Short-term rental properties in NSW surge by 13,000 since December 2021

Paul Scully said his department would interrogate the calls for 60-day caps, amid pressure from mayors to allow councils to set their own limits to deal with the rise in listings that they say is adding to the statewide housing crisis.

Department of planning figures obtained by Guardian Australia reveal that 45,209 short-term rentals are now registered, an increase of 13,000 since December 2021.

The number of non-hosted homes has risen from 20,999 at the end of 2021 to 29,289, accounting for the vast majority of the overall rise in listings across the state. The rise is of concern to mayors and housing affordability advocates.

The NSW south coast accounts for the most listings anywhere in the state, with more than 4,000 properties listed in the Shoalhaven local government area, including the tourist hotspots of Berry, Kangaroo Valley and Jervis Bay, accounting for 7.5% of private dwellings.

The Central Coast comes in second with 3,307 homes listed as private rentals, with the northern beaches coming in third, with 2,514.

Byron shire has the fourth most properties registered of all local government areas, but the 2,440 properties account for 16% of all private dwellings.

This was welcomed by Lyon but it was met with a caution from Airbnb, which said any such measure could damage the local economy.

Scully will review the report in coming weeks before making his ruling for the northern rivers hotspot and working with the department to review the overarching policies, including caps, later this year.

The state government introduced a requirement for all short-term rentals to be registered in 2021.