Victorian short stay rental reform unlikely to have significant impact on housing crisis
Victorian councils and owners corporations will soon have powers to restrict or ban short stay rentals across the state. An RMIT expert is available for comment on how this may impact the housing market.
Dr Liam Davies, urban planning expert
“This change to short stay accommodation is likely to have positive benefits at a local level but may not significantly impact the state’s rental affordability issues.
“The new powers for local councils may help in areas where there is acute rental pressure, for example, in parts of regional Victoria where tourism impacts local workers and lower income households.
“By restricting short stay rental accommodation, councils may be able to better balance the needs for locals and workers to find suitable housing, and the needs for tourists to be able to visit and holiday.
“Allowing body corporates to ban short stay rental accommodation may help address tensions where residents feel they are living in a hotel, for example in CBD apartments, by reducing noise and behaviour complaints.
“The latest census indicates there are up to 50,000 short stay rental accommodations in Victoria. It is unlikely that all these dwellings would be shifted to long-term rentals – so the effect of the reform will probably be minimal.”
Dr Liam Davies is a lecturer at RMIT’s Centre for Urban Research and an expert in social housing policy and urban planning. His research looks at state and commonwealth government policies that affect affordable housing in Victoria.
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