Sydney's Airbnb listings have doubled to 10,473 in the last year.
The City of Sydney wants to support short-term stays, so long as the neighbours and traditional tourist accommodation providers aren't affected, says Lord Mayor Clover Moore.
“Tech companies are providing increasingly efficient means for offering homes and spare rooms for short-term holiday letting, but our laws have not kept pace,” she said.
“With the right rules, short-term holiday letting can support local communities and economies, while protecting amenity and the residential character of our villages.”
The council's aim is to balance the desire of homeowners to earn extra income from their properties, with safety concerns and the reasonable expectations of the community. They are calling for a new definition of this style of accommodation, and a consistent, state-wide approach.
In a submission to the NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into the laws on short-term holiday letting, the council is proposing that, for certain properties, limits are placed on the number of days the property can be let and the number of people that can stay.
The current legislation states that tourist and visitor accommodation is not permitted in residential zones, and residential accommodation and tourist accommodation in the same building must be on separate floors and have separate lifts.
The City of Sydney council supports leaving these policies in place.
“The City also wants to ensure there is continued investment in traditional visitor accommodation, which makes an important contribution to Sydney’s economy, with approximately 31,868 rooms or beds currently available, and another 4,259 hotel keys and 197 serviced apartments in the pipeline,” the Lord Mayor said.
“More than 10.5 million visitors came to Sydney in 2012, contributing over $5 billion to the city’s economy. This supported over 10,000 businesses in the transport, accommodation, education, retail, cultural and recreation sectors.”