Tuesday 12 June 2018

Our community campaign got the government to give owners’ corporations the power to ban holiday lets for lots that are not the “principal place of residence” of the host, but this very limited power will do little to stop buildings turning into quasi hotels.

It is unclear how principal place of residence will be determined, and there are no controls to stop buildings being overrun, to help owners corporations recoup increased costs from hosts or enforcement mechanisms. There will be an express prohibition on by-laws that control or limit short term renting for lots that are the host’s principal place of residence. Please continue to collect signatures on my petition calling for strata controls on short term letting, HERE.  

A planning instrument on short term letting will be released to specify that a breach of a residential zone will only occur if a home is let on a short term basis for more than 180 days a year – 180 days represents so much of the year the limit will be difficult to enforce. Six month leases could become common with tenants evicted over summer to make space for more profitable holiday lets.

London, San Francisco, New Orleans and Reykjavik use 90 days and Paris, which used 120 days, has had to introduce a registration system because its limit was being flouted. Problems in New York and Berlin have led to near outright short term let bans. The government has failed to look at international models to create a sustainable, workable system that protects communities and I’ll work with the minister and opposition to improve the scheme. The government plan is HERE.

My media release is HERE.