Victoria’s Housing Crisis Plan Targets Airbnb Hosts

The Victorian government has announced a new 7.5 per cent levy for all short-stay accommodation providers in the state, such as hosts that use Airbnb, as part of a 2023-2024 statement on housing.

If brought into effect, it’ll mean higher costs for landlords that lease their properties for short-term periods, and it’s hoped that it will have a positive impact on renters by encouraging more long-term accommodation options (or, to even out the higher taxes, it may result in more expensive listings). It’s part of a much larger scheme set out by the Victorian government to try and tackle the current housing crisis. As reported by The Guardian, the levy is expected to raise about $70 million annually to fund other housing products.

Airbnb, an app and service that skyrocketed in success among property developers and landlords over the past 10 years, with the ability to list a space (from anything to a single bedroom in a house, to a granny flat, to a whole home) for short-term and, recently, long-term accommodation, has been under fire recently for its potential impact on the housing market. In other markets, such as Los Angeles, levies have been placed on Airbnb hosts to free up houses for long-term renters or potential buyers (the levy is 14 per cent on host income in the U.S. city).

In the past, Australian states haven’t particularly targeted short-stay accommodation providers; instead, in Victoria in 2018, accommodation providers had been given legal protections, such as fines of up to $1,100 for bad-behaving guests.

“While short stay accommodation – like Airbnb or Stayz – has become a popular feature of Victoria’s visitor economy, it’s also reduced the ability for many properties to be used for longer-term accommodation,” the Victorian housing statement reads.

“In Victoria, there are more than 36,000 short-stay accommodation places – with almost half of these in regional Victoria. More than 29,000 of those places are entire homes. These are places that cannot be used for longer-term accommodation or rented out on fixed-term agreements – so it makes sense that they should provide some benefit to the places that can.”

On the back of Victoria’s announcement, the NSW Premier and Treasurer have indicated that the state may follow suit. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also said that Airbnb is an issue.

The Victorian short stays levy is expected to go into effect in 2025. The housing statement also included plans to redevelop 44 public housing towers, and offer more renter protections.

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