Decision details

Moved by Councillor Thompson, seconded by Councillor Miller –

It is resolved that:

(A)       Council note:

(i)         in May 2023, following a Greens motion by Councillor Sylvie Ellsmore, Council resolved to investigate the impact of short-term rental accommodation on rental affordability, housing availability and the tourism accommodation sector in the LGA. This led to the City of Sydney Short-Term Rental Accommodation Report;

(ii)        in February 2024, the City of Sydney made a submission to the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure, and NSW Treasury, Discussion Paper on short- and long-term rental accommodation;

(iii)       in February 2025, Council endorsed Councillor Miller’s motion noting weaknesses and loopholes in the framework, hotspots and the impossibility of enforcement due to the inaccuracy and unavailability of data on the NSW Planning Portal’s short term accommodation register, such as verified identification and financial records;

(iv)       in April 2025, the Lord Mayor wrote to the Minister for Planning and Public Spaces and the Minister for Housing requesting an update on planned regulatory changes for this sector – as of April 2026, a response was provided by Minister Rose Jackson, Minister Chanthivong toured Miller’s Point with Member for Sydney Alex Greenwich, community members and Councillor Miller met with the NSW Rental Commissioner Trina Jones, yet no action has been taken by Government;

(v)        in November 2025, Councillor Miller’s Houses for Homes (Short-Term Rental) motion was endorsed at the Local Government NSW conference;

(vi)       in October 2026, Council endorsed a Greens motion by Councillor Matthew Thompson requesting advice on regulatory interventions available to the City of Sydney, including a potential 60-day cap;

(vii)      in March 2026, the City provided advice, as per Councillor Thompson’s motion to Council in October 2025, on regulatory interventions in other Australia jurisdictions and the policy options available to Council, including a potential 60-day cap. This advice emphasised the critical importance of NSW State Government intervention, while also highlighting the complexity of a reduced day cap, enforced by the City of Sydney in isolation. This information supports the City’s ongoing advocacy to strengthen the NSW Register and compliance framework and that the WA system works because it is supported by a mandatory, well-functioning statewide register;

(B)       Council further note:

(i)         on the 26 March Councillors Matthew Thompson and Sylvie Ellsmore hosted a City of Sydney community roundtable in Town Hall, discussing the impacts of short-term rental accommodation and the need for reform;

(ii)        the roundtable brought together representatives from The Glebe Society, Ultimo Village Voice, Pyrmont Action Group, The Paddington Society, and the Millers Point Community Resident Action Group alongside housing experts from Shelter NSW, Homelessness NSW and the NSW Tenants Union. City of Sydney Deputy Lord Mayor Councillor Jess Miller, Councillor Zann Maxwell, Councillor Yvonne Weldon, alongside City staff, were also in attendance; and

(iii)       the roundtable heard directly from the Greens Mayor of Byron Shire Council, Sarah Ndiaye, who has led that Council in implementing a significantly reduced, 60-day cap on short-term rental accommodation in the Byron LGA; and

(C)       Council further note:

(i)         roundtable participants were strongly of the view that the proliferation of the short-term rental sector was having a negative impact on inner-Sydney neighbourhoods in terms of community connectivity, social cohesion and housing affordability;

(ii)        that the NSW State Government have a responsibility to take greater action and strengthen the Register to enable monitoring and compliance based on accurate and verified booking and registration data;

(iii)       participants highlighted the need to specify differences between occasional, short-term rental letting by owner-occupiers within a primary residence, and investor-landlords repeatedly targeting the short-term market as a means to maximise rental income;

(iv)       roundtable participants highlighted the value in exploring a ban on a short-term rental accommodation ban across the LGA, or in specific suburbs, relative to the rental vacancy rate in the area; and

(v)        the recent comprehensive report by Inside AirBNB, The Threat of Short-Term Rentals to Housing: A Critical Perspective on AirBNB’s Global Expansion highlights the proliferation of this sector around the world, including Australia, and highlights how other international cities have moved to more stringent measures, such as bans on non-primary residences, where regulating and enforcing caps has proved challenging;

(D)       Council request that the CEO provide further clarity to Council about the extent to which a time-limited ‘ban’ on non-primary residence short-term rentals is feasible under current NSW planning frameworks and the existing STRA Registry. And whether it is feasible to:

(i)         implement a time limited ban (for example, for two years);

(ii)        implement a ban on specific suburbs, including on the feasibility of such a ban in impacted suburbs including: Millers Point, The Rocks, Darlinghurst, Woolloomooloo, Ultimo, Haymarket, Kings Cross, Surry Hills and Pyrmont; and

(iii)       trigger a ban based on rental vacancy rates; and

(C)       Council request the Lord Mayor write to the NSW Minister for Better Regulation and Fair Trading, Anoulack Chanthivong, and the NSW Minister for Housing, Rose Jackson, and request the NSW STRA Register sit within the Department of Customer Service and be improved to include information which differentiates between primary and non-primary residences, to allow for a clear distinction around properties being utilised commercially as investment properties.

The motion was carried on the following show of hands –

Ayes (9)           The Chair (the Lord Mayor), Councillors Arkins, Ellsmore, Kok, Maxwell, Miller, Thompson, Weldon and Worling

Noes (1)          Councillor Gannon*.

Carried.

*Note – Councillor Gannon abstained from voting on this matter. Pursuant to the provisions of clause 11.4 of the Code of Meeting Practice, Councillor Gannon is taken to have voted against the motion.

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