Story by ABC News.
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WITH MORE visitors to NSW using accommodation services like Airbnb and Stayz, the State Government has proposed a regulation crackdown claiming the rise in guests disrupts traffic, threatens neighbours’ safety and puts pressure on shared strata facilities.
The NSW Government yesterday July 21 released a public paper outlining options for regulating short-term holiday letting across the state, intending to take over what is currently an ad-hoc process from council to council.
Short-term letters will have to acquire a license and pay a levy to cover the costs of providing extra security and maintaining shared amenities used by their guests, under the new changes.
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The Government may also impose a time limit on letters, as in New York where it is illegal to advertise an entire unoccupied apartment for more than 30 days.
Airbnb is slowly becoming a leader for visitor accommodation, with about 42,000 listings in NSW.
Planning and Housing Minister Anthony Roberts said a framework is needed to address the concerns of building owners and disrupted neighbours.
“This is about getting the balance right to ensure that neighbours have certain rights and protections as well as providing for those people that choose to rent out their accommodation for a short period of time,” he said.
The NSW Government proposed handing over more power to the state civil and administrative tribunal (NCAT) and owners corporations to resolve disputes.
Over the next three months, the proposed changes will be open to public and industry consultation while the Government develops a framework to control the short-term rental industry.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE STATE GOVERNMENT’S PROPOSAL & HAVE YOUR SAY
How will the Great New Tax be used? Will state governments just roll this into consolidated revenue (likely) to show how they are ‘balancing’ the budget? There already exists strong consumer, community and landlord regulations that every Licensed Real Estate Agent needs to comply with – use the existing framework!
One Real Estate Agency dedicated to short term rentals in #EmeraldandAqua – why re-invent the wheel, development of sensible controls could see a continued boost to the local economies within existing regulatory environment