The town of Esperance is grappling with a severe housing shortage, forcing locals to choose between maximizing profits through Airbnb or prioritizing the needs of essential workers. The article explores the dilemma faced by residents and the impact of this crisis on the local economy.
For Faye and Nick Rollond, the logical option was to list their self-contained granny flat on Airbnb .
But they were happy to forgo the cost and effort of regular cleaning, while helping a key service provider."We're not making the money from it that we would , but there are other advantages too," Ms Rollond said.As of late January, there were only two publicly listed rental properties in the town, which has a steady population of about 14,000.A recent shire survey found that at least 60 jobs could be "filled immediately" if it were not for the housing shortfall.
The couple lives about 400km away in the mining city of Kalgoorlie-Boulder and listing the house as a pet-friendly Airbnb made sense on all fronts.The property is occupied for about 80 per cent of the year, and many bookings have already been made for next summer."We want to retire in a few years, so we want to support ourselves with something lucrative and sustainable."They are not alone.
However, among locals there was "marginal support at best" for the introduction of exclusion areas for holiday houses, according to the shire survey. A state government spokesperson said 575 properties had already transitioned through its Short-Term Rental Accommodation Scheme and Vacant Properties Rental Incentive Scheme.New legislation also requires all short-term rental hosts to register with the WA government.However, REIWA past president and regional spokesperson Joe White said "playing around with the edges of policies" did not get to the heart of the problem.
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