The Battle Over Profits From Housing

Airbnb Ireland is today sending again text messages and emails with love to their NSW Landlords requesting that they write to Premier Berejiklian, Planning Minister Anthony Roberts and Minister for Innovation and Better Regulation Matt Kean: “Right now, there are lobby groups running a campaign to stop or limit the rights of people to home share. During this crucial time, it’s important that our politicians hear from our community about why we support fair home sharing rules in houses and apartments.”

No one objects to genuine ‘home sharing’, where Residents share a house/apartment with a house or flatmate. What Airbnb is doing is converting homes into hotels.

Also doing the rounds today is a message from the Owners Corporation Network, reporting: “OCN is actively campaigning for owners to have the democratic right to decide on whether their building permits short-term letting and, if so, on what basis… OCN has met with the NSW Ministers for Planning and Innovation, has briefed all NSW MPs on its position, and is now meeting with other political parties to emphasise the need for owners to decide how their building is governed.”

The OCN Executive has thrown its support behind a group pushing for 75% of Lot Owners to be allowed, by way of a bylaw, to retrospectively override the residential development consent on buildings. This could see literally thousands of NSW Residents living in quasi-hotels and exposed to constant disruption at home plus paying exorbitant increases in strata fees. Spokesperson for the OCN and these Lot Owners: Stephen Goddard.

Some OCN Members are writing today and asking why the OCN is still insisting that 75% (of owners) can decide if a residential building is for short term leasing… The OCN’s position was clear - the following statement is still listed on their website:

“OCN has been vocal in its objections to mixed occupancies in residential buildings. Occupants of serviced apartments and other short-term letting arrangements cause more noise and wear and tear on the building than long-term residents, and there are anecdotal incidents of unruly and even threatening behaviour. Long-term residents are entitled to peaceful occupation. OCN also support local authorities who commonly have issued a DA for the building based on its use as residences, and are then forced into acting against owners who flout that usage”.

On 10 March 2016 Stephen Goddard wrote to the Minister for Innovation and Better Regulation, laying out what he claimed to be the OCN’s position on short-term letting; four days later Goddard appeared before a Parliamentary Hearing Committee and restated the ‘75% should decide’ suggestion. Were one in the Parliament that day, it would have taken a mere glance at the body language of the OCN Members present to know that what Goddard was promoting certainly wasn’t the position of an OCN Short-Term Letting Sub-Committee.

Residential Housing is for the housing of Residents

So say NSW Residents and so says the Land and Environment Court of NSW