The Brisbane City Council has warned property owners who list their homes on sites like Airbnb as short-term accommodation properties will be hit with a 50 per cent rates hike.
Brisbane homeowners who list their properties as short-stay accommodation will be faced with two choices – return your home to the rental market or pay significantly higher council rates. This change comes amid the escalating rental crisis in the city and soaring cost of living pressures.
The recent surge in short-term rental properties across the greater Brisbane area has left the long-term rental market in a crisis with many tenants unable to find a home.
Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner told ABC News yesterday morning, it was clear “thousands” of homes had been removed from the long-term rental market.
Mr Schrinner made the announcement on Wednesday, before handing down the LNP administration’s $4 billion budget, that short-term accommodation properties will be hit with an increase in council rates come July 1, 2022.
Why has this policy been introduced to Brisbane short-term accomodation properties?
The decision was made in effort to combat the chronic shortage of rental properties currently available across the state. While Brisbane recorded a mere 0.6 per cent rental vacancy rate for May, the Lord Mayor hopes to see the measure force more home owners to return their properties to the rental market for long-term use.
Short-term accommodation data analysis company AirDNA estimated about 3,600 homes were currently listed on platforms like Airbnb across the greater Brisbane area.
“What we see is renters are being affected with rents going up significantly, and then those that are wanting to get a rental property are having real difficulty at the moment getting access to anything,” the Lord Mayor said.
“If owners had these properties in the market for short-term, overnight stays – that is their choice, but what they’ll be facing now is a 50 per cent increase in their rates,” he said.
How does this impact you?
The council’s measure will only apply to properties rented out on the short-term market for more than 60 days a year. It is also important to note that the rise in rates will not impact owners that rent out individual rooms, granny flats or shared accommodation.
The average annual rates bill for a non-owner occupied residential property in Brisbane for 2021-22 is $1,039, meaning owners who choose to rent their entire home out as short-term accommodation, will be hit with an average of $1,558.50. However, residential rates will rise an average 4.93 per cent further increasing those fees.
Mr Schrinner believes this policy will help ease the chronic shortage of rental homes across Brisbane and surrounding suburbs. The Lord Mayor explained the budget was “sensible and affordable” as the rate rise still sits below Brisbane’s inflation rate of 6%.
For those owners who will continue to list their properties as short-term stays, a new “transitory accommodation” rates category will come into effect from July 1, 2022.
If you have any questions specific to your scheme, please contact your Community Manager.
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