A " holiday " means different things to different people. To some it is to experience the delights of a region they have not visited before and so they try the local cuisine and visit places of interest. The vast majority are well behaved and this tourist industry employs thousands of people and is an important component of the Australian economy.
Unfortunately, there is a segment which critics label " party animals " who do damage to the rented property they occupy with wild parties and an excess of alcohol. The noise factor is deafening and neighbours are deprived of sleep by load music and general mayhem.
This holiday scene has spread from hotels and holiday resorts to private homes which are now often becoming " short term rentals " listed with companies like" Airbunb ". As a result, neighbours in quiet suburbs can encounter these wild parties attracting police attention.
The government is seeking to bring these short term rentals under control by implementing a management scheme which would place a five year ban from lease arrangements. This ban would apply to both the property owners and the leasing company which could not offer it on their listings.
This is a very logical move. The owners of property in a tourist hot spot get a better return from short term rentals in the holiday season than from conventional long term tenants. It is in their interests that the property remains undamaged and it is reasoned that the ban threat will make rental companies more selective in the customers to whom they hand that house key.
The government plans a " two strike policy ". Problematic renters would be denied property access where a disruption occurred during their tenancy and the individual property would be included in the five year ban when police reports showed regular and repeated police visits to that address.
This legislation is being urged to pass through parliament and become law before this coming Christmas but to become effective it would be necessary for all short term rental property to be combined on a register, and that is not scheduled to come into effect before next June.
In effect, rushing through draconian legislation without the proper control measures in place is going to be ineffective and will do nothing to protect neighbours from the damage and noise disruption inflicted when these party animals run out of control.
It is highly likely the government is looking in the wrong direction with this ban. The ban only comes into effect after the damage has been done and the imposition of a very substantial bond would be more effective in making renters think twice of the monetary loss they will suffer for bad behaviour.
Obviously, there are some people so out of control that they would never be acceptable to be in control of a valuable property. It is better to apply lateral thinking to screen such people out of selection from gaining rental access than trying to repair the damage they cause !
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