Brisbane council permits

[Andrew-and-Jackie0]

Hi everyone,

We have a unit in Brisbane that we would love to host out.  We are doing our research and have so far had the ok from the insurers and the body corporate.  However, the Brisbane City council requires us to apply for a "short term accommodation permit"as it is not a "home based business". This permit will cost approxiamtely $5000!  And the council have requested that we get a town planner to draw up the application.  Our question is....is there anyway around this? 

[Artemis-and-Albert0]

We did engage a town planner and the whole experience was expensive but educational. 

There are limits to what you will or will not be able to do depending on the zoning of your area.

What we did learn with the help of our town planner is that we can just plan for a pre-lodgement meeting with the council to understand the concerns and address these issues. And if your proposed DA is not feasible, you don’t need to waste your money. 

We have two drewlings on our property and can comply as a BNB,  and our planner helped us with our response letter.  I hope this helps other anxious hosts. 

If you got a letter, chances re your neighbours complained. So I also recommend speaking to your neighbours and changing your operation so their concerns are addressed. The key change we put in place was to request that our guests speak inside the house after hour so their voice don’t travel to our neighbours at night. That works well. 

[Jennie0]

Thanks for this info Artemis and Albert 🙂

[Catherine1879]

Do we have to pay tax for bnb accommodation? 

Thanks in advance.

[Lyn3]

@Catherine1879 

Hi Catherine, yes you definitely need to declare your income from BnB in your tax return. You will also have deductions for outgoing expenses related to the BnB such as cleaning products, foods/drinks (if you provide them), toiletries, etc. Check with your accountant.

[Ling18]

I'm wondering why not many people who running inner city apartment have discussed this issue? Should it be apply as a whole building or each unit need to apply? Does it matter if the building is already running as serviced apartment?

[Chris17319]

Hello,

I was speaking with a town planner this week. They indicate Brisbane council is making announcements in a few weeks regarding Airbnb regulations. It will be interesting to see if clearer and balanced policy is introduced. 

[Kamaea0]

Thanks for this.

[Daniel2433]

Yep this is in response to the state government changing planning requirements to make it easier. Related to the need for more accommodation required by 2032. 

[Kamaea0]

Does anyone know what the repercussions are of doing Airbnb in BCC? A slap on the wrist? Hefty fine? 
tia

[Daniel2433]

hi, if you’re running an AirBNB as a short term accommodation without approval and council finds out, they first issue you a show cause notice to either stop the use or apply for planning approval. If you do neither then you get fined and the process repeats itself again. I’m not sure how much the fine is. 
In some parts of Brisbane you don’t need approval, it just depends on your land use zone.