Last word on new short-term letting laws

Actually, that heading is a bit misleading, if not wildly hopeful.  The NSW government is due any day to table its response to the Coure inquiry into holiday letting, the most prominent manifestation of which is Airbnb.

This morning Radio National ran a track about the proposed laws in which yours truly was quoted extensively.  Click on that link to listen.

But of course this will not be the last word on the issue.   Far from it. Parliament will have to discuss it and MPS will vote on it and, if recent history is anything to go by, Airbnb will pump millions into the advertising market to shore up their image of a friendly hug-fest that helps nice people to do nice things.

I saw a poster in the station the other day claiming that Airbnb helped some woman to pay her strata fees.  Nice for her – but who pays for the extra wear and tear from all the woman’s visitors who neither know nor care about by-laws and building rules?

Grrrr!

Anyway, in the absence of a recent turn on James Valentine, you can hear me and some people who actually know what they’re talking about on Radio National.

Oh, and I’m betting here and now that my prediction that the law proposed tomorrow (Wednesday April 19) will allow room lets but restrict whole apartment lets will be proved wrong.