What’s going on in Byron Bay?

Good question and I have a few answers probably best expressed as a rough timeline.

Believe it or not, discussions on what to do about short-term letting began formally in February of last year.

Round about the same time, NSW State government agreed on a raft of short-term holiday letting proposals, including a limit of 180 nights a year in greater Sydney for unhosted holiday lets, and no limits outside of greater Sydney, except for Byron shire which could impose its own limits, to a minimum of 90 nights a year.

In February this year Byron council decided not to have a “precinct” plan with different rules for diferent areas, and just settle on one option for everywhere in the council area.

In May this year, the state government announced the first phase of its STHL regulations – including the option for strata schemes to ban short-term lets – and Planning NSW invited Byron Shire council to propose a 90-day minimum plan outlining what it wanted and why it wanted it.

Then Covid-19 effectively shut down tourism to and within Australia.

Local tourism is already picking up and, with the Queensland border still closed to Sydneysiders, Byron shire is apparently fully booked.

Faced with the mutually exclusive demands from Covid-hit businesses and residential tenants, Byron council is still seeking public views on what residents want, and is inviting submissions from interested parties, which will close on November 27.  You can make your views known and access two key discussion documents HERE.

Surveys in the discussion documents suggest that it will take about four years for Byron Bay tourism to bounce back to 2019 levels, so you might expect a little finessing as the council tries to balance the need to get tourist figures back up, with the opportunity to protect residential lets in the area.

So, to answer the question of what is happening with the 90-night limit, the answer is nothing but talk, at least for now. And since the much-vaunted “Party House” blacklist is no threat as it won’t even exist before June, all you can do is batten down the hatches over Christmas and hope for the best in the New Year.