By Natasha Fabulic
Key council staff generously gave 2 hours of their time on 28 March 24 to discuss issues around Short Stay Lets and the Local Law with members of the Noosa Residents Against Unregulated STAs group (NRAUSTA).
Resident frustrations are palpable, but we acknowledge it is a complex issue and thank council for the work done to date.
Please see below our summary of key issues discussed.
NRAUSTA meets Noosa Council staff to review issues around the Short Stay Lets and the Local Law.
28 March 2024
Attendees:
Richard MacGillivray. Director – Development and Regulation. Noosa Shire Council
Patrick Murphy. Development Assessment Manager. Noosa Shire Council
Natasha Fabulic NRAUSTA Convenor
Rowland Hill. NRAUSTA supporter
Greg Knott. NRAUSTA member
NRAUSTA presented key goals that we believe will alleviate much of the resident’s isues with STAs. Council was appreciative and open to consider and discuss them with Councillors and then meet again with us to refine the areas of focus moving forward that will provide the greatest value and enhancement to the operation and effectiveness of the local law (and STA issues more broadly).
Council will also be taking a ‘deep dive’ into the data, to get a better-focussed understanding of the issues of community concern for the SSL LL (Short Stay Let Local Law). For example, Planning submissions & approvals, Hotline calls, ATO sharing economy data, & AirDNA.
NRAUSTA Key Goals
A Statement of Principal communicating Council beliefs, intention and objectives made available to all stakeholders and reflected in policies and processes, and reflected in all published Local Law material, including a mandated Code of Conduct.
Deadline for registration: When Local Law adopted, Council envisaged implementation would take three years. Now in third year.
SSL ban in medium and high-density Residential zones: Noted no new applicants in over 12 months so a ban is in effect a reality.
Principal Place of Residence definition: Although only a small number of property owners claim the PPR concession, this is a significant irritant for community (perceived as a loophole being exploited by absentee investors).
Council communication established with ATO, exploring areas of co-operation; eg ATO definition of Main Residence (family home) for tax purposes differs from the owner-affidavit claim of PPR required by Council (more like a 100 point identity check).
As well as legitimising PPR claim, ATO may be able to confirm that days let did not exceed 4 x 15D/year concession. Both would be useful in underlining Council commitment to containing SSL growth.
Council will clarify what ATO info could be accessed without privacy breaches.
5. Advising neighbours of SSL application: Privacy issues limit distribution of details. Nevertheless, opportunities for an SSL application alert to be explored (similar to a development alert – with limited detail only) to be published on Noosa Council website, perhaps SSL dashboard.
6. Hotline Review– 30-minute response time the critical performance indicator, regardless of owner arrangements for response. Complaints call numbers ‘spikey’ – sometimes days pass without any complaint made. Early recorded numbers may have been misleading (because of renter misunderstandings about the purpose of the hotline, calls included appeals for domestic issues).
Council will be taking a ‘deep dive’ into the data, to get a better-focussed understanding of the issues.
Explore utilizing existing ‘Snap, Send, Solve’ application for SSL complaints to be explored.
7. ‘Three strikes and you’re out’: Agreed this is a desirable owner discipline.
Council to investigate further inclusion in Local Law.
8. State Govt reference group: Representations to State Govt and LGAQ for re-establishment of the industry reference group that previously existed with Noosa and Cairns councils as members.
Only a limited number of levers are available to Council to regulate STAs so would be beneficial to work with State.
Issues to be pursued by a reinstated reference group to include capped numbers of STA properties, overall and in specific locations of a local govt area; capped occupancy limits (total number per dwelling rather than 2 x bedroom); mandatory off-street parking adequate to meet maximum occupancy for each SSL.
9. Review of questionable approvals. A number of addresses were highlighted and council will follow these up. NRAUSTA community to provide further addresses of properties where they question approval decisions by council.
10. Audit of Worldwide SSL initiatives (including their effectiveness) – to shape strategy. NRAUSTA considers an audit would be very useful for Noosa Council to keep pressure on State.
11. Forfeiture of SSL entitlement: Although “Existing Use Rights” is a QLD State provision, Council planning staff do apply rigorous scrutiny around circumstances such as scope & intensity, abandonment, and residential amenity.
‘Existing use rights’ should expire with change of ownership. State matter – not Council LL regulation.
12. Close ‘Granny flats’ loophole. State initiative.
13. SSL Dashboard: Cost and resource issues led to inclusion only of quarterly numbers – self-described as ‘good start’.Next quarter numbers about to be published. Will investigate practical barriers to inclusion of real time information. Interested in community views on further info to be included in Dashboard. Further modification constrained by cost and resources.
14. Caps on total numbers of STAs; and on numbers of renters/dwelling: State matter.
15. Signage: Useful in demonstrating commitment while initiating SSL LL. Agrees unsightly, but useful demonstration of council intent during LL implementation.
16. Senior Officer review of SSL approvals. Deemed unnecessary as rigorous progressive review of approval process already built into the approval process.
Other goals not discussed, but detailed in our leave-behind document.
Review Code of Conduct, refresh to include Statement of Principal, re-statement of key issues that impact residential amenity (noise, 9pm – 7am outdoor curfew, light spill and oversighting); off-street parking; disposal of rubbish, including enforcement of existing time limits for kerbside placement and removal of wheelie bins. Owners and managers to be advised that a council-generated template and content of the refreshed Code of Conduct to be a mandatory inclusion in all SSL promotional and contractual material, and prominently displayed in rented dwellings, (replacing existing discretionary provisions around Code of Conduct advice).
Mandatory provision of off-street parking sufficient to meet maximum number of occupants.
Next meeting: three months – end June (date to be set)
Editor's Note:
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