By Jed Lanyon
Short-term rental company Stayz is supportive of State Government legislation to crack down on unruly tenants and a three-strike system for homeowners who hand their keys to those who behave poorly.
Eildon MP Cindy McLeish highlighted the issue of a minority of visitors creating a disruption while using short-term rentals in her column for the Mail last month.
In response, several Yarra Ranges residents voiced their frustrations online and contacted the Mail regarding their experiences with short-term rentals in their neighbourhood.
Stayz also reached out.
“Stayz strongly supports a consistent, state-wide regulatory regime for all short-term rental accommodation in Victoria,” the company’s legal counsel Ben Wray said.
“Stayz advocates for state-wide regulation that contains a simple registration scheme for all holiday rental listings, a code of conduct that is backed by a three-strikes disciplinary regime for poor behaviour, and an industry body to adjudicate compliance with the code of conduct.
“This three-pronged regulatory solution will ensure tourism remains an engine room of the economy, improve neighbourhood amenity and provide certainty about the boundaries of the sector.”
There are more than 70 Healesville listings on the Stayz website.
Recent figures suggested the Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges region received about six million domestic and international visitors for the year to the end of March.
In her column for the Mail, Ms McLeish called on the State Government to “intervene and work with local government to ensure there are enforceable laws that to balance the needs of the short-term rental market and the rights of our existing local communities.”
Consumer Affairs Minister Marlene Kairouz has not responded to requests for comment.
A spokesperson from Airbnb told the Mail: “The overwhelming majority of hosts and guests are good neighbours and respectful travellers.”
“Even so, we’re constantly working to keep our hosts, guests and local communities safe because even one incident is one too many,” they said.
“We have zero tolerance for bad behaviour of any kind and if a user fails to uphold our high community standards, we will take action – including suspension or removal from the platform.
“Airbnb has a strong record of supporting tough but fair laws across Australia which crackdown on bad behaviour, including in Victoria.”
The spokesperson advised neighbours of Airbnb hosts to utilise the company’s ‘neighbour tool’, which they said allowed neighbours to flag concerns about a listing.
Yarra Ranges Council’s social and economic development director James Collins said: “As tourist visitation to the Yarra Ranges increases over the years, we expect short-stay rental accommodation use to increase in turn, and we’re looking at ways council can support homeowners and neighbours to get the best results from this, alongside existing laws about appropriate parking and noise complaints.”
“Yarra Ranges Council would support a Victorian Government review of short-stay rental accommodation in the state and the laws surrounding them,” he said.
Mr Collins said the council encouraged any residents experiencing issues around parking or disruptive noise to call 1300 368 333.
Visit www.airbnb.com.au/neighbors to access the neighbour tool.
