourism Minister know how important home
sharing is to you. We know from working with other cities around the world that your voice
makes the difference. Lawmakers are interested in hearing directly from the Airbnb
community.
Join Queensland hosts by sending a message directly to the Premier and Tourism Minister
about why you value home sharing and the benefits it brings you and your local community.
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7.3.3 Affiliation with other platforms
Airbnb is actively assisting and supporting hosts in aspects of tax compliance and safety. For
example, Airbnb and Quickbooks have partnered to help Queensland hosts’ taxation obligations and
management. The partnership offers a financial incentivisation for hosts to better manage their tax
obligations, with Quickbooks offering a 70% discount exclusively for hosts to acquire the Quickbooks
App.
7.4 Australian Tax Office
The ATO provides information on its website about the sharing economy and tax, advising that if
goods or services are provided through a sharing economy platform, such as Airbnb, it should be
considered how income tax, GST and any other tax may apply to the earnings. ATO clarifies that
when all or part of a residential house or unit is rented out through a shared economy website or
app, such as Stayz or Airbnb, that:
All records of income earned and declared in the income tax return should be kept,
All records of expenses claimed as deductions should be kept,
And there is no need to pay GST on amounts of residential rent earned.
There are different income tax and GST obligations if you are carrying on an enterprises renting
out commercial residential premises.
In August 2018 the ATO released a statement advising that they are launching an extensive data-
matching program to identify taxpayers receiving income from short term rentals, and that
information from online platform sharing sites for approximately 190,000 Australians will be
examined to identify taxpayers who have left out rental income and over-claimed deductions.
The statement acknowledged the growth in availability of short stay rentals due to online platform
providers, and clarified that the ATO will match data provided by online rental platforms and their
financial institutions against ATO records to identify taxpayers not meeting their registration,
reporting, lodgement, or payment obligations when renting out property on a short term basis. The
data collected will include income received per listing as well as listing dates, enquiry and booking
rates, price charged or quoted per night and other information.
8. Response, Recourse and Action – Noosa Council
This paper outlines a variety of actionable response opportunities for Council, underpinned by a
suggested set of guiding principles, outlined in section 9.1. Council’s response should have a strong
foundation in information and data gathering that is useable and meaningful, furthered by actions
that consider the legal, planning, social and economic aspects of this issue.
8.1 Administration and Management of Responsive Actions
The sections below outline a variety of potential responsive actions available to Council, with the
successful and effective implementation of such actions requiring appropriate resourcing to ensure
dedicated oversight, measurement of performance via key performance indicators and operational
tasks such as managing a register of short-term letting properties, enforcing any new local laws or
keeping up to date with technology changes.
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8.2 Establish Key Performance Indicators
In order to provide measurable and objective standards to track progress and implement change,
Council could consider the use of key performance indicators (KPI’s) to measure the performance
of any responsive actions implemented. Suggested KPI’s could include:
Housing affordability (using median house and unit prices and tracking month to month or year
to year changes),
Number of specific complaints received by Council’s Customer Service Branch; and
Availability and suitability of permanent rental stock (using number of houses/units tenanted,
weekly median rents and the proportion of permanently rented properties with one, two and three
bedrooms to measure suitability).
8.3 Monitoring, Registration and Information Collection
Without accurate data to understand the volume and scope of short-term rental accommodation in
Noosa, Council is currently hindered in its ability to achieve equity in the collection of the Tourism
and Economic Levy, measure and understand the quantity and diversity of short-term rental
accommodation being offered over time, and ensure compliance with planning and safety.
The following responsive actions area available to Council include:
Continue working with Bnbguard to obtain data, information and establish an effective and robust
monitoring system.
Ensure that all online sites are monitored, not just the main sites such as Airbnb, Stayz and
Tripadvisor, as forcing only one site to comply or register is likely move hosting to other sites. A
monitoring and registration system needs to span all sites, or will likely be ineffective.
Continue to lobby for a state-based mandatory registration scheme, to be administered by local
governments, forcing online accommodation letting platforms to divulge addresses.
Continue to lobby the Queensland Government to investigate the creation of a model local law
that would mandate the establishment registers of all short-term rental properties, and to
implement penalties for non-compliance.
Consider setting up a register of short-term rental properties beginning with known properties
and allowing an opt-in opportunity for other property owners willing to comply.
8.4 Legislative and Planning Responses
There are a number of legislative and planning responses that Council can potentially take to
address the issues and challenges arising from short-term rental platforms, some of which are
already underway and actioned.
8.4.1 Clarify PPR and Owner-Occupied
It will be prudent to develop and adopt a definition of Principal Place of Residence (PPR) for the
purposes of rateability and levying, as there are two aspects to owner occupied properties that are
assumed to be PPR’s. An owner occupier may rent out a room and remain present in the property.
