15 February 2024

Short term rental review welcomed

Councils have welcomed the Government’s decision to review the short-term rental accommodation industry.

President of Local Government NSW Cr Darriea Turley AM said councils had been seeking changes to the regulations governing the industry for a number of years and today’s announcement was a step in the right direction.

“LGNSW welcomes the review and looks forward to direct engagement on behalf of our members on this critically important issue,” Cr Turley said.

“Councils want to have the ability to respond flexibly in this area to balance housing needs as well as the local visitor economy.

The review will also consider policy options to incentivise the use of vacant property and holiday homes for long-term residency.

Cr Turley said an outcome of the review needed to be returning more of the existing housing stock to the long-term rental market.

“We think this will be the fastest way to provide immediate relief to housing pressures,” she said.

Councils have long called for better tools to manage the impacts of short-term rental accommodation platforms on the availability of long-term rental housing.

Most recently, councils resolved at the 2023 LGNSW Annual Conference in November to call for local government to have the ability to respond flexibly in this area.

Last September the State Government took a decision to allow Byron Shire to impose a 60-day cap on short term rentals, down from 180 days.

Cr Turley said the move was made to address the acute housing crisis in the shire.

“Other local government areas in NSW have the same issues as Byron and it’s our hope that this review will facilitate a range of solutions being implemented,” Cr Turley said.

Cr Turley is encouraging people in the local government sector to go to the discussion paper and online survey at the NSW Planning Portal to have their say.

The consultation period will go for four weeks, ending on March 14.

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