Brisbane to charge Airbnb hosts higher council rates to tackle housing availability

Brisbane lord mayor, Adrian Schrinner, says the city needs more rental housing supply and that increasing rates for short-stay properties like on Airbnb will help. Photograph: Darren England/AAP

Brisbane homeowners who list their properties as short-term accommodation on sites like Airbnb will be slugged with a 50% rates hike amid a chronic shortage of rental properties.

Handing down the city’s $4bn budget on Wednesday, the LNP lord mayor, Adrian Schrinner, said a new “transitory accommodation” category will help tackle housing availability and affordability in Australia’s fastest growing capital city.