January 21st, 2023Your Say: Short stay accommodation
In May 2022, I wrote to The Local – Edition 256 – detailing the many issues relating to short stay accommodation within the Hepburn Shire.
To achieve the necessary and immediate implementation of local laws/regulations/codes of conduct governing short stay accommodation, residents of the Hepburn Shire who are affected by or potentially affected by neighbouring short stay accommodation properties need to collectively challenge the Hepburn Shire Council.
Recently, over the Christmas/New Year holiday period I had to formally contact the short stay accommodation property management organisation regarding several immediate and ongoing issues I have with a neighbouring short stay accommodation property.
Consistently, these management organisations do not want to hear complaints, or any problems associated with their short stay accommodation properties. More so the owners of the properties – they never contact me to discuss these issues, live outside the shire and rarely visit – they simply snub their nose at any challenge or authority. They do not care.
We, as residents are expected to accept this situation – with no avenue of recourse or support. Council empowers these property owners by allowing this uncontrolled and unregulated situation to continue.
Council has no immediate plans to implement laws/regulations/codes of conduct to protect neighbourhoods from anti-social behaviours and amenity loss issues. The short stay property owners are not legally bound or obligated to do anything, but they collect exorbitant and lucrative holiday rental incomes. There is no accountability.
The Yarra Ranges and the Mornington Peninsula shires have implemented strict local laws, regulations and codes of conduct to administer the short stay accommodation properties within their respective shires. Their precise intention is to protect neighbourhoods and residents from anti-social behaviours and amenity loss issues caused by short stay accommodation properties.
The state government has a role to play. The Hepburn Shire has not introduced any laws, regulations, codes of conduct primarily because the state government has not legislated or directed accordingly.
If there is enough community pressure, the Hepburn Shire must act. Planning laws and regulations relating to the approval and establishment of short stay accommodation properties, also need to be amended.
In order to gain some momentum to force the necessary change and to further understand the depth of the current situation with short stay accommodation within the Hepburn Shire, I would like to hear from those community residents that have been, are currently and are potentially affected by neighbouring short stay accommodation properties. Planning laws and regulations relating to the establishment of short stay accommodation properties also need to be amended.
With the growing volume of short stay accommodation properties in the Hepburn Shir, all these many issues will be ongoing. To empower all the affected community residents by implementing strict controls over short stay accommodation properties, their respective owners and management organisations will go a long way to restoring our lost amenity.
There is absolutely no possibility that these or similar short stay accommodation properties would be made available on the permanent rental market. It is simply far too lucrative.
Availability of permanent housing rental properties within the Hepburn Shire will continue to decline and be unaffordable. This short stay accommodation issue is extremely serious – it has and is damaging the shire. The growing and lucrative short stay accommodation industry in the Hepburn Shire places enormous pressure on this sector.
If any community residents have any relevant issues or specific opinions relating to short stay accommodation within the Hepburn Shire, please email me at davemclachlan53@fermigiohousegmail-com
From: Dave McLachlan, Hepburn Springs
