Curbing short stays

It’s hard to develop a sense of community when all the apartments around you are being flipped on sites like Airbnb. 

No one wants to feel like they’re living in a busy hotel. 

That’s why as we recover from the pandemic and we kick-start tourism again, it’s important that we have a few limits on the amount of apartments which can be used for short stays. 

When too many apartments are put onto sites like Airbnb, it can make it really hard for people to find an affordable home of their own. 

I’m not opposed to short stays per se, and for some people it’s a great way to make a little bit of extra money when they want to go on holidays. 

But when as many as 50 per cent of the apartments in a building are being used as short-stay holiday rentals, it can really affect the sense of community. 

Some of the challenges with short stays are the need for more security or longer waits at lifts and more damage to the property. 

A lot of other big cities around the world are facing the same challenges. We have been looking at the policy solutions they’ve adopted to try and work out how we can do things better here. 

One example is putting limits on the amount of time people can put their property out for lease, to prevent investors buying up scores of apartments in order for them to be put straight on Airbnb. 

As we recover from the pandemic, we need to invest in our communities, not simply let the market rip. 

Right now, the housing market is cooked, and many young people are struggling to ever afford a home of their own. 

For decades, governments have rigged the market to favour big developers and rich property speculators. 

The Greens want to build a million new homes. This will include more social housing, better rights for renters and a new plan where people can buy their own home, in an area they want to live, for $300,000. 

Fundamentally, we believe that everyone should have an affordable place to live; too many people are being pushed into homelessness and poverty because housing is just too expensive. 

Unregulated Airbnbs are only part of a bigger problem, but one we have to tackle together, so everyone can have a better life. 

Another important part of keeping our local community liveable are our local green spaces. I’m keen to hear if you have any tree-planting project ideas. If your school or community organisation would like to apply for a grant of up to $20,000 to plant trees or other related tree-planting activities like preparing sites, installing protective guards around plantings and installing drip irrigation, please get in touch with my office •

For more information visit: adambandt.com/community-grants or phone 9417 0772