Airbnb seeks nationwide rules
Airbnb is pushing for national regulations covering short-term rental accommodation in New Zealand as more local authorities look to crack down on the sector.
It has support from Bookabach, which is also keen to avoid a situation where different councils impose different rules.
The two peer-to-peer accommodation providers, with more than 60,000 listings between them, want a national database of all hosts in order to help with enforcement and to ensure properties repeatedly hosting rowdy guests are blacklisted.
Airbnb’s head of public policy for New Zealand, Derek Nolan, has met with government officials, Local Government New Zealand, metropolitan mayors and tourism bodies to put the case for a national approach to regulation, and is seeking to set up a working group on the issue.
He said much of the finer detail still had to be worked through, such as who would handle enforcement of any regulations and how to pay for it.
Under the Airbnb proposal, hosts accommodating guests in their own homes would not need planning permission. Nor would they have to meet the kind of fire safety and other standards expected of motels, B & Bs and hotels because, Nolan said, most Airbnb hosts were letting out a spare room in their family home.
‘‘We think if it is considered safe for a family to live in, if it is considered safe to have your cousins to stay for the weekend, it should be safe for someone to stay in your home for an evening without have to get special dispensation.’’
He said a national code of conduct would mean hosts whose guests regularly upset the neighbourhood with their behaviour could be banned from the industry and could not simply shift to another platform.
Bookabach and corporate affairs director Eacham Curry agreed central government needed to set the rules.
‘‘[Otherwise] we fear bach owners will be left stranded to deal with the vagaries of local government boundaries and an increasing number of councils changing rules on a whim. Bookabach advocates for national regulation that contains a simple registration scheme for all shortterm rental listings, a code of conduct that is backed by a strikesbased disciplinary regime, and an industry body to adjudicate compliance with the code.’’
The call comes as more councils look at ways to regulate short-term rentals.
Christchurch City Council has sought feedback on measures that could include restricting areas where whole-house rentals were permitted, or limiting the number of days a house could be listed for. The number of short-terms lets in the Banks Peninsula area has gone from 114 to over 2100 in three years.