Short-Term Rental Takeover

The number of properties being offered for short-term rental instead of permanent tenancy is continuing to rise across Australia.

New research shows that Australia’s short-term rental sector grew by more than 10% over two years, putting further pressure on housing affordability, particularly in tourist hotspots and major cities.

The research by the University of Sydney for the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute shows there were 174,558 short-term rental listings across Australia by the end of 2024.

It says the sector is increasingly being dominated by professional operators with almost 100,000 listings controlled by fewer than 20,000 entities.

The study says high concentrations of short-term rentals drive up rents and house prices and that governments have been slow to respond to the growth of the sector and how it affects permanent rental supply.

In the past two weeks, the Brisbane City Council dropped its plans to regulate the short-term letting industry.

While other states are working to beef up regulations including South Australia, where a parliamentary inquiry recommends a registration scheme, and the City of Sydney which is investigating a potential individual suburb ban.