Residents of Manly and other areas of Brisbane are being encouraged to dob in properties that they believe are being used as short-term accommodation.
This comes after Council recently introduced a new rating category that charges property owners who are renting out properties through short-stay platforms with 50 per cent higher rates.
In early October 2022, Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner announced that residents will receive a letter along with their next rates bill, asking them to provide information on residential properties that are being rented out through platforms such as Airbnb, Bookings.com, and Stayz.
Manly and Wynnum, both popular bayside destinations, have a number of properties listed on such platforms. Those who own short-term rentals are likewise encouraged to voluntarily register their property on the Council website.
Cr Schrinner said that Brisbane is currently experiencing a severe housing shortage due to the scarcity of new homes being built to answer the rising demand and he hopes that the new rating category, which was introduced beginning 1 July 2022, will convince owners to return their properties to the long-term rental market.
Council will also be utilising online technology to sift through the listing sites’ inventory of properties and identify those that have been made available on the short-term accommodation market for more than 60 days a year.
The 50 per cent rate increase would mean that for an average short-term rental, the property owner will pay about $985 additional per year. However, owner-occupiers who rent out a spare room for short-term accommodation are excluded from the new rating category.
Moreover, Cr Schrinner said that the popularity of these short-term accommodation platforms has created problems for residents living next to the short-stay properties whilst the owners are reaping commercial returns for renting their property out. And so it’s “only fair,” he said, that they are charged with a commercial level of rates.
AirDNA data shows that there were 22 active short-term rentals in Manly for Q3 of 2022 from 16 in the previous period. Eighty-eight per cent of listed properties were on Airbnb whilst the rest are either listed on Vrbo or both.