16 June 2021
Last month the NSW “Airbnb Policy” was quietly gazetted by the Minister for Planning, Mr Robert Stokes MP. This is a major planning reform that permits all housing to be used for short stay tourism.
It takes some chutzpah to give in to tourist Platforms in the middle of pandemic with housing prices soaring.
There has long been holiday letting along the coast, and some corporate lets in the city have gone under the radar. The impetus for this policy is the growth and illegal penetration of Airbnb into urban apartments. In Sydney, the arrival of Airbnb has led to an explosion in apartments being switched from regular rental to the lucrative tourist market, especially in the City and Eastern Suburbs.
Jane Hearn
City Hub
