The NSW short-term rental review remains unpublished nearly three years after it was commissioned, as councils struggle to manage the growth of Airbnb and Stayz properties amid a worsening shortage of affordable homes.
Premier Chris Minns announced the review in late 2023, with the government expected to examine tighter limits on short-term rentals and the possibility of introducing a tax on short-stay accommodation.
The review was also intended to consider the potential of as many as 90,000 homes, including holiday houses, existing rentals and vacant properties, to be brought into the long-term rental market. Not all of those properties would necessarily become available, but the figure highlights the scale of under-used housing identified by the government.
Short-term rentals add to pressure on Sydney housing
In September, Sydney had 15,683 active short-term rental listings, according to figures from international data provider AirDNA.
Andrew Barker, housing and infrastructure programme director at the Grattan Institute, said short-term rentals accounted for about 1 per cent of housing stock nationally and across Greater Sydney. In the City of Sydney, however, the proportion was closer to 5 per cent.
The effect of short-term accommodation on the wider rental market is disputed. Airbnb has argued that blunt caps and bans would not resolve the housing crisis, describing short-term rentals as a “tiny fraction of the housing market” and denying they were the cause of the shortage.
Nicole Gurran, a professor of urban and regional planning at the University of Sydney, said regulating non-hosted short-term rentals was “a no-brainer in the current [housing] situation”.
Short-term rentals have expanded beyond Sydney, with coastal and inland destinations also experiencing pressure as properties are converted to holiday accommodation. The result, according to the source material, has been that some workers serving the tourism industry have left those areas or been unable to move there.
Councils seek solutions as review remains unpublished
Councils across NSW are attempting to balance the economic importance of tourism with the need for permanent housing. But their powers are limited under state planning laws, which give the NSW Government authority over whether such businesses can be banned.
City of Sydney councillors have discussed measures including asking booking platforms for voluntary donations, introducing 30-day limits and preventing investors from operating short-term rentals. Those proposals have been described as difficult to enforce or unworkable.
The NSW Government has yet to release the short-term rental review. The delay has drawn criticism as demand for rental properties continues to intensify.
Tourism remains important to Sydney, but concerns have been raised that a city without a stable permanent community would lose part of what makes it a global destination.
