Australia is in the grip of a residential rental property crisis (or boom, depending on your position as a tenant or landlord) with very low vacancy rates and rising rents.

There are some interesting comments in the linked article. Based on ABS survey results, there are apparently around 577,000 investment properties sitting vacant across Australia.*

There are likely to be numerous reasons why residential vacancy rates are currently so low. The recent boom in residential property prices has encouraged some investors to exit the market with increased owner occupiers purchases. Changes to tenancy laws may also be a factor in investors selling. Covid-19 resulted in enhanced internal migration to regional areas with the normal internal migration to major cities temporarily reduced. Short-term lettings are also a factor, taking properties out of the normal tenancy pool.

Tenants do seem to be less willing to move at present, with tenants in well maintained and fairly priced properties renewing their tenancies well in advance.

Encouraging some of these 577,000 vacant investment properties into the rental market would no doubt assist the current shortfall.

Meanwhile, Brisbane City Council has announced it will apply a 50% rates surcharge to residential properties used for short-term letting, including on platforms such as Airbnb. Properties subject to the surcharge will be changed to a transitory accommodation rating category. The surcharge will not apply to the letting of individual rooms, granny flats or share accommodation nor where the short-term letting is restricted to less than 60 days per year.

Council will rely on owners self-identifying with neighbours also encouraged to report their neighbours short-term letting activities.

* Note - ABS subsequently clarified to the Courier Mail that “the data includes properties used for other purposes, such as holiday homes, second residences, dwellings occupied rent-free by family members etc”.

Matusik - Housing Demographics

Brisbane City Council to hike rates on short-stay properties

June 2022

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