Brisbane Cracks Down on Airbnb with New Permit System to Address Housing Shortage

‘This hasn’t created the housing crisis, but obviously it is something that needs to be managed and still adds to it,’ said Brisbane Lord Mayor.

Patrick Semansky/AP Photo

Airbnb operators in Brisbane may soon need permits as authorities take action against short-stay rentals to address housing supply shortages.

On June 12, Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner announced that his office would implement a permit scheme under a new law to regulate Airbnb accommodation in the city.

This follows an investigation into the Brisbane short-stay accommodation market by a task force established by Mr. Schrinner in 2023.

Data analytics site AirDNA indicated that over 10,000 properties in Brisbane were used for short-stay accommodation.

While the figure only accounted for less than one percent of total housing in Brisbane, Mr. Schrinner believed short-stay accommodation still needed to be regulated.

“This hasn’t created the housing crisis, but obviously it is something that needs to be managed and still adds to it,” he told ABC Radio.

How the Permit Scheme Works

Under the proposal, the City of Brisbane council will introduce a permit system that requires property owners to have appropriate planning approvals, body corporate support, and a 24/7 property manager to run short-term rentals.

Those who do not meet the requirements will be forced to offer their properties in the long-term rental market to meet housing demand in Brisbane, which recently has become the second-most expensive property market in Australia.

“We have identified over 400 properties that need to come back into the long-term rental market,” Mr. Schrinner said.

While the lord mayor acknowledged the demand for short-term accommodation ahead of the 2032 Olympics, he said the long-term rental market needed to be supported.

Apart from the new permit scheme, the City of Brisbane will continue to charge higher council rates for short-term accommodation to encourage property owners to return to long-term rentals.

“They are not using the house for a standard residential purpose. They are using it effectively for a business purpose,” Mr. Schrinner said.

Brisbane is not the only place in Australia that wants to fix housing shortages by cracking down on short-term accommodation.

In 2023, the Victorian government introduced a 7.5 percent tax on Airbnb properties, which would come into effect in 2025.

The revenue from the tax will be used to build social and affordable housing in the state.

Meanwhile, the New South Wales government is considering a similar levy to discourage property owners from participating in the short-term rental market.

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Policy Expert Says Airbnb Is Not Responsible for the Housing Crisis

Amid the new wave of crackdown on short-term rentals, Graham Young, the executive director of the Australian Institute for Progress, said Airbnb was not responsible for the current housing crisis in Australia.

In an opinion piece for The Epoch Times, Mr. Young explained that the current crisis exists for both buyers and renters.

“Buyers are frozen out by high prices and can’t service the loan required, leaving them in the rental market,” he said.

“Landlords, faced with rising costs (interest rates on mortgages) and a short supply of housing, are using the opportunity to increase rents.

Thus, he says that the crisis is a result of many factors, including rising house prices, a lack of housing supply, and increased interest rates and other costs.

“House prices have risen for two reasons. One is that asset prices go up when interest rates go down. A second is that demand has been growing faster than housing supply.”

In addition, Mr. Young said the demand for short-term accommodation, particularly holiday rentals, was unlikely to contribute to the housing shortages.

Pointing to a 2023 report by the Queensland government, Mr. Young said the number of short-term housing in the state had not increased since 2018.

“If there wasn’t a rental crisis five years ago when short stays were a similar proportion of the market, and it hasn’t increased since then, it should be no surprise that their regression analysis could find no link between short stays and housing affordability,” he said.