Byron restricts Airbnb

Council demands approval for short-term rentals

BYRON Airbnb operators must obtain council approval to list their property on the site or face fines of up to $6000 under new measures to curb the cost of housing in the shire.

Council this week announced it would fine residents found to be using secondary dwellings for shortterm holiday letting without council approval.

Byron Shire Mayor Simon Richardson said council would issue the fines in a bid to control the cost of housing.

“Due to Byron Shire’s popularity as a tourist destination many people now see shortterm holiday letting as their opportunity to make money on their property from tourism and in some cases this can come at a cost to the community,” Cr Richardson said.

The new laws, announced by the council on Friday, mean owners will have to secure approval to use their properties for tourism purposes or risk a $3000 fine for an individual and $6000 for a company.

In 2011, the Byron Shire Council exempted certain secondary dwellings from development fees if they provided a home for permanent residents.

However council has since discovered that many of these dwellings are being rented out to tourists, not residents.

Cr Richardson now claims 17.6 per cent of total housing stock in the Byron Shire is listed online for holiday rental.

The national rate sits at just 0.2 per cent and Sydney sits at 1.7 per cent.

“There are hundreds of approved tourism accommodation providers in the Byron Shire who do the right thing with respect to approvals, safety and compliance,” Cr Richardson said. “Something needs to be done to protect our community’s right to residential areas that are filled with neighbours not tourists.”

Byron Shire Council is also lobbying the NSW Government for a deferral from the new statewide planning policy, or for inclusion of local powers.

Airbnb has slammed the “heavy-handed” new policy.

“It is disappointing that Byron Shire Council continues to try and malign home sharing and the immense benefits it brings,” Airbnb’s public affairs manager for Australia and New Zealand Julian Crowley said.

Mike Murray, a Gold Coast unit owner and representative of Strata Owners Speak Out, said other councils should follow the lead of Byron shire.

“Short-term rentals immediately remove dwellings from the market, so of course that puts up the prices,” he said.

In Queensland it is an offence to rent out a residential property without approval.

Those caught face a maximum fine of $567,675.

On the Gold Coast, owners who reside in a zone that does not permit short-term accommodation need to apply to the Gold Coast City Council for a Material Change of Use development approval.

The cost is more than $8000, with no guarantee of approval.