Alternatively, a property may be vacated by the owner-occupiers for a period of time to allow short-
term letting while they are not present in the property. In both instances the property is a PPR,
however Council does not wish to levy properties in which the owner-occupier is present during
periods of short-term letting.
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Council could be guided by the definitional approaches taken by other local councils. For example,
in financial year 2018/19, Sunshine Coast Council introduced a definition of Principal Place of
Residence into their revenue statement, excerpted as follows:
A Principal Place of Residence is defined as a single dwelling house or dwelling unit that is
the place of residence at which at least one natural person who constitutes the owner/s of the
land predominantly resides, or a multi dwelling house or multi dwelling unit that is the place
of residence where at least one owner is a pensioner who complies with the eligibility criteria
contained in the Queensland Government’s Rate Subsidy Scheme resides. In establishing
principal place of residence Council may consider, but not be limited to, the owner’s declared
address for electoral, taxation, government social security or national health registration
purposes, or any other form of evidence deemed acceptable by the council.
Without limiting the above meaning the following cases do not comply with the definition of a
principal place of residence namely a single dwelling house or a single dwelling unit or a multi
dwelling house or a multi dwelling unit that is:
(a) not occupied by at least one person/s who constitutes the owner/s, but occupied by any
other person/s, whether in return for rent or remuneration or not, including members of the
owner’s family; or
(b) not occupied, whether permanently or temporarily (for more than 120 days of the financial
year), including for the purposes of renovation or redevelopment, except in the case
where;
i. place of residence for the purposes specified above and that the owner/s do not own
any other property which they claim to be their principal place of residence; and
ii. a property is vacant for a period longer than 120 continuous days of the financial
year due to the owner/s absence on an extended holiday, provided that the property
remains vacant for the entire period of their absence.
iii. a property is occupied by the owner/s less than 120 days of the financial year due
to the owner/s absence due to work commitments, provided that the absence is
confirmed by the employer and the property remains vacant or is occupied by
immediate family members only during the period of the owner’s absence.
iv. The owner is absent due to medical reasons of the owner or a close relative and this
is confirmed by a health professional.
(c) not owned by a natural person e.g. owned by a company, excepting where the ratepayer
residing at the property as their principal place of residence is the company owner.
(d) dual occupancy or a secondary dwelling on a single lot whether or not the properties are
attached, except where the dual occupancy or a secondary dwelling on a single lot is
owned by an approved pensioner in receipt of the Queensland Government Pensioner
Rate Subsidy.
(e) a property categorised as transitory accommodation.
8.4.2 Management of Party Houses
The Queensland State Government addressed the lawfulness of a residential dwelling being used
as a ‘party house’ through changes to the Sustainable Planning Act 2009, which were carried through
to the Planning Act 2016.
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From a land-use planning perspective, it was never envisaged that a residential dwelling would be used in such a way that the primary use of the premises is more consistent with an event venue rather than as residential accommodation 13. To date the use of premises for parties (party houses) by short-term rental properties has not been assessable development. Changes to the suite of planning legislation in 2014 has enabled Council to include a provision in the new Noosa Planning Scheme to define a ‘party house’. This declares that a ‘party house’ is impact and inconsistent development and also puts in place a ‘party house restriction area’ across the Shire through the planning scheme confirming that any residential dwelling within that area does not have the right to operate as a party house. Once the New Noosa Plan is in place, Council will be able to take action towards specific party houses, using information obtained through specific complaints and other sources to identify offending properties. 8.4.3 Planning requirements for Short-Term Holiday Rentals Council’s new planning scheme will clearly define short term accommodation and identify locations where short term rentals will be permitted, ensuring that there are options and mechanism to assess and regulate this planning change in the future. Council’s new planning scheme proposes to adopt two distinct land use definitions of “dwelling house” and “short-term accommodation” from the Planning Regulation 2017. These uses are not interchangeable and it would require a Material Change of Use to change from one to the other. Property owners seeking to short term rent properties in areas where the use is not accepted will be required to obtain planning approval through a material change of use development application. 8.4.4 Capping Accommodation Bookings and Availability Throughout Australia and internally, governments and councils are establishing rules and parameters allowing a maximum amount of short term accommodation booking days per year for a property. However, it is becoming apparent that this approach as a mechanism to reduce the incidence of short term holiday renting is ineffective, as it is currently relatively easy for hosts to remove an online listing and then create a new one on the same site or even another site. Further, as online sites currently do not state how many days are booked, hosts can state that a property wasn’t available, when it was actually booked and only visually looks like it is unavailable. An alternate and more effective approach may be to allow hosts a maximum number of days of availability for a property, as this can then be tracked independently across a number of online sites. There could be further differentiation for short term renting where the property owner remains at the property (i.e. single room rentals). Monitoring would still be required to ensure compliance, as a host could potentially argue that a property is only listed as available for the maximum allowable time, whilst the other periods of non- availability are actually booked periods. 8.4.5 Local Laws Other more traditional short-term accommodation providers such as hotels and motels are subject to regulatory and legislative standards and obligations in relation to aspects such as fire safety, pool safety and accessibility for disabled visitors. As the utilisation of online booking platform proliferates, it has become apparent that the existing regulatory and legislative framework is not keeping pace with the short term holiday online accommodation phenomenon. It is reasonable that an appropriate framework of standard and regulation should apply to properties being operated for commercial gain. Short Term Accommodation - Online Platform Response Issues Paper Page 35
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In Queensland, local governments are able to make and enforce local laws, suitable to their needs
and resources, to achieve specific purposes. The use of local laws is empowered by the Local
Government Act 2009, which also limits the powers of local government to make certain local laws.
