In the March election, Frank Wilkie promised that as Mayor he would “halt the spread and impacts of Short Stay Accommodation (STA) in residential areas”. 

For residents impacted by STA it was the number-ONE election issue. They took Frank at his word, many voting for him, and now expect action. But there’s been no word on a strategy to meet this promise, and it will be another five months before residents can judge the effectiveness of Council actions.

That will come when Council considers recommendations from a recent staff review of the Short Stay Let Local Law. Some stakeholders consulted during the review regard the process as superficial, self-justifying and tokenistic.

Council staff now estimate that between 3400 and 3600 Noosa properties are advertised for STA. About 1000 are not approved. One STA in seven generates complaints, with illegal operation and noise the main reasons. Staff point to a lower level of hotline complaints up to August 2024 as evidence the Local Law is working. 

“No one does anything, so why bother?”

However, stakeholders say there are fewer complaints because of frustration with the hotline’s operation and response, and affected residents suffering from ‘battle fatigue… “No one does anything, so why bother”.  As well, STA bookings are softer reflecting economic circumstances.

A report to Council of the review’s findings and recommendations is scheduled for March next year, a year after the election. Natasha Fabulic, convenor of Noosa Residents Against Unregistered Short Term Accommodation (NRAUSTA), says that in the meantime Mayor Wilkie could be championing initiatives to demonstrate the genuineness of his election promise. They could include: 

•  a tougher attitude to owners illegally offering properties for STA, including cease and desist notices and escalating penalties for those who persist;
• Publish the Hotline response rate for performance against the mandatory 30-minute  requirement;  
• Adopt a three-strikes-and-you’re-out policy for Local Law breaches, as originally proposed by NRAUSTA; 
• Commit unequivocally to the allocation of all revenue raised from registration fees and rates collected from STA properties (estimated at more than $12m/year) for enforcement of the Local Law and compliance with it, with specific accounting for this income and expenditure;
• A comprehensive on-site review of compliance for STAs where complaints have been made, including consultation with neighbours, rather than just a tick-the-box desk-top renewal;
• Confirm that the 142 properties whose owners claim the 4  x 15-day STA concession are in fact their ‘principal place of residence’ as the Local Law requires, with Statutory declarations by owners that the 60-day limit is not exceeded.

“Almost 10 years after Airbnb and other booking platforms appeared here, many people’s residential amenity is still impacted,” Ms Fabulic said. “Now it’s taking a year to see if election promises are met. A statement of intent, STA strategy and objectives would reassure those people who supported Frank that his promises were sincere. He can expect support for sensible Local Law reform from a majority of his councillor colleagues who also expressed concerns about STAs in their election campaigns.”

Through the Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ), Noosa Council has proposed compulsory State registration of all properties offered for STA.  Long-suffering Noosa residents impacted by STA will recall a similar LGAQ motion proposed by then-Noosa Mayor Tony Wellington. It was adopted by the lobby group, but after Clare Stewart became Mayor progress on this initiative stopped. That was five years ago.

With the STA tsunami that swept Noosa in the mid-2010s micro-motels mushroomed in residential zones and long-term rentals were converted to unregulated STAs. Accommodation for essential service staff evaporated. With the lack of essential workers, growth in the business and services sectors was constrained, impacting the performance of Noosa Council itself including sluggish implementation of the Local Law.

NRAUSTA wants council to pursue a strategy not only of constraining further STA expansion but also restoring the balance of resident-to-visitor numbers in residential streets prior to the wholesale advent of Airbnb  and STAs. Ms Fabulic said the 2024 Census reported 2.3 people/dwelling, and this could be a measure used for restored balance. 

To achieve these numbers she said Council should adopt a series of caps, including: 

– 60 nights rental per year for each STA property; 

– maximum of six guests per STA (including children); and 

– at least one off-street parking spot for each rentable bedroom. 

NRAUSTA’s submission to the Noosa Town Plan Amendment #2 can be read here.  

In December 2023 NRAUSTA formally petitioned Council on STA matters but without response.

With the Federal and State Governments pressuring local governments to make planning decisions that facilitate more low-cost housing, the environment is right to take steps that would encourage reversion of STA properties to long-term rental.

A LOCAL LAW bypassed by many party house operators

After a decade appealing for controls by many in the Noosa community, in October 2021 Noosa Council adopted the Short Stay Let Local Law. Some long-suffering residents judged it to be a good first step. But with snail-paced implementation, hopes faded. Despair turned into disbelief as STA approvals ignored a key provision of Council’s own by-law that ‘the operation of short stay letting…must not detrimentally affect the residential amenity enjoyed by adjoining residents’; and disbelief became skepticism in 2024 when council reported that 1300 dwellings offered for STA were still not registered.

Natasha Fabulic puts it this way: “Now the failure to set out a strategy to meet election promises is leading to further disappointment and frustration. The Wilkie Council should vigorously pursue enforcement and compliance now and take the opportunity of embracing new Local Law initiatives available to it.”