Can I short-term rent in Brisbane (City of Brisbane LGA / Brisbane City Council)?

Brisbane City Council consulted on a proposed Short Stay Accommodation Local Law 2025 that would have required hosts to hold a council permit. Council's own status page for the proposal states verbatim: 'Council is not proceeding with the proposed Short Stay Accommodation Local Law 2025 at this time,' citing that circumstances have changed since consultation began in 2023, a slowdown in platform-based short-stay growth, improved host/property management, and feedback that some short-term lets house DV survivors, insurance claimants and hospital patients. No permit, licence or registration number is currently required to list an Airbnb/Stayz property in Brisbane LGA.

Exceptions: Council's page leaves the door open to revisit regulation in a future budget/rates cycle; this is a pause, not a permanent repeal. Note: a specific announcement date (previously reported as 12 May 2026) and a Lord Mayoral personal attribution are commonly cited but are NOT stated on the council status page itself, and could not be corroborated against a primary source in this verification pass (news search was unavailable), treat that specific date/name as unconfirmed until checked against a council media release or dated news report.

⚠ Our confidence in this fact is medium. Confirm with the source before relying on it.

Brisbane City Plan 2014 treats short-term letting under the 'bed and breakfast' definition, confirmed verbatim on council's page as 'tourist and visitor accommodation on a short-term, commercial basis' where 'the host operates and maintains these facilities and guests are generally given breakfast', classified as a home-based business and distinguished from motels/hotels/boarding houses/hostels. It is supported in nine zone categories: Residential, Centre, Mixed Use, Township, Environmental Management, Conservation, Rural, Rural Residential and Emerging Community. Some projects qualify as 'accepted development' needing no planning approval if they meet a self-assessable checklist; otherwise hosts must contact council (07 3403 8888) or seek pre-lodgement advice to confirm whether a development application is required.

Exceptions: Exact assessment level (accepted/code/impact-assessable) varies by specific zone and precinct/neighbourhood plan and was not fully enumerated on the source page. A previously-stated '35-business-day statutory decision period' figure could not be verified against a primary source (the Queensland Development Assessment Rules page did not return usable content in this pass) and has been removed, do not quote a specific number of business days without checking the current DA Rules directly.

⚠ Our confidence in this fact is medium. Confirm with the source before relying on it.

There is no QLD state-wide hosted/non-hosted STR framework (Queensland has no state STR scheme; it is council-by-council). Brisbane's own distinction is rates-based: owner-occupied hosted letting within allowable limits sits in category 1ga/10ga (standard-plus rates); whole-property/non-hosted letting exceeding 60 days a year (with individual stays under 42 consecutive nights) sits in category 23/24 Transitory Accommodation at materially higher rates.

⚠ Our confidence in this fact is medium. Confirm with the source before relying on it.

Council's Rating Category Statement 2025-26 (fetched and confirmed directly) lists category 23 'Transitory Accommodation: land being used for Transitory Accommodation purposes...', category 24 as the community-titles-scheme (strata) equivalent, category 1ga 'Residential, Owner Occupied with Guest Accommodation' (land meeting category 1 but part-used for paid guest accommodation within allowable limits), and category 10ga as the CTS equivalent of 1ga, all four category labels and definitions are confirmed verbatim against the primary PDF. Council's separate 'change of property use' page confirms hosts should notify council if providing 'transitory accommodation for more than 60 days in a year (with each stay less than 42 consecutive nights in duration)'. Media/industry reporting citing council's 2022 budget puts the differential at roughly 50% above equivalent non-owner-occupied residential rates (introduced 1 July 2022), this specific percentage and date remain unconfirmed against the primary cents-in-the-dollar Resolution of Rates and Charges table (not accessible within this verification pass either) and should be checked before being quoted as exact.

Exceptions: Properties only renting a single room, granny flat, or shared/hosted accommodation within allowable limits fall under the owner-occupied guest-accommodation category (1ga/10ga) instead of category 23.

⚠ Our confidence in this fact is medium. Confirm with the source before relying on it.

CityPlan 2014 identifies Residential, Centre, Mixed Use, Township, Environmental Management, Conservation, Rural, Rural Residential and Emerging Community zones as the zones where short-term/bed-and-breakfast accommodation is encouraged or anticipated; outside these, or where local overlays/neighbourhood plans restrict it, the use may not be supported or may require impact assessment with public notification.

Exceptions: Neighbourhood plans and overlays can vary the base zone outcome property-by-property.

⚠ Our confidence in this fact is medium. Confirm with the source before relying on it.