Byron Bay proposes 60-day cap on short-term rentals

Byron Shire Council is making progress on a regulation that would restrict short-term rentals in the area. Photo / File

Finding accommodation in Byron Bay may become more difficult if a recently proposed restriction goes ahead.

Byron Shire Council is making progress on regulations that cap short-term holiday letting to 60 days per year.

The cap was recommended by New South Wales’ Independent Planning Commission in April and was one of 12 proposed solutions for easing the housing crisis.

Byron Shire Council mayor Michael Lyon told ABC they were strongly committed to making it work.

“We’ve actually got a KC [a King’s Counsel barrister] and an expert planner on this to ensure that we actually get something workable,” he told the news outlet.

Why does Byron need a rental cap?

The strategy was proposed as a way to free up more dwellings for long-term accommodation, which would support the economy.

Currently, there are 1429 short-term rental properties in the area, which represents 8.4 per cent of all dwellings and generated A$189m in 2022.

However, they simultaneously create employment challenges for local businesses by creating a shortage of available long-term rental accommodation for workers.

How will the rental cap work?

If the restriction goes ahead, it will come into action in June 2024.

People could only short-term let their homes for 60 days a year and any requests to extend this could be rejected by the council.

Lyon said the aim is to have people rent their properties full-time and long-term so workers can stay, instead of intermittently to travellers.

The goal was not to get Byron Shire’s unhosted holiday lets to zero per cent, Lyon explained, but to around 5 per cent.

Therefore, a limited number of exemptions will be granted to those who let their properties out as holiday homes.

The proposed plan now requires approval from the Department of Planning and Planning Minister Paul Scully.