Brisbane (City of Brisbane LGA / Brisbane City Council), QLD

Short-term rental rules

Photo: Brisbane River and skyline of Brisbane Australia by MusikAnimal, CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized.

Brisbane (City of Brisbane LGA / Brisbane City Council), QLD

Can I Airbnb a property in Brisbane (City of Brisbane LGA / Brisbane City Council)?

Restricted

Brisbane has no STR-specific permit, registration scheme or night cap in force: the proposed Short Stay Accommodation Local Law 2025 (which would have required a permit) was shelved by council, its own status page states it is 'not proceeding at this time', and is not currently being progressed. The two real levers are CityPlan 2014 zoning (a material-change-of-use/development approval can be triggered depending on zone and overlay) and council's differential rates system, which reclassifies whole-property lets used for more than 60 days a year into the higher 'Transitory Accommodation' rate category.

Last verified 2026-08-27 against official sources. Every fact below links to where it comes from.

The rules, fact by fact

RuleWhat appliesApplies toSinceSource
Registration No mandatory short-stay permit or registration currently applies in Brisbane.

Brisbane City Council consulted on a proposed Short Stay Accommodation Local Law 2025 that would have required hosts to hold a council permit from 1 July 2026. 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 and property management, and feedback that some short-term lets house domestic violence survivors, insurance claimants and hospital patients. No permit, licence or registration number is currently required to list an Airbnb or Stayz property in the Brisbane LGA. Re-checked directly against the council page on 25 July 2026: the wording is unchanged and the proposal remains shelved.

Exceptions: Council's page leaves the door open to revisit regulation, so this is a pause rather than a permanent repeal. The announcement date of 12 May 2026 and the personal attribution to the Lord Mayor are widely reported but are not stated on the council status page itself, so we do not assert them as fact.

Hosted & non-hosted n/a Council
Night cap No night cap on hosted or non-hosted short-term letting is in force.

Because the proposed Short Stay Accommodation Local Law 2025 was shelved (see registration rule), no council-imposed annual night cap applies to hosted or non-hosted STR in Brisbane, unlike NSW Greater Sydney (180 days) or Byron Shire (60 days). The only day-count that has legal effect is the 60-day/42-consecutive-night threshold used purely for rates categorisation, not as an operating cap.

Hosted & non-hosted n/a Council
Planning approval Whether a development approval (material change of use) is needed depends on CityPlan 2014 zoning, overlays and neighbourhood plan.

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.

Hosted & non-hosted n/a Council
Hosted vs non-hosted Council's rates system, not a state law, is what distinguishes hosted from non-hosted STR in Brisbane.

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.

Hosted & non-hosted n/a Council
Council rates Whole-home STR let for more than 60 days/year is moved into the higher 'Transitory Accommodation' differential rate category (23).

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.

Non-hosted 2022-07-01 Council
Zoning STR (as 'bed and breakfast'/short-term accommodation) is only actively supported in specific CityPlan zones.

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.

Hosted & non-hosted n/a Council

What's changed in Brisbane (City of Brisbane LGA / Brisbane City Council)

  • 2026-05-12 Council announced that the proposed Short Stay Accommodation Local Law 2025 (which would have required a council permit for short-stay letting) is 'not proceeding at this time', citing eased short-stay growth, improved host/property management, and non-tourism uses of short-term lets (DV survivors, insurance claimants, hospital patients). NOTE: this date and the commonly-reported Lord Mayoral personal attribution are NOT stated on the cited council status page and were not independently corroborated in this verification pass, flagged as unconfirmed pending a dated primary source (council media release or reputable news report). source

Host checklist for Brisbane (City of Brisbane LGA / Brisbane City Council)

  1. No mandatory short-stay permit or registration currently applies in Brisbane. official page
  2. Whether a development approval (material change of use) is needed depends on CityPlan 2014 zoning, overlays and neighbourhood plan. official page
  3. Confirm anything marked below high confidence directly with your council.

Common questions

Do I need to register my short-term rental in Brisbane (City of Brisbane LGA / Brisbane City Council)?

No mandatory short-stay permit or registration currently applies in Brisbane. Exceptions: Council's page leaves the door open to revisit regulation, so this is a pause rather than a permanent repeal. The announcement date of 12 May 2026 and the personal attribution to the Lord Mayor are widely reported but are not stated on the council status page itself, so we do not assert them as fact.

How many nights a year can I short-term rent in Brisbane (City of Brisbane LGA / Brisbane City Council)?

No night cap on hosted or non-hosted short-term letting is in force.

Do I need council or planning approval to short-term rent in Brisbane (City of Brisbane LGA / Brisbane City Council)?

Whether a development approval (material change of use) is needed depends on CityPlan 2014 zoning, overlays and neighbourhood plan. 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.

Related

Cite this page

The facts on this page are free to reuse, republish and quote under CC BY 4.0, including commercially, provided you credit Short Stay Rules and link back. Full terms on the data licence page. Copy whichever form you need.

Plain text

Short Stay Rules, "Short-term rental rules: Brisbane (City of Brisbane LGA / Brisbane City Council), QLD", last verified 27 August 2026. https://shortstayrules.com/australia/qld/brisbane/

Reference list

Short Stay Rules. (2026). Short-term rental rules: Brisbane (City of Brisbane LGA / Brisbane City Council), QLD. Last verified 27 August 2026. https://shortstayrules.com/australia/qld/brisbane/

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<a href="https://shortstayrules.com/australia/qld/brisbane/">Short-term rental rules: Brisbane (City of Brisbane LGA / Brisbane City Council), QLD</a>, Short Stay Rules, last verified 27 August 2026

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