It was recently reported that Malaysia might potentially ban Airbnb and other similar short-term rental platforms. In response to this, Mich Goh, Airbnb’s Public Policy head for South-East Asia, India, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, has suggested several measures to regulate short-term rental accommodations (STRA) instead of outright banning them.
One of the regulations that the company has come up with is the “three strikes law”, which revokes the registration of an individual as an Airbnb host if they receive too many complaints regarding noise and nuisance. After three strikes, they would be put on an exclusion register and no longer be allowed to host.
Goh added that this rule has already been implemented in California, US and New South Wales in Australia. Another proposal is the financial compensation for neighbours in strata buildings that are negatively impacted by misbehaving STRA guests, as well as fines against those guests who could also be added to an exclusion register.
She said that these proposed regulations have been suggested to several different government agencies including Malaysia’s Town and Countryplanning Department (PLANMalaysia). The exact policy by the federal government is still unclear, but we can look at Penang’s recent ban on private properties being used as Airbnb rentals as a blueprint of what we could expect from the nationwide ban if it were to actually be tabled.
(Source: The Star)
