Story by Billy Nicholls
SHORT-TERM accommodation sharing, facilitated by sites like Airbnb and Stayz, is a highly contentious issue on the North Coast following the recent Parliamentary inquiry’s recommendations.
It was recommended that short-term accommodation sharing should be legal across the state with just one universal set of regulations, a proposal that is being widely disputed as tensions reach boiling point in the region’s biggest tourist town.
Founder of Victims Of Holiday Letting (VOHL) Doug Luke is on the front line of what he calls the ‘battle’ against holiday letting in Byron Bay and the collateral damage of the war has been destroyed relationships with neighbours in his strata.
He claims that others in Victims Of Holiday Letting have had “disturbing experiences” that left them afraid of speaking out and even forced them to move.
“We’ve had cases where people have complained and the owner has got in touch with the people in the holiday let, and when those people have left they’ve abused the neighbours for complaining about their unreasonable behaviour,” Mr Luke said.
“We’ve had people who have had a holiday let next door who have been forced to sell because of people disturbing them day or night.”
I Believe that people should not be able to Holiday let unless the live within a 1 kilo meter distance from the Holiday property and all neighbours should have a phone number to contact the owner when necessary I am surrounded by Holiday lets that are owned by Brisbane Families that have only interests in making money out of there investment, all of the examples you have mentioned I have experienced and i have also experienced abuse from the Home owners…. NOT ON…