The state government has been considering tightening caps on short-term rentals,such as in Byron Bay,where there is the highest number of Airbnb and Stayz properties in NSW,as the latest figures show there are 42,978 short-term rentals registered across the state.
In the Byron local government area,25 per cent of housing stock is short-term accommodation,followed by Waverley in Sydney’s east,where 15 per cent of stock is short-term rentals.
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Snowy Monaro,Shoalhaven,Kiama and Port Stephens also have the next highest levels of short-term rentals in NSW,according to the government’s latest figures.
As well as tighter caps,Mookhey and Housing Minister Rose Jackson have not ruled out following Victoria’s lead and introducing a tax on short-stay accommodation,which the treasurer has blamed as part of the reason “rental stock in NSW is disappearing”.
The Victorian government last month announced a 7.5 per cent tax on short-stay rentals,the first such levy in Australia,as part of a push to construct 800,000 new homes over the next decade.
In addition to the properties listed on the NSW government’s short-term rental register,there are also as many as 47,000 holiday houses and 15,000 homes that remain vacant through the year which the state government believes could be “incentivised into the long-term rental market”.