Short-stay review fails to impress

Short-stay businesses ignore rules as Government accused of ‘tinkering’ amid rental crisis

THE State Government has tightened regulations around short-stay accommodation — rules that are being mostly ignored and seldom enforced.

Housing Minister Roger Jaensch, right, said there would be a crackdown on short-stays, but new research shows just a quarter of operators have bothered to get proper permits.

THE State Government has been accused of simply tinkering around the edges of Tasmania’s short-stay accommodation rules in the midst of a housing crisis, while the University of Tasmania indicates compliance with current regulations appears extremely low.

The Tasmanian Planning Commission has reviewed rules surrounding the state’s short-stay accommodation market, and recommended some minor changes, such as reverting to the prohibition of self-contained visitor accommodation in Battery Point and Wapping, introducing further controls on visitor accommodation in strata schemes, and reducing the floor area of properties permitted to offer short-stay accommodation to 200m2 from 300m2.

It is understood the changes to Battery Point visitor accommodation will not be retrospective for properties with a valid permit.

The Government says it will begin implementing the changes.

The commission also found the conversion of housing stock to short-term visitor accommodation was impacting the availability and affordability of long-term rental properties, but it was outside the scope of the commission’s review.

“It is evident that the visitor accommodation reforms are a factor in the affordable housing issues faced by some Tasmanian communities, and the matter needs further consideration,” the report said.

The commission is the latest stakeholder to call on the Government to reconsider short-stay accommodation regulations.

University of Tasmania’s Richard Eccleston said research indicated only about a quarter of entire properties in greater Hobart offered on Airbnb were approved under the Government’s new planning scheme, despite Housing Minister Roger Jaensch saying compliance with regulations was “critical” for the system to work.

“I think the Government was right to embrace the sharing economy, but we need to get the balance right. Governments right around the world are introducing smart regulations to get the balance right,” Professor Eccleston said.

“Given the housing situation in Hobart in particular that needs to happen sooner rather than later.”

Professor Eccleston has suggested a cap on the total number of permits that should be issued in inner Hobart to help curb the impact of shortterm rentals, rather than a measure such as capping the maximum number of nights a property can be offered for, as is being pursued by the NSW Government in Sydney.

Tourism Industry Council of Tasmania chief executive Luke Martin said the current regulation model was “obviously dysfunctional”, with only about 60 permits issued by the Hobart City Council so far despite data showing the number of entire homes being offered in the Hobart local government area has risen by 167 per cent to 876.

Mr Martin said the changes announced yesterday would just make the situation more complicated.

“They’re tinkering at the edges, but I do think we need an independent look at what’s the best public policy and planning response to this issue,” Mr Martin said.

“I think it’s bemusing and bizarre that they’ve zeroed in on Battery Point … well you could make the same argument apply for Bruny Island, Binalong Bay, Spring Beach and every other community across the East Coast and around Tasmania that’s grappling with these challenges.”

That sentiment was echoed by TasCOSS chief executive Kym Goodes.

“This is an inequity that means that one community — a community that has the means and capability to object — are responded to. Meanwhile other parts of Tasmania and other Tasmanian’s needs are ignored,” Ms Goodes said.

Shelter Tasmania’s Pattie Chugg said she believed the review was too narrow,and did not assess the impact of shortterm visitor accommodation on the affordability and availability of rental housing.

Labor Housing spokesman Josh Willie said the changes did not go far enough to address the housing crisis, labelling the announcement a “missed opportunity”.

Greens leader Cassy O’Connor said the changes would do nothing to improve the shortage of rental accommodation.

Mr Jaensch said the Government believed current regulations delivered a contemporary, pragmatic and balanced approach.

Airbnb was contacted for comment.