An online New Zealand property rental platform says the Dunedin City Council’s proposal to seek commercial rates from residential short-term accommodation providers is "misguided" and will drive up the cost of visiting the city.
Today, councillors will decide whether to create a new rating category for residential short-term visitor accommodation for the 2020-21 financial year, incorporate changes in a rates review for the 2021-31 long-term plan, or maintain the status quo.
Yesterday, Bookabach criticised the approach.
"In other parts of New Zealand, the application of commercial rates on short-term holiday letting has increased the cost of tourism accommodation, forced mum-and-dad bach owners to withdraw their own holiday homes from the market and sent valuable tourism dollars to other parts of the country," Bookabach corporate affairs director Eacham Curry said.
"It is clear that local governments do not have the policy levers available to address this issue in a coherent manner and as a result the central government should step in with a lasting solution.’"
Last week, the Otago Property Investors Association said there could be unknown consequences to the council proposal to raise rates for Airbnb-type properties, including a reduction in accommodation offerings for visitors.
Otago Property Investors Association president Kathryn Seque said the council had gathered limited information and had a limited understanding of the potential flow-on effects for the Dunedin economy if it "substantially" increased the rates for such accommodation providers.
Dunedin Mayor Aaron Hawkins, at the time, would not be drawn into speculating on the potential fallout from a plan that could include a 1.75 or 2.45 rating differential for residential short-term accommodation, but said, "I don’t think that’s a reason to not tax a business as a business".
The report for today’s council meeting recommends dealing with a planned review of short-term visitor accommodation and a full review of all rating differentials in one go.
