Council lobbyists are celebrating a win in NSW, after the state put a pause on planned rental changes. 

The NSW Government last week announced new short-term rental accommodation rules to address concerns around the fast-emerging industry, driven by AirBnB and other platforms. 

Local Government NSW (LGNSW) said the changes would not address the issues, and would also set back efforts to provide affordable housing in their areas.

The Government has now announced it will put the new short-term rental rules on hold until the end of the year so it can undertake more consultation with affected councils.

“If the new policy had gone ahead, councils would have been made to follow as one-size-fits-all approach when dealing with STRA [short-term rental accommodation],” LGNSW president Linda Scott said. 

She said they would be forced “to seek amendments to the Statewide planning policy or prepare a planning proposal to effect changes such as setting cap limits in their areas”.

“No level of government knows the needs of their communities better than local government, and we strongly oppose any policy that takes away councils’ ability to make informed planning decisions on behalf of their communities,” she said.

Cr Scott said the reprieve removed some of the pressure on the growing affordable housing crisis facing many regional councils.

“Councils are best placed to balance the pressures of housing affordability and local tourism economies, and we hope that ...[Planning Minister Rob] Stokes recognises this in any future changes,” she said.

“If there are no limits, property owners who think they can make more on the short-term rental market are not going to put their property on the regular rental market.

“Councils have been saying for years that STRA policy must be supported with ongoing research to monitor local impacts on housing affordability.”