Short-stay accommodation FAQs
What's this proposed change about?
The City of Unley is looking at changing how we classify short-stay rentals for council rates — we want to hear from the community before making any decisions.
Right now, properties listed on platforms like Airbnb are rated as residential, even though they operate more like hotels.
The proposal would move them into the commercial rates category, like hotels and motels, so they contribute fairly to council services.
Who would be affected?
This won’t impact someone renting out a spare room or listing their home occasionally.
It would only apply to properties mainly used for short-term stays — like entire homes consistently available for rent.
How much would rates go up?
A property largely used for short stay accommodation valued at $1 million currently paying $1,797 in residential rates would pay approximately $4,611 under the commercial rate.
But again, this isn’t final yet — we’re asking for feedback before making a decision.
Why is Council doing this?
The aim is to help increase the availability of long-term rentals and level the playing field for hotels and motels paying commercial rates while facing higher vacancy rates.
What happens next?
We’re asking the community for feedback from 2 May to 26 May.
You can have your say through Your Say Unley, email, or a written submission.
No decision has been made yet — Council will review the feedback in June, and if it goes ahead, the change would start from July 2025.