As discussed in Section 6, several other local governments within Australia are utilising local laws
as statutory instruments to achieve better regulation, compliance and tailored control of short term
holiday accommodation within their regions.
An effective action for Council to achieve compliance and regulation may be the creation and
implementation of a tailored local law to address property registration, public residential amenity
issues such as rubbish management, smoke alarm compliance, pool safety compliance and
collection and parking of vehicles on roads and off-street parking areas. A further action may be a
local law that requires hosts to conduct regular safety inspections of their homes.
This can be achieved by Council independently drafting a local law, in accordance guidelines issued
by the Queensland Parliamentary Council under the Legislative Standards Act 1992. Council would
be required to:
consult directly with the state in checking state interests in relation to proposed local laws,
review proposed local laws for anti-competitive provisions,
make local laws by resolution of council, and
notify the public and the Minister for Local Government of any new local laws and make copies
available for inspection or purchase
A pathway to develop a new local law to address short term rental accommodation within the shire
is for the Queensland Government to prepare a model local law. A model local law is a law approved
by the Minister for Local Government that is suitable for adoption for local governments throughout
Queensland.
8.4.6 Review Process – Legality and Enforceability
It may be prudent for Council to consider the longer term administrative, structure and resourcing
enforceability of any legislation, monitoring, registration and local laws put in place, to ensure that
any responsive actions are executed to achieve the desired outcome and fulfil the guiding principles.
8.5 Social Responsive Actions
Council’s social response should target the erosion of social capital and residential amenity resulting
from overtourism and tourism gentrification, acknowledging that there are limitations to growth, and
establishing a position regarding the prioritisation of resident welfare above the tourism growth.
Levels of visitation should fit within a destination’s capacity, and this should be reflected within
Council’s response. There are a range of effective and actionable responses for Council, outlined as
follows.
8.5.1 Development of Hosting Guidance Materials
Whilst accommodation share-economy platforms provide some guidance for hosts on development
rules for their guests that are considerate of neighbour amenity, there is scope for the guidance to
be expanded with Council driven material that seeks for consistent and appropriate setting of house
rules.
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Potentially, a broad approach could be taken, whereby information is prepared by the LGAQ, the
representative local government association in Queensland. Further, the information could be
endorsed by Airbnb, then made available to disseminate to customers, ensuring that communication
and liaison with communities across those impacted Queensland communities is consistent and
standardised.
8.5.2 Complaint Mechanisms
Whilst the incidence of party houses and disruption to residential liveability will be addressed from a
planning perspective by the changes within the new Noosa Planning Scheme, there is still some
merit in proactively advising residents of the best course of action to deal with poor behaviour and
amenity issues, including:
Reporting of excessive noise to police, giving the police an avenue to give the person responsible
for the noise (including the host) a noise abatement direction, which directs the person to
immediately stop the excessive noise and to cease making ‘any’ excessive noise for 96 hours
after the direction is given.
Leveraging the self-regulation of amenity that arises on share economy platforms due to the
heavy reliance on reputational reviews of hosts and guests. There are also mechanisms for
affected neighbours to make complaints directly to the share economy platform.
8.6 Economic Response Actions
Consider an enforceable licensing system incorporated into a mandated registration process,
whereby anyone hosting short stays is required to pay a licensing fee to fund compliance
activities. Registration compliance can be achieved by requiring licence numbers to be shown
on all short-term rental advertisements.
Financially disincentivise unallowable short stay letting by penalising (e.g. fines). The fines need
to be a value that outweighs the potential or actual income derived from short-term letting a
property.
