Airbnb and Stayz not to blame for rising rents

At the start of 2023, there are roughly 19,773 active short-term rentals across Queensland, with the majority condensed in the state’s south-east. Short-term rentals are most prevalent in tourist hotspots like the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Brisbane, Noosa, Douglas, Whitsunday, Cairns, Moreton Bay and Townsville.

And while they’ve long been targeted as a reason for tightening long-term vacancy rates across the country, in Queensland the review determined that short-term rentals have a “limited impact on rental affordability”. Instead, dwelling stocks are deemed to be the significant contributor to dwindling long-term rentals and ensuing lease increases.

This information may give pause to some jurisdictions that have been looking to cap or curtail the prevalence of short-term accommodation.

Regardless, it’s unlikely the state government will look to make large-scale restrictions, as the review found that would “fail to account for the diverse nature of short-term rental dynamics across Queensland”.

It is, however, considering moving forward with a short-term rental registry, which Deputy Premier Steven Miles said could “serve as a tool to support local governments in monitoring short-term rental activity and could provide invaluable insights into its impact on our housing market over time, to inform evidence-based regulation”.

The government said it would now consult with the Short Term Residential Accommodation Industry Reference Group and The Local Government Association of Queensland on the review’s findings and recommendations.

Mr Miles described the report as productive, in that it provides a clearer picture on “whether short-term rentals like Airbnb and Stayz are affecting the tight rental market”.

“These results show that while short-term rentals can affect rental affordability to some extent, its impact is limited,” he said, noting that supply is ultimately still the issue in the spotlight.

“The review emphasised the vital role of housing availability and supply in rental prices, highlighting the importance of having enough housing options for our community.”

It’s an argument that Antonia Mercorella, CEO of the Real Estate Institute of Queensland, suggested is already clear.

“How many different times do we need to end up coming to the same conclusion that insufficient rental supply is the root of the issue before it hits home?” Ms Mercorella commented.

With the report concluded, she expressed hope that the issue of STRA would “stop distracting government from where their real focus needs to be – addressing supply”.

Ms Mercorella pushed back on the idea of establishing a rental accommodation register, suggesting that the government has motives other than wanting to assess the long-term impact of STRA.

“The proposed short-term rental register smacks of using any excuse for the government to collect data on property investors for the purposes of ultimately penalising them through greater regulation and higher rates,” she said.