General News
29 April, 2026
‘Illegal’ Airbnbs approved
TWO “illegal” holiday letting homes on millionaires’ row at Kewarra Beach have been given council approval to operate as Airbnbs.
However, a sign advertising their presence and a contact number were not approved after Deputy Mayor Brett Olds (Div. 9) feared they would be targeted by thieves as well as not in keeping with the neighbourhood’s aesthetics.
The houses approved were at 27 Kewarra St (which costs about $8500 a week to let) and at 60 Kewarra St ($5200 a week).
Cr Olds said signs of about A3 size out the front could be “a flashing light or could be a moth to a flame” for criminals staking out houses.
However, overall he supported approving the homes for short-term accommodation.
Cr Rhonda Coghlan (Div. 8) said she also supported the amended motion.
“ … it’s a tough one for me as well,” she said.
“So, on the beaches, we do get plenty of complaints about people running Airbnbs, and as Councillor Olds said, most of them are illegal because they’re not registered correctly as short term accommodation.
“However, I did see a whole new side of this with the disaster when Holloways Beach, Machans Beach and Yorkeys Knob had 1000 houses flooded.
“Many of these households were relocated in Airbnbs right across the city in places like Westcourt and Edge Hill and Redlynch … that’s something that we do need to consider as we go forward in this space.”
Cr Matthew Tickner (Div. 2) said they were the first proper applications for short term accommodation (holiday letting) to come before the council.
“There is no denying we have faced issues with these properties in the past, particularly around behaviour, capacity of residential houses, unlawful events being held with houses,” he said. Cr Tickner said the approvals helped “alleviate these issues”.
The approvals include providing a registrar of complaints and guests signing an agreement to follow a code of conduct, which included it not being “a party house” and no offensive noise between 10pm and 7am Monday to Saturday and 10pm-9am on Sunday and public holidays.
