Last updated on September 4th, 2023
Introduction
Australia consistently ranks in the top ten most expensive countries to live in. But what if we tell you that you can augment your income by renting out a property without actually owning it? Rental Arbitrage enables this setup. It is a smart way to earn passive income with only minimal investment!
In this guide, we’ll explain rental arbitrage in layman’s terms and provide some expert tips. We also included the best areas to do rental arbitrage in the Australia to help you make the best investment decisions. Stoked to learn more? Continue reading!
What is Rental Arbitrage?
Rental Arbitrage is a method similar to house hacking, where you rent out a spare room in your property. The difference between these two is you don’t need to own the house in rental arbitrage. Instead, you convince the property owner to allow you to sublease the house on Airbnb and VRBO.
Rental Arbitrage in Australia is applicable to multi-room apartments, houses, and condo units – as well as duplexes, and triplexes. It is a smart way to add a stream of income through the short-term rental of your subtenants. This allows you to pay your own rent and earn more.
While Airbnb occupancy rates in Australia vary per city, it’s important to know that rental arbitrage in this country is certainly recovering from the global pandemic’s effects. For instance, the highest occupancy rate and monthly revenue in Darwin can assure an average host to earn AUD $4,520 for a 1 bed/1 bath apartment condo.
Assuming you are renting a duplex in Sydney for AUD $1,800/month. You are living by yourself on either side and you decide to sublease the other on Airbnb.
Let’s say you listed it for AUD $100/day and got 80% occupancy. This will bring in approximately AUD $2,600/month in revenue. Not only will it fully cover your rent, but it will give you a profit of AUD $800. This, in a nutshell, is called Rental Arbitrage.
If you want to learn more, let this Ultimate Guide About Rental Arbitrage answer all your inquiries!
What is Rental Arbitrage?
Rental Arbitrage is a method similar to house hacking, where you rent out a spare room in your property. The difference between these two is you don’t need to own the house in rental arbitrage. Instead, you convince the property owner to allow you to sublease the house on Airbnb and VRBO.
Rental Arbitrage in Australia is applicable to multi-room apartments, houses, and condo units – as well as duplexes, and triplexes. It is a smart way to add a stream of income through the short-term rental of your subtenants. This allows you to pay your own rent and earn more.
While Airbnb occupancy rates in Australia vary per city, it’s important to know that rental arbitrage in this country is certainly recovering from the global pandemic’s effects. For instance, the highest occupancy rate and monthly revenue in Darwin can assure an average host to earn AUD $4,520 for a 1 bed/1 bath apartment condo.
Assuming you are renting a duplex in Sydney for AUD $1,800/month. You are living by yourself on either side and you decide to sublease the other on Airbnb.
Let’s say you listed it for AUD $100/day and got 80% occupancy. This will bring in approximately AUD $2,600/month in revenue. Not only will it fully cover your rent, but it will give you a profit of AUD $800. This, in a nutshell, is called Rental Arbitrage.
If you want to learn more, let this Ultimate Guide About Rental Arbitrage answer all your inquiries!
Is Airbnb rental arbitrage legal in Australia?
While Airbnb is legal in the land Down Under, the Australian government regulates the short-term rental industry by imposing shared housing rules such as occupancy restrictions, guest record keeping, and minimum stay requirements. Penalties for violating these requirements are either the suspension or cancellation of your registration number. Fines are also unavoidable.
Each state has its own regulations for home rentals through Airbnb. This means that there’s a different set of laws for different types of rental arbitrage models in Australia
1. Sub-lease or License?
In New South Wales, local councils have the legal authority to determine if a person can rent out their home as a holiday rental through websites like Airbnb. If they do, sanctions can be carried out against them under the local council and State laws
If you are planning on subleasing a property, then you need to get the landlord’s consent. This is usually done through a lease agreement. If you do not have the landlord’s consent, then you should apply for a license.
2. Tax Implications
The Australian Tax Office has policies that require Airbnb investors to declare their rental income on their tax returns and pay appropriate taxes.
