FEES FOR BEDS
CALL FOR $500 SLUG ON AIRBNB HOMES
LOCAL councils should be given the power to introduce $500 permit fees and to impose limits on the number of nights per year on short-stay accommodation within their municipalities, say housing experts.
The measures have been suggested by the University of Tasmania’s Insti- tute for the Study of Social Change in a report released today. Its Tasmanian Housing Update urges action to free up housing where rental markets are very tight. The report outlines a 205 per cent increase in Airbnb listings in the greater Hobart area since 2016.
TASMANIAN councils should be given more power to clamp down on the short-stay accommodation sector if it limits housing options for residents, the University of Tasmania’s social think tank says.
The Institute for the Study of Social Change says councils could then enforce discretionary action, such as charging $500 permit fees and putting a pause on new permits in areas with a tight rental market.
The Tasmanian Housing Update also recommends changes to limit short-term rental accommodation availability for owner-occupied listings to 60 or 90 days a year.
Report co-author Dr Julia Verdouw said the sector was becoming more commercialised.
“As the short-stay accommodation sector matures, a higher percentage of homes are being listed by professional hosts. That is, the platform is becoming less about sharing, and more about operating multiple commercial properties, especially in Hobart,” Dr Verdouw said.
“The risk is that more longterm residential housing stock will be converted to short-stay accommodation.”
Data points to noncompliance in the sector with Hobart City Council issuing 87 permits since July last year, but almost 170 Airbnb listings in the city found on the internet.
Dr Verdouw said the State Government needed to develop a database to better understand and monitor the sector.
The number of entire properties leased as Airbnb has grown by 205 per cent in Greater Hobart and 268 per cent in the Hobart City Council area in the past two years.
The sector is also limiting the availability of rental houses in tourist towns such as St Helens.
The Local Government Association of Tasmania said it had long espoused the need to differentiate between the true sharing economy — based on principle place of residence as compared to a new business model for accommodation.
“Councils need more ability to regulate these businesses appropriately to balance the economic and tourism needs with local liveability, amenity and service considerations,,” LGAT chief Katrena Stephenson said.
“What this means in planning terms is that the shortterm rental of one’s principal place of residence [a single room in a home or the entire property] should be exempt from requiring planning approval.
“For any secondary dwelling / investment property [strata or detached dwelling] shortstay visitor accommodation should be a discretionary or prohibited use, depending on local circumstances and as determined by the relevant council.
“For this to work effectively, councils will require access to a statewide comprehensive data collection and analysis program. Without it, every decision made is guess work.”
The Government announced earlier this month it would introduce legislation to address poor compliance with existing planning provisions across the short-stay accommodation sector.
The institute wants the Government to build on that “commendable” initiative and provide a clear directive that all properties converted to visitor accommodation by non owner-occupiers require a permit, regardless of when the change of use took place.
Report co-author, demographer Lisa Denny, said a shift in population drivers had impacted the housing market.
“Not only are there more people arriving in Tasmania, the churn of movements in and out of the state impacts housing demand and supply, with those leaving, particularly young people leaving the family home, not necessarily freeing up housing for those arriving in Tasmania,” Dr Denny said.
Minister for Human Services Roger Jaensch said the Government was responding to concerns regarding shortterm rental market compliance and planned to introduce legislation by the end of the year.
He said the Government would progress initiatives aimed to lift housing stock, and provide tourism and university accommodation.
A FEW days after the March state election Premier Will Hodgman acknowledged the growing number of Tasmanians struggling to find affordable housing.
Five months have now passed and we’ve seen a housing summit, the appointment of a new housing minister and a range of new policies.
There are few quick fixes, with most of the evidence suggesting better housing outcomes can only be achieved by a sustained and co-ordinated policy response.
But, despite it being a long game, it is important to take stock of what has been achieved and what else needs to be done. Today we at the Institute for the Study of Social Change at the University of Tasmania have released a Tasmanian Housing Update, which finds that the housing market (and Hobart’s in particular) remains strong despite evidence that the rate of price growth is slowing.
This is good news for homeowners and investors, but is a real concern for Tasmanians in the private rental market.
As leases are renewed, thousands of households in Hobart’s private rental market could be paying an extra $5000 a year in rent relative to a couple of years ago, with major impacts on household budgets and the wider economy. A number of factors have contributed to the crisis in Hobart’s rental market.
The way in which our population is growing, driven by migration rather than natural increase, is particularly housing intensive and varies significantly between regions.
Increased migration and population growth is good for both our community and economy, but it is clear that we need to do much better when it comes to planning our future housing needs.
Our latest analysis of the impact of the short-stay accommodation sector on Tasmania’s rental market finds that since February the number of Airbnb listings has continued to increase.
With little sign of demand for short-stay accommodation waning, we believe the time has come for more focused and effective regulation, especially in inner Hobart where we conservatively estimate that 430 homes have been lost from long-term residential supply.
In particular, the research into the sector led by my colleague, university housing researcher Dr Julia Verdouw, has found the “sharing economy” is becoming less about sharing, and more about operating multiple commercial properties, especially in Hobart.
Those Airbnb listings most likely to indicate commercial activity (including when the host operates two or more
Hundreds of houses used for Airbnb are being lost from residential supply, writes Richard Eccleston
Airbnb properties and when entire properties have high availability) are at an all-time high across Tasmania, with such activity concentrated in greater Hobart.
To quote Julia, “The risk is that more long-term residential housing stock will be converted to short-stay accommodation”, as demand for this style of accommodation in Hobart shows no sign of waning.
This pattern is now familiar around the world.
Governments that initially embraced peer-to-peer businesses are now introducing regulations to strike a better balance between the interests of the short-stay accommodation sector and the housing needs of the wider community.
The Hodgman Government should be congratulated for making tentative steps in this direction but needs to go further by enabling local government to develop community-specific approaches to short-stay regulation. We also assess the Affordable Housing Strategy and find that while it has delivered approximately 500 new homes since 2015, the social housing system remains under pressure.
While the waiting list for social and community housing has been stable at about 3000 over the past two years, the wait time for priority applicants has increased from less than 40 weeks to more than 60 weeks. Overall, despite a concerted response to the housing crisis, many significant challenges remain.
Improving the supply of affordable and suitable homes to meet our long-term housing needs will require a concerted effort and a good deal more planning and investment than has occurred in the past. Above all, implementing effective strategies to address our housing challenges will require leadership and a willingness to take political risks.