Residents Say Council's Short-Term Rental Crackdown Is Long Overdue, or Plain Wrong

Sunshine Coast Council is preparing to finalise its short-term rental accommodation framework before the end of the 2026 financial year, and the communities most affected by the policy are not waiting quietly. Residents from Mooloolaba to Coolum Beach have spent the past fortnight packing out consultation sessions, writing submissions, and doorknocking neighbours, all with sharply different ideas about what a fair outcome looks like.

The timing matters. Queensland's rental vacancy rate sat at 0.9 per cent on the Sunshine Coast as of the March 2026 quarter, according to data published by the Real Estate Institute of Queensland. Long-term tenants priced out of the Esplanade strip in Mooloolaba or Alexandra Parade in Alexandra Headland point directly at the proliferation of holiday lets as a driver. Council counted more than 4,200 active short-term rental listings across the region in its own May 2026 audit, a figure that has more than doubled since 2019.

A Community Divided Street by Street

In the quiet residential streets behind Sunshine Beach, some households share fences with properties that turn over a new group of guests every three days. Residents in that area submitted more than 60 individual objections to the proposed registration scheme during the June public comment period, according to a council spokeswoman. Their core complaint: noise, parking pressure on streets like Belmore Terrace, and a sense that the neighbourhood has become a de facto resort precinct without anyone voting for it.

The counterargument is just as vocal. Homeowners who rely on platforms like Airbnb and Stayz to service mortgages on the back of a Sunshine Coast property market that still sits well above pre-pandemic levels say the proposed regulations, including a mandatory registration fee and a 90-day annual cap for unhosted properties, would strip them of a viable income stream. A small-business owner who lists a granny flat in Buderim told The Daily Sunshine Coast the cap would cut her projected 2026-27 income by roughly $18,000. She is not alone. The Accommodation Association estimates the proposed 90-day cap would affect about 1,100 properties on the Coast that currently operate for more than that threshold.

Sunshine Coast Community Alliance, a local advocacy group based in Maroochydore, has been collecting resident testimonies since April and presented a 47-page report to councillors at the June 24 ordinary meeting. The report draws on accounts from 312 respondents across Noosa Hinterland, Caloundra, and the Maroochy area. Nearly 70 per cent of those surveyed said they either knew someone displaced from long-term housing because of a short-term conversion, or had been displaced themselves.

What the Council Is Actually Proposing

The draft framework, tabled at the May 20 council meeting, includes three main levers: a compulsory registration portal launching in October 2026, a tiered fee structure starting at $350 annually for hosted listings and $750 for unhosted ones, and a complaints hotline linked to a strike system that can revoke registration after three substantiated complaints in 12 months. The 90-day cap for unhosted properties remains the most contested element and has not yet been formally adopted, councillors voted at the June 24 meeting to extend community consultation by six weeks.

That extension pushed the final decision to no earlier than August 2026, which means a resolution will land in the middle of the spring school holiday booking window, a fact that is already creating anxiety among both operators trying to plan their calendars and residents hoping for relief before the summer peak season.

Community members who want to put their views on record have until July 25 to lodge a written submission through Sunshine Coast Council's online portal or in person at the Caloundra, Maroochydore, or Nambour service centres. The council's planning and infrastructure committee is scheduled to hold one further public hearing on July 22 at The Events Centre in Caloundra, starting at 6 pm, the one session specifically set aside for individual residents rather than industry groups to address councillors directly.