Monthly news roundup – Nov 2018

This month in short-term rental news – Ok so you passed some laws regulating Airbnb. Now what?

Here’s the scoop:

1. Good laws are only the start of controlling short-term rentals. Vancouver, Canada has a good set of laws but is still seeing widespread flouting of the rules. That’s why BnbGuard is helping councils enforce their rules. Without affordable enforcement, good laws are useless.
2. Short-term rentals do have an effect on housing affordability in parts of Sydney and Melbourne, according to research from UNSW academic Laura Crommelin. We’ve seen this in our own data too. Anywhere tourists want to stay and people want to live, that’s where renters get priced out, it’s just common sense. Without better regulation we’ll have tourist ghettos in many parts of Australia.
3. A Melbourne property trashed by a house party, courtesy of a short-term rental. Property damage and key stolen, and pity the neighbours who lived through it. No wonder tighter regulation is coming in Prague, San Antonio, Port Arkansas, and Boston (where Airbnb is fighting back).