According to the Australian Financial Review, a new 63-story building in Melbourne, costing 300 million yuan, was originally intended to provide private residential accommodation for Melbourne's growing population, but it has now become a similar hotel. Dozens of homes have been listed on Airbnb,Booking.com,Expedia and other websites by owners and investors.
Long-time residents of EQ Tower, which has 633 apartments, are now facing noisy parties in the next room. It is reported that 3/4 of the residents here are young Asian students. These students not only have to endure the noise, but also worry about stealing and their personal safety. Because, day and night, anonymous short-term guests come here at any time.
EQ Tower is just one of the Melbourne residential buildings swept away by Airbnb, a phenomenon that has sparked heated debate among politicians.
The 2016 Union of owners amendment bill is still awaiting approval by the House of Lords and the legislation Committee. Under the Act, residents will receive compensation if short-term guests violate the rules and short-rent guests will be fined. However, the bill still does not prohibit the entire apartment on the Airbnb listed for rental.
In April, more than 2200 apartments in CBD, Melbourne, were listed for rent, according to AirDNA, a Airbnb research firm. That number grew in just one year to more than 600 70%.Southbank units and 500 Docklands units.
It is reported that Airbnb tenants when entering the apartment building do not need to register their names, and do not need to produce identity information.
Residents complained to the Australian Financial Review that "drunken people were running around in the hallway at night," and they were worried that their belongings would be stolen. Since all the mailboxes are right behind the apartment, they are also worried about identity theft.
One resident said: "the police have been here more than 10 times recently." Another apartment owner from Malaysia said his partner's $10,000 bike had been stolen while they were abroad. They tried three times and finally opened the lock. I suspect it's Airbnb's people. "investors in apartment buildings are allowed to put their apartments on the Airbnb for sale, and the profits will be higher.
Matt Khoo, deputy director of operations at EQ Tower developer ICD Property, said the situation was similar for all developers and that once the apartments were sold, they would not be able to control the use of the apartments.
"this is not a new issue. There has been a lot of discussion since the rise of Airbnb."
However, there are also some developers are taking action. Mohan Du, who runs development firm Capital Alliance, said he added new terms to his sales contract to prevent owners from placing apartments on Airbnb and other short-term rental platforms.
Du said the terms will be included in the new development case, The Docklands, and all future project contracts. "most developers don't live in these apartments, and when they sell, they don't care. We think it would be misleading not to tell the buyer that they might have a Airbnb apartment next door. "
Brent Thomas, director of public relations at Airbnb, said: "Airbnb supports the rights of Victorians to share their homes. We hope the homeowners can meet the high standards of the community. We are also committed to making the platform better and safer. "
