Wednesday, June 22, 2022
Tuesday, June 21, 2022
Wednesday, June 15, 2022
Brisbane council cracks down on investors operating ‘pseudo hotels’
A crack down on short-term rentals will see Brisbane property owners pay substantially higher council rates to operate holiday homes, with the local mayor lamenting ‘different tenants coming and going’.
Brisbane’s lord mayor, Adrian Schrinner, unveiled the Queensland capital’s budget on 15 June, which included a steep rate hike for property owners trying to make money off the short-term accommodation marketplace. They will now pay 50 per cent higher rates than those who rent out their properties on a long-term basis.
Acknowledging the pressing housing crisis facing the city during a speech introducing the new budget, he zeroed in on the rental market as an area in need of intervention.
“With the rental vacancy rate now at record lows, it’s incredibly hard for tenants to find affordable places to live with six or twelve month leases. Short-term rentals may be convenient for tourists and visitors to Brisbane, but they throw up a minefield of issues,” Mr Schrinner said.
“The short-term rental trend, facilitated by well-known booking apps, removes homes from the long-term rental market. To be clear – this contributes to supply shortages and increasing housing costs”.He said the 50 per cent increase in council rates would bring the levies imposed on those operating holiday rentals closer in line with what is charged to commercial operators.
It will apply to whole properties (but not single room rentals) where the dwelling is available for short term stays more than 60 days of the year.
The rate hike will involve the introduction of new rating categories for transitory accommodation. A property on the minimum rating level, for example, will be subject to a hike of almost $600 extra a year.
Acknowledging that some might find the increase hard to take, he characterised it as a requirement for owners to “pay their fair share”.
And he noted that while owners will initially be encouraged to self-identify, the council will increasingly use public reporting and its own online research to pinpoint who should be paying the increased rates.
Mr Schrinner made it clear that the ultimate goal of the plan was not to rake in more money, but to encourage property owners to return their investment properties to the long-term market.
“Residential streets were not meant to be home to pseudo hotels, with different tenants coming and going every weekend,” he commented.
The council’s move comes just a few months after the Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ) implored investors across the state to release their homes onto the long-term market, after the flooding pinched rental vacancy rates even further.
“Displaced tenants and owner-occupiers are now hitting the market, desperate for alternative accommodation, adding to the already unprecedented demand for long-term rental accommodation. It is difficult to see any way that this wave of demand can be met without the support of property owners moving their properties to the long-term rental market,” Ms Mercorella commented at the time.
In addition to the city’s crackdown on short-term rentals, Brisbane will also embark on a project of identifying new areas that can be unlocked to create residential and mixed-use communities.
Called “Suburban Renewal Precincts,” it will look to expand the city’s residential footprint into areas that may have previously had a commercial or light industry use, according to Mr Schrinner.
T
Tuesday, June 14, 2022
Monday, June 13, 2022
Google to pay $118 million to settle gender discrimination lawsuit The class-action suit covers about 15,500 women
Google is set to pay $118 million to settle a class-action gender discrimination lawsuit that includes around 15,500 women (via Bloomberg). As noted in the settlement’s press release, Google is also required to have an independent labor economist evaluate its hiring practices and pay equity studies.
The lawsuit first emerged in 2017 after three women filed a complaint accusing the company of underpaying female workers in violation of California’s Equal Pay Act, citing a wage gap of around $17,000. The complaint also alleges Google locks women into lower career tracks, leading to less pay and lower bonuses when compared to their male counterparts. The plaintiffs won class-action status last year.
Google’s treatment of workers has been the target of scrutiny more than once. Last year, Google agreed to pay $2.5 million to settle a lawsuit that claimed the company underpaid female engineers and overlooked Asian job applicants. California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) is also investigating the company over complaints of potential harassment and discrimination against Black female employees.
A NUMBER OF SIMILAR LAWSUITS TARGETING PAY GAPS HAVE SURFACED WITHIN THE LAST DECADE
“As a woman who’s spent her entire career in the tech industry, I’m optimistic that the actions Google has agreed to take as part of this settlement will ensure more equity for women,” Holly Pease, a plaintiff in the case, said in a statement. “Google, since its founding, has led the tech industry. They also have an opportunity to lead the charge to ensure inclusion and equity for women in tech.”
The terms of the settlement still need to be approved by a judge in a hearing that will take place on June 21st. “While we strongly believe in the equity of our policies and practices, after nearly five years of litigation, both sides agreed that resolution of the matter, without any admission or findings, was in the best interest of everyone, and we’re very pleased to reach this agreement,” Google said In a statement to The Verge. The company added that it’s “absolutely committed to paying, hiring and leveling all employees fairly and equally,” and that it makes “upward adjustments” if it finds a pay disparity between male and female employees.
A number of similar lawsuits targeting pay gaps have surfaced within the last decade, with class-action gender discrimination suits against Microsoft and Twitter failing to gain traction. Oracle is also facing a class-action lawsuit alleging unequal pay, but according to Bloomberg Law, the group of women suing the company will likely lose class-action status after a judge said a class with 3,000 employees and 125 job classifications would be “unmanageable to proceed to trial.” Other tech companies, like Apple and Riot Games, have also faced accusations of pay inequality.
Update June 12th, 12:39PM ET: Updated to add a statement from Google.
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