Depending on how much rental payment you receive from your Airbnb, assessable income may consider some of the expenses that were incurred as a landlord. These can include commercial cleaning, repairs, and property maintenance.
3. Regulatory Issues
If you are a landlord using Airbnb, it is important to have public liability insurance. This is because the insurance policy does not include everything that you need to cover when renting out your property.
If your home is rented through Airbnb, you should consider having the appropriate insurance to protect yourself against third-party claims. You may start considering fire or disability access regulations, as well as food, health, and safety concerns.
Websites such as Airbnb have provided accommodation options to people who are looking for a place to stay. However, the law is still developing.
How do I start an Airbnb arbitrage in Australia?
1. Convince the landlord
Let’s say you want to get into Rental Arbitrage. Now comes the big question, how to find a good property and how to convince the landlord. Later in the blog, we’ll be explaining how to find a good property by doing proper research using Airbnb analytics. In this section, we will be focusing more on how to convince landlords. As you’ll begin your Rental Arbitrage journey, you’ll come to know that this is the hardest part of the whole process.
You need to be prepared and well-researched about the Airbnb demand in your area. Good communication skills will also come in handy here. Another thing to always keep in mind: never sublease without informing the landlord! There will be a huge number of people coming in and out when you’re sub-renting. It will only be a matter of time before the landlord figures out what you’re up to, and you might end up getting in trouble.
For convincing the landlord, rule number one is always talking about the upsides. If you can rent the property on Airbnb, so can the landlord himself. You need to make a deal with the landlord that is beneficial to them. So they lease the property to you instead of renting it by themselves.
Points to tell an indecisive landlord.
- Doing rental arbitrage is a full-time business. It doesn’t generate passive income like long-term leasing. You should try approaching older people who are looking for some sort of passive income.
They are more likely to agree to a fixed long-term lease. You can also reach out to full-time working professionals or business owners. They will also be happy with a source of passive income until their property is well maintained. This brings us to our next point. - You’ll take care of the house better than a normal renter. As you are using the property for Airbnb, you will maintain it very well to make sure you get better reviews. Having a beat-up property isn’t good for business and you are more likely to monitor it often.
Not monitoring it will affect your revenue a lot. You may end up paying a huge sum of money for damages done by someone else. So telling this to the landlord might instill some confidence in them. - You can ensure timely monthly rent. You can tell the landlord that doing Rental Arbitrage is a full-time business with ups and downs. It doesn’t guarantee fixed income at all like long-term leasing. But if they lease it to you, you’ll make sure to pay the lease no matter what. Either from the money made after rental arbitrage or from your savings. You need to ensure timely monthly lease payments to gain the trust of the landlord.
In conclusion, you need to take care of the property like your own. Make sure to timely pay the monthly lease and keep the situation beneficial for both parties. You can also use a free rental arbitrage email template and propose your ideas to landlords!
2. Ensure the Property and Gain the landlord’s trust
Being on the safe side is always a good idea. Use the right tools to ensure the property is safe, and the neighbors can go on with their lives happily while you do rental arbitrage. Many landlords will have this concern when renting out their property to you. They will be worried about neighbors raising noise complaints, and it’s a legitimate concern. To help you with all these problems, here are some suggestions that you can implement:
- Simply Safe – These are home monitoring tools that you can install in the house to make sure no suspicious activity is happening there. Make sure to let the guests know about them and have their consent.
- Auto host – Automatically screens problematic tenants.
- Alexa Guard: If you already own an Alexa, you can use its Alexa guard feature to detect parties. It is an inbuilt feature that monitors changes in sound and sends you an alert in case the guests are having a party and making too much noise.
- InsuraGuest – This insurance and tech company helps you with risk analysis and gives protection beyond Airbnb and VRBO policies.
- Airbnb Calculator – Give your landlord ease of mind by providing income estimates backed by Airbnb data.
Pros and Cons
Be prepared for what you can expect from Rental Arbitrage in Australia:
Pros
- No purchase of property required
- Low upfront costs
- Opportunity to repeat and scale easily
- Generate profit for other investments or business
Cons
- Invest money and time in furnishing the property
AIRBNB OCCUPANCY RATES IN AUSTRALIAN CITIES?
