Platform-Enabled Informality?

Problem, research strategy, and findingsDigital platforms have transformed housing practices and enabled new markets to emerge. Here we report on a study in which we examined these practices and their implications for planning, focusing particularly on low-cost and informal rental accommodation. With reference to Australia’s three largest cities (Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane), we investigated the range and scale of accommodation types advertised on major commercial and peer-to-peer platforms Realestate.com.au, Flatmates.com.au, Gumtree.com.au, and Airbnb.com, identifying an informal housing typology comprising secondary dwelling units, share homes or rooms, and Airbnb-style holiday accommodation, much of which violates local regulation. We found that secondary dwellings and other irregular types of accommodation comprised more than 3% of Sydney’s rental vacancies and more than 10% of enumerated rental vacancies in Brisbane during the study period of August 2021. Informal tenures such as rooms in share homes or negotiated arrangements offered by property owners extended rental supply in Sydney and Melbourne by the equivalent of more than 16% over the same period, rising to almost 34% in Brisbane. These findings show that platforms have enabled property owners to market illegal rentals and unauthorized dwellings but also have helped lower-income earners access lower-cost accommodations. Planners must determine which practices support affordability without generating unacceptable risks for residents and neighborhoods.Takeaway for practicePlatforms have enabled landlords to market informal and illegal rental accommodation while evading regulatory oversight. Using data exposed on these platforms, our study shows the important role played by this sector in serving lower-income renters but also the risks for tenants occupying substandard units or precarious tenures. Planners must address these risks in supporting diverse rental supply.