Victorian landlords who let their properties via short-term rental platforms such as Airbnb could be charged a new tax under measures to be considered by the Andrews government to ease the rental crisis in tourist areas such as the Mornington Peninsula.
Capping the number of nights landlords can list their properties on Airbnb, imposing a “tourist tax” as has been done overseas, or empowering local councils to charge property owners higher commercial rates should all be on the table, say Labor MPs involved in early discussions on the government’s upcoming housing policy.
“There have been conversations among Labor MPs about housing reform. All of these things are on the table. It’ll be up to cabinet to sift through all of this and make decisions.”Another Labor MP said: “If you look at where our marginals are, there’s a real interest in housing because too much is taken up by short-stay rentals. It’s squeezing the teacher-nurse cohort.”
Mornington Peninsula Shire and other Victorian councils have already introduced annual registration feesMornington Peninsula Mayor Steve Holland said he favoured reforms that would grant councils more autonomy. “We believe tourism levies are a fair and sustainable way to raise revenue for local communities, especially in areas of high tourism, as they broaden the revenue base without imposing an additional burden on local ratepayers or businesses,” he said.Grattan Institute economist Brendan Coates said it was time for the Andrews government to encourage owners of short-stay rentals to return those properties to the long-term rental market.
“There’s nothing to rent down here except for more than $500 a week. Yet there’s 1600 Airbnbs in Rye alone,” she said. “That is very poor planning. Working families are known to be sleeping in tents on the beach.”
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