Blue Mountains News

“While we value visitors to our Blue Mountains region and the boost this brings to our local economy, we need to balance this with the need for quality housing for our local community,” Mayor, Councillor Mark Greenhill said.

“As with many parts of regional Australia, we are currently experiencing a critical housing shortage in the Blue Mountains, forcing people into homelessness.

“I urge anyone who has an additional home, whether it be used as a holiday home for personal use or for short-term rental, to consider opening that home to long-term renters.”

According to Bureau of Statistics 2021 census figures, 3,566 Blue Mountains homes - 10.5 per cent of the housing stock - were unoccupied on census night last August.

There are currently around 4700 rentals in the Blue Mountains, with approximately 1165 of these short-term rentals, meaning that nearly 20 per cent of all rental properties in the Blue Mountains are short-term rentals.

“The problem of homelessness affects many in our community,” continued Cr Greenhill. “We’re increasingly seeing older women, as well as families and children, struggling to find a home and there are currently many critical workers – teachers, nurses, carers, cleaners, hospitality workers – who are struggling to find homes.

“It’s important that we retain these people in our local area to care for our communities and keep our economy moving.”

Council is not legally able to regulate short term rental accommodation, but Council can encourage non-resident ratepayers to consider opening their homes to the long-term rental market.

The Blue Mountains has become an increasingly attractive place to live, especially since the start of the pandemic, with more people working from home and seeking the lifestyle benefits of a regional area. This has significantly impacted housing affordability in the Blue Mountains and tightened the rental market, with a sharp decrease in rental vacancy rates.

While housing is mainly a state and federal issue, Council has resolved to investigate ways to improve the availability of affordable housing, including consulting with the community housing industry and not-for-profit housing organisations. Council will also review its own property portfolio to identify suitable land for potential affordable housing,in line with environmental planning requirements, and will continue to work with other councils to investigate a regional affordable housing scheme.

In the meantime, Council encourages those with additional homes to consider their options.

“It’s worth noting that there are advantages to renting longer term,” Cr Greenhill said. “Including the potential for a more consistent, reliable income, with less fluctuations due to seasonal peaks and troughs.

“If just a few holiday homeowners switched to long-term rentals for even a few years, this would help the situation until other solutions are found.”