Holiday let fireworks – parties, crime and a backlash

If you’ve had illicit Airbnb or other short-term holiday lets (STHL) in your block and hadn’t realised it, you will know all about it by now.

Christmas and New Year are the peak periods for holiday lets in Sydney, with apartment with views of the fireworks being in huge demand.

With that in mind, our sponsors BnbGuard, who specialise in identifying and helping you to winkle out illegal holiday lets, have given us their roundup of the latest STHL news.

Here’s the BnbGuard scoop:

1. More Melbourne crime courtesy of short-term rentals this month, including another out-of-control party (this time with neighbours being mugged) and home invasions in apartment blocks. Police have even set up a rapid response force just for short-term rental parties.

2. Maybe Melbourne should pay more attention to what’s happening overseas. Los Angeles is banning short-term rentals in investment properties, and is slapping a 120-day cap on primary residences too. Las Vegas is banning any new rentals where the host isn’t present overnight.

3. A study of LA property shows regulating short-term rentals does push down rents and property values. Tighter regulations push investors back to less-profitable long-term rentals.

4. In case you missed it, we were recently on the Your Strata Property podcast talking tips for getting rid of short-term rentals and what good regulation looks like. Check it out here: https://www.yourstrataproperty.com.au/the-technology-that-protects-your-building-from-short-term-letting/