Airbnb owners not being held to account

Many Airbnb owners are operating without consents due to a lack of enforcement.

Only 48 resource consents and 150 required notifications have been approved by Christchurch City Council since tougher rules were introduced in July 2023.

City council head of planning and consents Mark Stevenson said due to a lack of dedicated resources, staff only take a reactive approach to enforcement when alerted about non-compliant Airbnb owners.

It comes as data shows the number of Airbnbs in the city have increased by 37% since January 2023, according to AirDNA.

Listings have increased by 1550 units from 4250 to 5800.

Consent and notification requirements were introduced in an effort to level the playing field between previously unregulated Airbnbs and more established accommodation providers like motels and hotels.

In most cases, Airbnbs that host visitors for more than 60 nights a year need a resource consent, which costs $1000.

Those which do less only need to notify the city council.

Hospitality New Zealand advocates on behalf of hotels and motels on policy issues. Chief executive Steve Armitage said enforcement of the consenting requirements is the issue with getting owners to comply.

“A number of councils around New Zealand have introduced rules similar to Christchurch’s but with limited effectiveness unless there is a willingness to allocate resources for enforcement.”

Stevenson said even if the city council allocated additional resources to proactively investigate consent compliance, staff would still be limited in their ability to identify where Airbnbs are located.

“The proactive compliance investigation approach is problematic due to addresses not being visible on the various Airbnb-like platforms.”

He said ultimately the responsibility sits with the host to comply with the rules.

Staff are analysing data from AirDNA – a short-term rental data analytics platform – and waiting on more census information to help build a better picture of where all of the city’s Airbnbs are, Stevenson said.

Armitage said the lack of progress on consenting means an “uneven playing field” remains.

“Established providers are adhering to the raft of compliance costs associated with being a registered business.”

To obtain resource consent, an Airbnb must not disrupt the residential character of an area or cause traffic or noise problems for neighbours.

Airbnb did not respond to a request for comment.