2021-12-13 GC Agenda - Item 8 -Attachment 1 - Housing Needs Assessment

7.4.7           Short-term accommodation
Short-term accommodation is a defined use under Noosa Plan 2020 but was not previously defined
under the former Noosa Plan 2006. It means the use of premises for providing accommodation of
less than 3 consecutive months to tourists or travellers, but specifically does not include a hotel,
nature-based tourism, resort complex or tourist park. Examples of this use include backpacker
hostels, motels, or the short-term letting of a house, duplex, or multiple dwelling to visitors.
A domestic, class 1 building or one individual unit within a complex being used as short-term
accommodation is particularly important, as the property is not being used for permanent occupancy
as a dwelling house, dual occupancy or multiple dwelling and home to one or more individuals who
live in the dwelling on a long-term basis.
Prior to Noosa Plan 2020, Noosa’s former planning schemes protected visitor only accommodation
sites and allowed for visitor accommodation within its residential zones, consequently failing to
protect residential zones from visitor accommodation.
As a result, Noosa has had a history of some dwellings being interchangeably used as a permanent
place of residence or visitor accommodation. Prior to the Noosa Plan 2006, (the 1985 Planning
Scheme), dwellings constructed or approved as either a “duplex dwelling” or “multiple dwelling” had
approval to be used for either short-term visitor accommodation or permanent residential living,
unless the conditions of approval specifically said otherwise. This has meant that occupancy by
visitors or residents has changed over time based on market conditions at the time.
Most unit blocks in Noosa Shire pre-date 2006 and have existing use rights to continue use as either
short-term accommodation or permanent living without further planning approval.
In addition, prior to Noosa Plan 2020, a detached house could also be used for short-term
accommodation without planning approval and at least 800 of which may have existing use rights to
continue to be used for short-term accommodation.
Implications of short-term accommodation
The interchangeable use of pre 2006 units and pre Noosa Plan 2020 detached houses for short-
term accommodation was historically not of great concern as the “holiday houses” were few and
dispersed or the units were located in tourist dominated precincts or resorts. However, with the rise
in online booking platforms, such as Airbnb, Stayz and booking.com, the number of dwellings,
particularly detached houses and self-contained studios/granny flats, being used as short-term
accommodation has risen and crept into traditional permanent residential neighbourhoods. There
are for example 50 AirBnB listings of entire places (implying self-contained) within Tewantin and over
100 in the portion of Sunrise Beach to the west of David Low Way.
Conversely, low supply of traditional permanent unit blocks has increased demand for permanent
living within resorts or other tourist accommodation precincts.
In addition, many residents are using secondary dwellings, granny flats and other self-contained
dwellings meant for permanent occupancy for short-term accommodation, both hosted and
unhosted.
This has resulted in a number of issues including:
▪    short-term accommodation providing a higher return on investment leading to loss of housing
     stock for permanent rental occupation
▪    increased housing prices with greater competition of limited stock for permanent purchase
▪    creep of short-term accommodation uses into permanent residential areas causing issues
     around residential amenity, health and wellbeing impacts on permanent residents
▪    reduced permanent residents in some locations and streets reducing a sense of community,
     feeling of safety and security
▪    conflict between permanent residents and visitors etc



Noosa Housing Needs Assessment 2021                                                           Page 64