The City of Sydney Council is considering banning short-term rentals across 11 inner-city suburbs, but Krystina Cleary, founder of Cleary & Co, a prominent short-term rental management agency, is challenging the narrative linking Airbnb to the housing crisis. She argues that existing laws should be enforced before new restrictions are imposed.
Data from the City of Sydney shows 5,454 active short-term rental listings within the local government area, but only 2,468 are officially registered under the NSW Short-Term Rental Accommodation (STRA) framework. This leaves more than 3,000 listings operating outside legal requirements. “I am not clear on how rentals are bypassing the STRA registration, as this is required to list properties for stays under 90 days,” Cleary said. “Without registering you are either impacting short-term letting options or claiming to be exempt for whatever reason, and this should be picked up by the Department of Planning who are supposedly auditing this process. It is a pointless exercise to make credible providers in the industry jump through hoops, yet unscrupulous operators can bypass the system entirely.”
Cleary emphasized that less than 2% of Sydney’s housing stock is listed on Airbnb, with estimates ranging from 0.9 to 1.6 percent. “The Greens have jumped onto this bandwagon in an attempt to gain voters,” she said. “It is a naive perspective that prime, centrally located real estate should simply be made available to everyone. It is growth economics 101: centrally located areas become more populated, they change, and they increase in value.”
The City of Sydney motion, passed on 28 April 2026, directs the CEO to investigate restricting non-primary-residence short-term rentals in suburbs including Darlinghurst, Surry Hills, Pyrmont, Potts Point, and Chippendale, where rental vacancy rates are below 3 percent. Cleary argues that the homeowners affected are not the large-scale investors the policy targets. “Our clients are a diverse bunch. Some are using their asset to fund their retirement, to visit their kids and grandkids as they live elsewhere in Australia or overseas. Many are using their property income to fund their businesses, or to cover medical expenses for serious illness. Under a ban, these owners would be hamstrung into a long-term rental model that does not allow them to use their properties for personal use and which is capped in terms of income. With the current economic uncertainty, who does this actually serve? It did not work in Byron Bay, and it will not work in Sydney.”
Current NSW law caps non-hosted short-term rentals in Greater Sydney at 180 days per year, while hosted properties have no cap. Bookings of 21 or more consecutive nights are exempt from the 180-day cap. Despite the regulatory uncertainty, Cleary remains optimistic about the market’s future. “Hopefully, and maybe somewhat optimistically, what we will see is a true five-star experience for visitors to our city. Unscrupulous hosts, poorly presented properties, and operators trying to cut corners to make a fast dollar only work in the short term. They have no long-term staying power. The Airbnb model of shorter-term home rentals is a necessary option in cities across the world, because hotels are no longer a practical option for an increasing number of travellers.”
For property owners, Cleary advises a personal approach. “It is a personal decision for the homeowner, always. We provide impartial, factual, real advice and we discuss their needs thoroughly from the outset to understand whether this is a feasible and sensible option for them.” The investigation by the City of Sydney is ongoing, and no ban has been implemented. More information about Cleary & Co can be found at clearyandco.com.au.
