HMN 2025: How Holiday rental caps are not the answer to housing disaster,

A cap on short-term vacation leases in regional New South Wales vacationer sizzling spots has had no influence on the housing disaster, a University of Queensland study has discovered. The analysis is revealed in Regional Studies.

Researchers from UQ’s School of the Environment and School of Economics analyzed the NSW Government-imposed 180-day cap on short-stay suppliers in Byron Bay, Ballina, the Clarence Valley and Muswellbrook from late 2021, and whether or not it resulted in fewer vacation listings and a subsequent drop within the worth of long-term leases.

Dr. Frank Zou stated hosts on platforms like Airbnb and Stayz had been restricted to renting their properties for 180 days a 12 months, in response to post-COVID value of dwelling will increase.

“Our study checked out whether or not there was any type of influence on how a lot it prices per week to lease a property in these areas long-term, on account of these restrictions on the short-term market,” Dr. Zou stated.

The study used information units monitoring the variety of short-term rental listings from suppliers like Airbnb and Stayz in addition to total pricing of long-term rental properties in every of the regional areas.

Data had been analyzed between 2019–2023, taking in COVID-19 lockdowns, the announcement and implementation of laws, and the post-pandemic reopening.

Professor Alicia Rambaldi stated the review utilized superior modeling methods and located there was solely a brief discount in short-term leases.

“We discovered no vital lease degree lower,” she stated.

Dr. Zou stated the evaluation recognized a brief 22% drop in listings within the Byron shire quickly after the 180-day cap implementation, however the numbers quickly recovered.

“The 180-day caps in these particular NSW communities don’t seem to have had the supposed impact of selling long-term rental affordability,” he stated.

“Nor has there been a major or sustained discount in short-term rental actions.

“Enforcement of those caps is difficult, with some property house owners itemizing on a number of platforms in an try and bypass laws.

“Even with restrictions, not everybody will put their short-term rental property again onto the long-term rental market—it is simply not life like.”

Associate Professor Thomas Sigler stated the Byron shire had since applied an much more restrictive cap of 60 days, with exemptions for properties in interior and beachside Byron Bay.

“We are keen on inspecting this additional,” he stated.

“It is feasible there might be some type of shift within the variety of hosts who record on platforms like Airbnb because of this.”

The study concerned researchers from UQ’s School of the Environment (Zou, Sigler, Elin Charles-Ewards, Jonathan Corcoran) and the School of Economics (Rambaldi).