THE state government is set to introduce a new levy “on short stay accommodation platforms” of 7.5 per cent.
There’s no indication, in the government literature, that it will also impact normal holiday rentals booked through local real estate agents.
However, the levy, to be introduced in 2025, is set to play havoc with plans by local councils, including the Bass Coast Shire Council, to regulate short stay accommodation within their own municipalities.
According to an explanation given on the Victorian Government website about the new levy, under the heading “Cheaper housing, closer to where you work”, the government explains that 25 per cent of an expected $70 million raised annually by the short-stay levy will come back to regional Victoria.
That’s despite the government acknowledging that half of an estimated 36,000 short-stay accommodation places are located in regional Victoria.
But, the government went further in its announcement on Wednesday, September 20: “This also means other local council charges on short stay accommodation will be removed.”
Bass Coast Shire Council’s ‘Short Stay Rental Accommodation Local Law’ only came into effect September 11, 2023 a key component of which is “an annual flat fee of $300”.
“Short stay accommodation owners will be able to register their homes, from January 2023, with an annual flat fee of $300, to be adjusted in line with future CPI, coming into effect from July 1, 2023.”
The fee is supposed to cover the cost of keeping tabs on up to 2500 short stay properties in Bass Coast and monitoring a comprehensive set of rules about everything from rubbish to the behaviour of guests with the requirement that a contact person be available 24/7.
So, if the levy can’t be collected, what then?
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