We conducted in-depth research to feature the best cities to host Airbnb in Australia!
What is the initial cost of starting a rental arbitrage in Australia?
You can expect to spend anywhere between AUD $3,000 to AUD $5,000. This cost includes Deposit, Furnishing, Amenities, Legal Paperwork, and LLC Incorporation.
But doesn’t this contradict the low upfront cost of rental arbitrage? Well, these estimates vary from city to city. There is a possibility to do rental arbitrage for even less than this depending upon your situation and the type of property you lease.
Still, the amount is much less than investing in a new property and getting a mortgage of thousands of dollars. Plus you won’t be on the hook for property maintenance expenses and being stuck for years with debt.
But this doesn’t mean rental arbitrage can be done with zero or on a very tight budget. There will be some upfront costs that you will have to prepare for by having some extra cash on hand. It will help pay off the lease during the off-season.
Expense 1: Rental Deposits
A rental deposit is going to be your first major expense. You will need money to be able to sign a long-term lease with the landlord. For that, you will need a security deposit for your first and previous month’s rent. Sometimes you can negotiate with the landlord and use the first month’s rent as a security deposit.
Expense 2: Furnishing
Ideally, you should aim to lease a place that is semi-furnished. Furnishing a place from scratch can add anywhere from AUD $3,000 to AUD $5,000 to your initial capital. Not choosing the right property can make rental arbitrage not so low cost, so choose wisely.
If the place is semi-furnished, then your best bet is to shop cheap for the rest of the stuff. You can go and find cheap supplies from places like Home Depot and IKEA. Sometimes even Walmart can have a hidden gem if you look closely.
Expense 3: Photography
It’s highly recommended to try DIY photography as a start to save money. You can even learn how to take the best Airbnb photos to highlight your listing! But if you have the budget, hiring a professional photographer is also an excellent option.
Expense 4: Cleaning Services
This is not a starting cost, but you will end up spending on cleaning eventually. The best way to save money is to do it yourself initially if you have the skills and experience.
If you have no experience or you don’t want to invest time in cleaning a place, then your best bet will be to hire a professional cleaner. This can cost you anywhere from AUD $50 to AUD $250 depending upon the size and location.
Expense 5: Legal Consultation
Maintaining a professional relationship with a Real Estate lawyer can be very helpful in the Airbnb business. Airbnb regulations keep updating and you would need some legal guidance on the way to adjust your business accordingly.
They can also come in handy if you face any legal issues with the landlord or guests. They can help in damage claims and insurance as well in case of any mishappening.
Best areas for Rental Arbitrage in Australia
Some obvious places like Brisbane and Melbourne come to mind when thinking of Australia. You can consider these areas when buying investment properties to enter the Australian real estate market.
Australia’s population and workforce are accompanied by elastic economic growth, which boosts the Australian real estate market. Given the positive financial metrics of Australia’s short-term rentals, investing in Airbnb rental properties in Australia is recommended for any real estate investors
1. BRISBANE
According to our Airbtics Dashboard, Brisbane is the top market to start your Rental Arbitrage business. Currently, there are overall more than 372 Airbnb listings with an average occupancy rate of 96% and annual revenue of A$68,768. Airbnb businesses are allowed in Brisbane as long as hosts have a short-term rental permit from the city council.
2. MELBOURNE
According to our Airbtics Dashboard, Melbourne is also one of the top areas to start your Rental Arbitrage business. There are overall more than 8,315 Airbnb property listings with an average occupancy rate of 80%, a daily rate of A$167, and annual revenue of A$50,491. Airbnb is legal in Melbourne even without a planning permit.
Conclusion
In summary, rental arbitrage in Australia can be a very profitable side income. Since it does not require you to purchase a property, it’s also practical for beginners trying to be real estate players without spending millions.
Leverage your rental arbitrage opportunities by using a free Airbnb estimator and determine the best areas that will bring long-term profitability!
