As the City of Sydney Council examines the possibility of banning short-term rentals across 11 inner-city suburbs, a prominent Sydney Airbnb management expert is challenging what she describes as a politically convenient narrative - one that penalises homeowners operating within the rules while overlooking those who are not.
Krystina Cleary, Founder of Cleary & Co, one of Sydney's most recognised short-term rental management agencies, says the broader debate linking Airbnb to the housing crisis is failing to address the core issues at play.
"The percentage of Sydney's total real estate listed on Airbnb sits somewhere between 0.9 and 1.6 percent," says Cleary. "The Greens have jumped onto this bandwagon in an attempt to gain voters. It is a naive perspective that prime, centrally located real estate should simply be made available to everyone. If you are a homeowner or investor paying the mortgage month on month, year on year, doesn't that give you the right to decide what you do with your own property?"
Data from the City of Sydney indicates there are 5,454 active short-term rental listings within the local government area. Of those, only 2,468 are officially registered under the NSW Short-Term Rental Accommodation framework, leaving more than 3,000 listings operating outside the legal requirements.
Cleary, who has managed Sydney properties through multiple regulatory cycles since 2017, says this compliance gap represents a systemic failure that weakens the entire regulatory structure. "I am not clear on how rentals are bypassing the STRA registration, as this is required to list properties for stays under 90 days. Without registering you are either impacting short-term letting options or claiming to be exempt for whatever reason, and this should be picked up by the Department of Planning who are supposedly auditing this process."
Rather than pursuing new suburban restrictions, Cleary argues that enforcing existing legislation would be both a more practical and more equitable approach. The City of Sydney motion, passed on 28 April 2026, directs the council's CEO to investigate restricting non-primary-residence short-term rentals in suburbs including Darlinghurst, Surry Hills, Pyrmont, Potts Point, and Chippendale - areas where rental vacancy rates sit below 3 percent.
Cleary says the homeowners who stand to be affected bear little resemblance to the large-scale investors the policy appears to target. "Our clients are a diverse bunch. Some are using their asset to fund their retirement, to visit their kids and grandkids as they live elsewhere in Australia or overseas. Many are using their property income to fund their businesses, or to cover medical expenses for serious illness. Under a ban, these owners would be hamstrung into a long-term rental model that does not allow them to use their properties for personal use and which is capped in terms of income."
Despite the ongoing regulatory uncertainty, Cleary maintains a measured outlook on the long-term direction of Sydney's short-term rental market. "Hopefully, and maybe somewhat optimistically, what we will see is a true five-star experience for visitors to our city. Unscrupulous hosts, poorly presented properties, and operators trying to cut corners to make a fast dollar only work in the short term. They have no long-term staying power."
For property owners assessing their options amid the uncertainty, Cleary's guidance is grounded in individual circumstances. "It is a personal decision for the homeowner, always. We provide impartial, factual, real advice and we discuss their needs thoroughly from the outset to understand whether this is a feasible and sensible option for them."
