Almost 100,000 apartments and houses across New South Wales are not being used for long-term housing, according to state government modelling.
The state government estimates 15,000 homes are vacant year-round, 45,000 are used as holiday homes and more than 33,000 are registered as non-hosted short-term properties, according to the data released as part of the Minns government’s review of short-term rentals including Stayz and Airbnb.
The government will ask residents and the industry for feedback as part of its six-month review starting this month, with a discussion paper being released on Thursday.
The review, being led by the housing minister, Rose Jackson, will look at the adequacy of the short-term rental planning and regulation and discuss options for improvement.
It will also assess policies that incentivise property owners to make properties available for long-term rental including vacant property taxes, levies and annual caps.
The number of short-term rentals registered in NSW surged from 13,000 in December 2021 to more than 52,000 last month. Of those, about 33,000 are “non-hosted” properties – meaning the renter can occupy the whole property. These accounted for about 1% of the rental stock across the state.
Jackson said every part of the housing market would be “under the microscope”.
“All options are on the table and we are keen to hear from the community on how various aspects of regulatory and revenue measures can be designed to get the best outcome,” she said.
“This review will inform our approach to make better use of all forms of housing, including short-term rentals, vacant property and holiday homes.
“This includes looking at ways to move some of this housing to the long-term rental market and to minimise its negative impacts on the housing market as well as what we can do to support homelessness services across NSW.”
According to the discussion paper “concentrations of non-hosted short-term rental accommodation vary across the state”, with peaks in tourist destinations including Byron Bay and Waverley, which includes Bondi Beach.
Last year Victoria announced it would introduce a 7.5% levy on platforms such as Airbnb and Stayz, with the government hoping to raise about $70m annually for social and affordable housing.
Key industry players including Airbnb and Stayz have previously urged the government to be cautious about the effect changes to short-term rental regulations could have on tourism and the economy.
