Leadership to fix an anti-homes policy

Tasmania’s housing problems are rarely out of the spotlight. A crisis of availability has exacerbated the crisis of unaffordability and the resulting mess can be seen everywhere we look – online, in the press, and with our own eyes. Desperate posts on social media from friends seeking a place to stay, families forced into tents, pensioners spending the winter sleeping in their cars. 

An alarming new report from Shelter Tasmania, the peak housing and homelessness body, has revealed just how one particular state planning policy has failed us. 

Released earlier this month, the Monitoring the Impact of Short-Term Rentals on Tasmanian Housing Markets report notes that here in the City of Hobart area, an estimated 450 long-term rental homes have become tourism accommodation businesses (known as ‘short-stays’) over recent years. As a proportion of the total private long-term rental stock, we have 6.8 times more short-stays that Sydney, and 4.5 times more than Melbourne. 

The report also notes that an estimated 47% of short term rental properties advertised on one platform in Hobart had a history as a long term rental home. 

While no-one denies the benefits of welcoming visitors to our city, we need to balance that with the needs of the key workers – nurses, teachers, and emergency service officers – who keep Hobart running all year round. 

Despite what those with vested interests would have us believe, research has shown beyond doubt that the growth of the short-stay rental market has had an impact on long-term rentals availability. 

One striking figure from Shelter Tas’s research relates to vacancy rates. The loss of less than 200 properties from the private rental market can move Greater Hobart’s vacancy rate from 2% - a level at which rent rises will be manageable – to a vacancy rate of 1%, at which point rental rises are likely to be 10% or more. 

Providing new housing is certainly part of the equation, and I was pleased to see the report note that Greater Hobart has been performing well in terms of dwelling approvals. But no matter how proactive we are in approving new housing supply, if we continue to lose existing homes to the tourist market, the problem will remain. 

Hobart is not unique in facing challenges due to the growth of short stay visitor accommodation. Cities across the world – from Barcelona to Byron Bay - are struggling as they seek the most appropriate policies to rebalance things. 

Unfortunately, in Tasmania, we have been bound by the State Government’s Planning Directive which directs local councils to approve short-stay properties and makes it almost impossible to reject applications. 

But now there is finally some good news to share. Earlier this week, City of Hobart Council approved proposed planning changes that will help us to address the imbalance. It’s a great example of local government taking leadership to tackle a policy and planning issue impacting our community.

Our proposed changes strike a sensible compromise in trying to get some balance back into the housing market for Hobart residents.

• Visitor accommodation permits will continue to be issued in commercial and mixed-use zone areas of the City – like the 64 blocks of our CBD.

• There will be no changes to hosted bed and breakfasts, home sharing, renting out your home while you go on holiday, or renting out a granny flat. These will all continue under the new rules.

•  The new restrictions are only proposed for entire, un-hosted homes in residential areas. Crucially, this will only apply to new applicants; existing permit holders will not be affected. 

The solutions to Tasmania’s housing crisis are multifaceted, but we need to act when policy experts present such clear evidence on this particular part of the problem.

I’m grateful that when it comes to making difficult decisions about important issues – seeking solutions that require us to balance the needs of different groups – we are supported by policy experts who can help us sift through the rhetoric and get to grips with the facts. 

We’ve had high quality advice and evidence for this policy response from independent researchers and community sector agencies. Shelter Tasmania, CatholicCare, Salvation Army, Tasmanian Council of Social Service and the Council On The Ageing are united in their message to us - we need to act on the growth of short stays in Hobart. 

Ultimately it will be the Tasmanian Planning Commission who have the final say on this proposal, but I await their decision with eagerness, optimism and hope.