Christchurch's mayor is confident the property market will deal with the disproportionate number of inner-city homes being rented as short-stay accommodation.

Some councillors and inner-city residents have raised concerns about the concentration of Airbnbs and similar short-term rentals, as tourist hotspots around the country struggle to balance housing and tourist accommodation.

But Phil Mauger said he believed the "market would sort itself out".

Once developments such as the new Sheraton Hotel opened the gloss would come off for Airbnb investors, Mauger said.

"I think the days of Airbnbs are going to change as more and more hotels get built in Christchurch because it's like an Uber going to the airport. If the Ubers are busy, the price goes up, so I'm sure something's going to change.

"Then people will say, oh, this isn't as lucrative as it used to be. Let's sell it and people will buy it and live in them, so I think there will be a change coming."

Mauger said he did not have estimates on how many owners were not complying with the rules, including notifying council, requiring resource consents in some cases, paying the relevant rates or enforcing maximum length of stays.

"It's a stab in the dark."

But he was not convinced spending more on compliance was a good investment.

"We've got to watch also that the ship hasn't left the wharf and we spend a lot of time chasing something that there's not that much ... that might not be as bad as what we think."

"Do you spend a dollar to save fifty cents? That's the thing I'm looking at, and I think staff are looking at it, but I'm not quite sure where they're at with it."

Some Christchurch locals are concerned about the concentration of Airbnbs in the inner city. Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon

Mauger said he understood the attraction for property owners.

"I've got a couple of nephews who have got some Airbnbs and it's what young people do, you know, everyone's looking for an angle. They say oh, it's pretty good, we get good money on game nights and stuff like that ... real good money."

But he said some inner city residents had told the council it was coming at the expense of a sense of community.

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment recently backed a Christchurch City Council decision that a residential unit rented as short term accommodation breached the Building Act.

Mauger said he understood the owners were appealing the MBIE determination, but he was not concerned.

"I'm sure the market will sort itself out. All good that they're going to appeal ... because they can.

"But I think in the long run, it'll sort itself out."

The popularity of short-term rentals is causing tension in small towns such as Methven and Tekapo with calls for compliance crackdowns, data-sharing requirements or bed registers to track actual numbers and ensure the proper rates were being paid.