Additionally , stricter regulations have been focussed on larger cities and regional areas where there has been significant focus for some time on Airbnb , such as Byron Bay and Noosa . As this research has discussed , however , Airbnb can have impacts across different types of local government areas , not just the biggest tourist hot spots .
STRA properties on listed platforms such as Airbnb are generally considered to be one of two categories , ‘ hosted ’ where the owner of the property resides on the premises and ‘ non-hosted ’ where the property may be a secondary residence or an investment property for the purpose of STRA . Where restrictions apply or are proposed , they typically only apply to ‘ nonhosted ’ STRA .
HOW CAN COUNCILS RESPOND ? From my research and many conversations with local and state government representatives across Australia , I recommend the following six steps if you think Airbnb may be impacting the availability and / or affordability of housing in your area .
1 . Understand the problem – is housing supply and / or affordability a challenge in your area ?
2 . Get the data – look into platforms which can provide you with an overview of housing data and STRA data in your local area .
3 . Speak to your community – particularly in smaller communities , are property owners aware of the housing challenge and the impact that transitioning even a few under-utilised STRA properties to long-term rentals could have in providing housing for a local nurse , psychologist , teacher or chef ? Motives differ for Airbnb hosts , and a conversation around the issue may prompt some property owners to reconsider how they rent out their property .
4 . Regulate or incentivise ( the carrot or the stick )? – consider the state / territory legislation in your area . Are there regulations or incentives you could use to limit the use of STRA in your area ? Could you partner on a project to enable an increase in boutique but regulated tourist accommodation in your area to reduce the reliance on residential housing for STRA .
5 . Advocate – if your state / territory legislation is not strong enough to allow you to take action against problematic STRA , whether due to its impacts on housing affordability or other negative impacts such as problem ‘ party-houses ’, consider advocating to state / territory government for increased powers .
6 . Consider other factors – there may be other factors influencing housing supply and affordability in your local area over which you might have more control than Airbnb ( or less control in the case of negative gearing and capital gains tax discount !). For example , does your council have land you could use to build affordable key worker accommodation ? Do you have high vacancies , either whole homes or bedrooms which property owners could be encouraged to put to higher use . Could you look to boost housing supply through modular or prefabricated housing ?
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This research was supported through a UniSA Postgraduate Award ( USAPA )/ Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship and an Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute ( AHURI ) Post-Graduate Top Up Scholarship . Data was supplied by Inside Airbnb and Core Logic . Thank you to my supervisors for their guidance and support throughout my PhD . Thanks must be extended to all interview participants whose time and knowledge contributed to this research .
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
DR LAURA HODGSON Laura is currently the Principal Economic Advisor for the City of Adelaide . In 2022 , Laura received a PhD from the University of South Australian Business School on The Impact of
Airbnb on Metropolitan and
Non-Metropolitan Housing Markets in Australia . Having previously worked at the Local Government Association of South Australia as a Policy Officer , an Associate Lecturer in Public Policy at Flinders University and Project Officer at the University of South Australia , Laura has extensive research experience in academia and the public sector . Laura ’ s work specialises in housing , Airbnb , tourism , local economic development , regional health workforce and Australian local government . Laura is the Deputy Chair of the SA branch of Economic Development Australia , Deputy Chair of the Victor Harbor Horse Tram Audit Committee and Director of the Mentoring Program for the Women in Economics Network . Laura also has decades of experience as a yoga teacher and yoga business owner
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