Airbnb in Melbourne

The Law

Short Term Rentals are currently operating largely unregulated in residential properties in the city of Melbourne, Victoria.

High profile attempts by Owner Corporations (backed by the City of Melbourne) to restrict short term rentals under the Building Act or Owners Corporation Rules have been unsuccessful, in rulings by the Victorian Building Appeals Board, Supreme Court, Court of Appeal and the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT).

Some owners corporations have been successful in challenging short-stay operators, using their existing building's rules preventing businesses operating in the apartments, and although it's illegal for tenants to sublet (or "Airbnb") their apartments on Airbnb, the practice has been widely reported (here and here).

The Victorian Minister for Consumer Affairs appointed a panel in February 2015 to look at the impact of short-term letting and make recommendations. According to Docklands News:

the panel is being asked to identify the issues; look at the overseas experience; and look at a possible list of solutions which range from legislative changes to self-regulation of the industry.

Airbnb data for Melbourne

Inside Airbnb

Inside Airbnb provides data compiled from the Airbnb web-site for listings available for Melbourne.

A conservative occupancy model has been built in order to estimate Occupancy Rates, Income per Month and Nights per Year. More information on the methodolgy of the occupancy model can be found in the disclaimers.

Inside Airbnb: Melbourne uses the following parameters:

A high availability metric and filter of 90 days per year

metric and filter of A frequently rented filter of 90 days per year

filter of A review rate of 50% for the number of guests making a booking who leave a review

of for the number of guests making a booking who leave a review An average booking of 3 nights unless a higher minimum nights is configured for a listing

unless a higher minimum nights is configured for a listing A maximum occupancy rate of 70% to ensure the occupancy model does not produce artifically high results based on the available data

If you are a journalist, urban or public policy planner, get the data and analyze it yourself. If you would like your analysis linked to from this site, please contact murray@murraycox.com.

Airbnb

Airbnb provides NO PUBLIC DATA to help understand the use of their platform and the impact on cities around the world.

Airbnb also provide NO DATA to cities or states to assist them in ensuring that Airbnb hosts and Airbnb are following the local laws.