policy
Short-Term Rental Referendum: Timeline for Sunshine Coast Housing Availability
The October 2026 ballot will set rules that start to reshape rental supply in Maroochydore and coastal suburbs from mid-2027 onward.
How we reported this
The Sunshine Coast Council will hold a referendum on short-term rental regulation on 17 October 2026. All enrolled residents in the local government area, from Caloundra to Noosa, will receive ballot papers that ask whether nightly letting caps and registration rules should apply to existing properties.
Housing demand on the Sunshine Coast has climbed alongside the Sunshine Coast University Hospital expansion and new international flight approvals at Maroochydore airport. Council planning documents from 2025 record these trends and note that short-term lets now compete directly with long-term rentals in the same postcodes used by hospital workers and airport staff.
When Residents Will See Changes
If the referendum passes, new registration requirements begin on 1 July 2027. Property owners must list each dwelling with the council before accepting bookings, and a nightly cap of 60 days per year applies from 1 December 2027. Renters looking for leases in Maroochydore and nearby coastal streets could notice fewer holiday-let listings on major platforms by the 2027-28 summer season. Landlords who currently rely on short stays will face a choice between converting to longer leases or selling, which local advocates note could shift availability in suburbs within five kilometres of the hospital.
The council's 2025 housing audit states that short-term rentals account for 10 per cent of dwellings in the highest-demand coastal zones. That share is drawn from rates data and platform records supplied to the council during the previous financial year.
Process From Here
Ballot packs are scheduled for mailing in the first week of September 2026. Results must be declared within 30 days under the Local Government Electoral Act. The government says the policy will feed into the next round of planning scheme amendments, which are due for public exhibition in early 2028. Residents who want to track the timeline can register for updates through the council's dedicated referendum page once voting closes.