Ballina Council staff have delivered a report on short-term rental issues in the area, as a severe housing shortage continues to be felt in Rivers North.
Although AirBNB is not the only company involved in the local STRA market, it has the lion’s share of listings and provides publicly available data, which was used by staff to help create the report.
In March 2022, 3.4% of Ballina Shire’s total building stock was used for AirBNB listings, a 250% increase in five years. 92.5% of these listings are available for rent as whole houses/apartments.
The highest concentration of short-term rental accommodation in the area is at Lennox Head.
Effects on the long-term rental market
In June 2022, there were 45 properties available for rent in the Ballina postcode, including apartments and houses, for an average weekly rent of $740.
Eleven properties were available in Lennox, with 17 properties available in the 2477 zip code.
The new report says that equates to just 0.3% of the county’s total housing.
SQM research confirms a very low rental vacancy in March 2022, also just 0.3% (compared to a vacancy rate of 3.1% in July 2011).
Although the STRA is not the only factor, the report says there is no affordable rental housing in Ballina Shire for households with a median household income of $74,000 a year. The entire county is mapped as ‘extremely unaffordable’.
Revenues must reach $125,000 before the entire county returns to the “affordable” range.
What can be done?
The report shows that the NSW government’s enthusiasm for businesses like AirBNB continues to work against long-term tenants in favor of tourists (and the residents who host them).
Attempts to limit short-term stay days, control existing limits and give local councils more control over the issue continue to come up against brick walls at the planning level.
In Ballina, current legislation states that the use of accommodation for non-accommodated STRAs is exempt development for up to 180 days per year. Any period of 21 consecutive days or more during which the accommodation is provided to the same occupants does not count towards the 180 day allowance.
There are statistical discrepancies between the number of properties registered for STRA on the NSW Government Planning Portal and the number listed on AirBNB and other sites, but no apparent compliance monitoring.
Not as bad as Byron
In terms of numbers, Ballina Shire still has a long way to go to reach the level of short-stay accommodation in nearby Byron Bay (where it accounts for around 35% of the total housing stock). There are also far fewer complaints.
However, the housing situation in the area has worsened since the floods, and the trends towards less long-term rentals and more STRAs are clear, with predictable negative effects for those who do not take advantage of the situation.
NSW Planning has been making noise to set special rules for Byron Bay due to its ‘unique and exceptional circumstances’, with a new proposal for public display coming soon, but there has been no sign of support at the level yet. of the State for the North Rivers Joint Organization call for a pause on STRA in the region, while a social impact assessment is undertaken.
Tweed Shire Council’s attempts for special treatment ‘in light of the current housing crisis we face in the Tweed Shire and on the North Coast’ have also fallen on deaf ears so far .
Even Randwick Council in Sydney has been blocked in its attempt to reduce non-hosted STRA limits from 180 days to 90 days.
International responses
The new report shows that NSW is an outlier in terms of local government regulation of short-term rentals, with much stricter day limits in cities including Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Paris, San Francisco, New York, Vienna , Queenstown and London.
It also appears that significant resources need to be deployed to enforce policing restrictions in many of these cities, beyond the reach of typically cash-strapped Australian councils.
Despite all the findings above, the report concludes that short-term rental accommodation is not (yet) the main contributor to the availability of long-term rental accommodation in the Ballina area.
It seems likely that lobbying efforts will continue with state and federal governments to act on the factors driving the housing affordability crisis, while these approaches will likely continue to be ignored.
Council staff advise councilors not to bother preparing a planning proposal to further regulate STRA locally, as there is little chance of success with the current government. Instead, they recommend Ballina Council monitor what’s happening with Byron’s proposal and keep an eye on how many new AirBNB listings pop up locally. In other words, do very little.
The issue will be discussed at the council meeting this week.
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