On this day last year the NSW Parliament debated changes to legislation, which would permit across the State short-term (as short as an hour) tourist/visitor rentals of residential dwellings. Section 137A was slipped into the NSW Strata Schemes Management Act on 18 August 2018. The legal jargon is florid; brief, Section 137A states a by-law in Strata could prevent holiday rentals if 75% of owners agree to implement the by-law and only if the apartment/s (residential lot/s) i

Airbnb recently sold common stock at a US$35 billion valuation. On 05 June 2019, Airbnb visited NSW Minister for Tourism Stuart Ayres in his parliamentary office. Ten days later Airbnb announced a Country Pub competition, “run in partnership with the NSW government” across all States including Tasmania, where residents are under severe housing stress. Minister Ayres joined Airbnb’s Brent Thomas in launching the project in Airbnb’s “most penetrated market in the world” (The

The Tasmanian Tenants Union, and the University of Tasmania, know too well the contribution Airbnb and other short-term rental platforms are having in regards to a crisis in housing. Strong growth in Tasmanian tourism has resulted in the sector expanding by 162% in the two years to June 2018, with almost 5,000 properties now listed on Airbnb alone. The UK Timesis reporting that one in ten central Edinburgh homes is listed on the Airbnb platform, with many other platforms als

A Gold Coast ‘party house’ is “ruining short-stay’s name”, claims the Australian Short-Term Rental Accommodation Association (ASTRA). The ASTRA spokesperson argues, “short stay hosts should be subject to the kind of legislation traditional providers are bound by”. At the same time, ASTRA is pushing for the unlimited use of residential dwellings as uncertified, unstaffed holiday rentals. Coupled with this, the real story should be the number of homes ASTRA Directors have co

The NSW Shire of Tweed is located within shouting distance of and suffers the overflow from the Gold Coast’s Airbnb contagion. The Tweed Daily News reports (24/05/19) the promotion of State MP Geoff Provest to Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism and Major Events. Provest – “Airbnb and Stayz are here to stay” - told the Tweed Daily he “believes there is an opportunity for regional NSW - especially the Tweed Shire - to build in the tourism sector”. Accommodation giant, Exped