Survive the Airbnb crackdown

Short-term rentals face tougher restrictions and higher costs. So is it still worth renting out your spare space?

- SUSAN HELY

I't isn't surprising that Australians are interested in sharing their space with travellers. With rising living costs and growing mortgages, they need the extra cash.

But short-term renting has been facing headwinds, depending on the sort of property and its location. "It is tougher for my property now than pre-Covid," says Isabella, a 68-year-old retiree who has an investment property in the Sydney suburb of Randwick. The NSW government has cut the days she can rent out her Airbnb from 365 to 180.

Government-imposed caps on the number of days a property can be rented, steeper council rates and increased competition from hotels are some of the challenges for hosts. Some short-term rental markets are saturated as more properties are listed. Fees from portals such as Airbnb have increased for guests. Then there are unpopular cleaning fees that an increasing number of Airbnb hosts charge.

Short-term rentals are being blamed for lack of affordable housing in tourist hotspots and even big cities. "Short-term rental accommodation has significant impacts on permanent rental housing supply, amenity, local character and community," says the mayor of Byron Shire, Michael Lyon. Byron council moved to cut the number of allowable days for non-hosted accommodation from 180 to 90 days, but this was prevented by the NSW planning department.

For Airbnb hosts such as Geoffrey, who has two highly rated Airbnbs in Hepburn in regional Victoria, travel bookings aren't the same as in pre-pandemic times.

"What we are seeing now is something altogether different. Bookings are steady but not filling as quickly, potential guests are now choosing to spend their travel dollars in other ways - be it on cruise ships or in other countries - but we have just started to see the return of the international traveller to our short-stay properties here, so that looks very promising."