In a new move to combat the rental crisis, Council will write to ratepayers asking them to flag properties advertised on short-stay websites, Domain reports.
It’s part of a policy to charge higher rates on short-term rentals.
Whether you agree with the policy or not – it’s interesting to see Council isn’t relying on the ‘honesty box’ system of self-disclosure which recently forced the Queensland Government to abandon its plans to impose land tax on landlords with investment properties in Queensland and interstate. The likelihood of someone disclosing interstate landholdings for tax purposes was deemed, well, not likely at all.
“Mayor Adrian Schrinner said in a statement that he would prefer it if owners of short-term stays would “self nominate”, rather than other residents coming forward with the information” Domain reports.
But there are other techniques the council will deploy to identify “Transitory Accommodation” for rate calculation purposes.
“Council will use technology to sweep listing sites and zero in on properties that fall under a new higher rates category,” it says.
In the battle to solve affordable housing and rental challenges, it seems there are some novel ideas hitting the market – and hopefully some of them work.
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