Airbnb and other short-stay rental properties could become more expensive with the state government looking at introducing a new tax on bookings. It is an attempt to fix the housing crisis. The government says the short stay industry is taking homes away from long-term renters.
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00:00 Nick Stone owned his own home for 30 years but after re-entering the rental market he's
00:07 now moved three times in 12 months.
00:10 It's probably the worst time in history to be in that market.
00:14 He's in Batemans Bay on the south coast, a holiday hot spot where homeowners can earn
00:19 more from tourists than locals, leading to a shortage of long term rentals.
00:24 It's something that's been hitting us very hard. We have seen a little bit of a plateau
00:27 but we've really got to get out in front of this.
00:29 The government's considering a tax on bookings from websites like Airbnb, an attempt to push
00:35 homeowners away from the short stay industry.
00:38 We are going to put absolutely every aspect of the current dysfunction under the microscope.
00:44 Victoria will charge a 7.5% levy on bookings from next year. The money collected will go
00:50 towards building affordable housing.
00:53 We need to see what the impact has been elsewhere in order to determine whether it's a one size
00:58 fits all for NSW.
01:00 There isn't actually a strong correlation between the presence of short term rentals
01:04 and the vacancy rate.
01:06 The government admits that short term accommodation is a small part of the housing shortage problem.
01:12 It's developments like this 1300 home project in Sydney's inner west the government wants
01:17 to replicate across the city to boost supply.
01:21 The Premier's faced backlash from some councils opposed to denser development but he's found
01:27 other mayors who'll back him.
01:29 Let me say totally support the men's Labor government's initiative.
01:33 I encourage all councillors to get on board with this because this is something for our
01:36 future.
01:37 The government's taking feedback on its short stay regulations for the next four weeks.
01:42 [BLANK_AUDIO]