New South Wales mulls neighbour compensation for unruly Airbnbs
Airbnb landlords may have to pay compensation to neighbours for inconsiderate guests, according to new legislation being considered by the New South Wales government. Property owners would also be required to pay extra strata (a version of commonhold) funds and obey limits on the number of nights a property can be let. The legislation is under discussion, with critics objecting to the fact that it does not distinguish between city and regional short-term rentals. There are more than 40,000 Airbnb listings in NSW.

Residents who let out their spare rooms to rowdy guests through sites such as Airbnb could be forced to pay compensation to their neighbours under a plan being considered by the New South Wales government.



Apartment owners would also be forced to pay extra strata funds, and there would be limits on the number of days a property can be let out without a development application.

The proposals are among several to be released for public consultation on Friday after the Berejiklian government earlier this year called for input on how to regulate the booming industry.

Solutions for the private short-term rental market, which usually operates on sites such as Airbnb and Stayz, range from self-regulation to changes to strata and planning rules.

One proposed strata rule change would allow owners’ corporations to ask the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal to order owners to pay compensation when guest behaviour affects others in the building, or issue a temporary ban on short-term letting, News Corp Australia reports.

It’s unclear whether the government will adopt the proposals. The discussion paper has already been criticised for failing to distinguish between short-term rentals in the city and regional areas.

“If this distinction is not recognised, it will have damaging consequences for the economy and jobs in regional towns like Port Macquarie and Kiama,” the director of corporate and government affairs at Stayz, Jordan Condo said.

“Why should someone who owns a beach shack and has for decades leased it out to others when not using it themselves suddenly be handed a bunch of red tape and financial burden for providing accommodation in the parts of NSW where it is needed the most,” he said in a statement on Friday.

“It does not make any sense and it’s not evidence-based policy-making.”

There are more than 40,000 Airbnb listings in NSW, including 17,000 in greater Sydney alone.

The average Airbnb host in NSW earns $4,400 in a year sharing their home.