Hold property owners liable and financially accountable for party guests disrupting residential
amenity or cause damage to public residential areas. This may also indirectly encourage hosts
to outline clear rules for guests in relation to what is allowed (i.e. no parties, noise time limits etc.)
9. Guiding Principles
The prevalence and popularity of home owners offering short-term rental accommodation through
online platforms such as Airbnb are having negative impacts that are a major concern for many
councils. As a high-volume tourist destination that economically relies on tourism growth and
sustainability, Noosa is particularly vulnerable to the consequences and impacts of rapidly rising
holiday letting through these platforms.
It is acknowledged that the region’s tourism industry and economy has benefited from the positive
impact of online accommodation share economy sites, however the Noosa shire is also experiencing
adverse consequences including key indicators of over tourism, pockets of tourism gentrification,
loss of residential liveability, reduced permanent rental and housing affordability, and longer term
risks such as damage to the shire’s tourism reputation.
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Section 40
The rise in popularity of sites such as Airbnb in recent years has been rapid, with most local and
state governments in Australia now effectively playing catch up. As a result, Council is now working
to develop and implement an effective, comprehensive, outcome-based and targeted response and
action plan. It is imperative to address the issue with a balanced consideration for the technological
and shared economy transformation taking place in society, having appropriate regard for the local
community, residents and existing business operators, particularly those within the tourism industry
and other accommodation providers.
Whilst it can be easy to get caught up in the complexities of the issues, examining the responses of
governments and councils elsewhere and attempting to placate a variety of stakeholders with varying
vested interests and goals, it is critical that Council creates and implements actions that are
appropriate for this shire.
Council is committed to ensuring that actions and approaches taken to address the prevalence of
rising short-term online rental accommodation occur with a balanced consideration of intervention
and sustainable growth facilitation. Figure 2 presents the suggested guiding principles for Council.
Figure 2. Guiding Principles – Response, Recourse and Action
Guiding Principles
Achieve transparency To limit the impact on, Support the safety and Support innovation and
across the and protect the security of guests, sustainable growth in
accommodation share region’s residential hosts and their the Noosa tourism
economy liveability neighbours liveability industry
Short Term Accommodation - Online Platform Response Issues Paper Page 38
Section 41
10. References
1
“Planning implications of short term home rentals” Kaylene Perissinotto, Senior Associate, Leanne
Bowie Lawyers, May 2018
2
www.airbnb.com.au
3
Courier Mail “AirBnb boss calls for certainty as tourism sector attempts to limit growth of service”
16 November 2017
4 Deloittes Access Economics “Economic effects of Airbnb in Australia” 2017
5
Department of Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning, “A snapshot of the Planning Act
2016”, July 2016
7
Nigel Hales, Partner, Miller Harris Lawyers, “Strata and Holiday Letting – a word of caution about
the game changer”, 5 February 2018
8
Tourism Strategy Noosa 2017-2022
9
The Conversation, “Overtourism: a growing global problem”, 18 July 2018
10
Augustin Cocola Grant, “Tourism and commercial gentrification”, 27 August 2015
11
Pete Harrison, “What I Think Every Time I see an Airbnb Renter in My Neighbourhood”,28 July
2016
11a
Bell, K. 2000, Urban Amenity Indicators: The Liveability of Our Urban Environments,
Environmental Performance Indicators, Technical Paper No.63 Urban Amenity, report prepared by
EnviroSolutions NZ Ltd and Glasson Potts Group Ltd for the Ministry of the Environment.
12
Property Council of Australia, “Short-Term Letting ‘Code of Conduct’ Floated, 12 July 2018
13
Department of Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning, Regulating party houses – fact
sheet, July 2015
14
Lucid Economics, Noosa Economic Profile 2017 Update, February 2018
15
VisitNoosa, “About Tourism Noosa”
16
Nicole Gurran’s report.
17
Byron Shire Council, Council report, 2 August 2018
18
Sarah Farnsworth, “Airbnb in Australia: Entire homes, commercial listings ‘surge’ amid growing
concerns” ABC News 24 February 2018
19
Gurran, Nicole et. Al. “Planning responses to online short-term holiday rental platforms” Research
Project for Australian Coastal Councils Association, Sept 2018.
20
Laura Cromelin et. al. “Technological disruption in private housing markets: the case of Airbnb” for
the Australian Housing & Urban Research Institute, November 2018
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Section 42
Document Control
Version v1 21/08/2018 RB
v2 14/09/2018 RB
v3 18/10/2018 RB, MS
v4 22/11/2018 RB, MS, TW
v5 17/12/18 RB, TW
V6 31/01/2018 MS, KR
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