Owner's guide
Short-term vs long-term rental in Brisbane
Airbnb or a long-term lease? A short stay can earn more and gives you back the use of your property, but it costs more to run and its income moves with the season. A lease is simpler and steadier. Here is the honest comparison, including the cases where the lease wins.
Last updated 21 October 2026
Short-term vs long-term at a glance
The short answer: a short stay trades certainty and simplicity for pricing power and flexibility. Which side of that trade suits you depends on the property, the building and how much involvement you want.
| Long-term lease | Short-term rental | |
|---|---|---|
| How income arrives | A fixed weekly rent, the same in a quiet week as in a peak one. | Nightly rates that move with demand, so income varies month to month. |
| Raising the price | Rent can only go up once 12 months have passed since it last became payable. | Rates can be repriced every day, including for event and holiday weeks. |
| Running costs | Lower. Often unfurnished, and the tenant looks after the day-to-day. | Higher. Furnishing, cleaning, linen, consumables and the bills sit with the property. |
| Your time | Low with an agent. One tenant, one relationship. | High if you self-manage. Low with a full-service manager. |
| Using it yourself | Not while a tenant lives there. | Block out the dates you want and the calendar fills around them. |
| Changing your mind | A tenancy ends only on set grounds, with notice, and not before a fixed term ends. | No tenant in place, so selling or moving in is a calendar decision. |
| Wear | One household living in it every day. A bond held by the RTA. | More turnover and more cleans. No bond, so damage is claimed through the platform. |
| Rules to know | Queensland tenancy law: bonds, minimum housing standards, notice periods. | Council's rating category, your building's by-laws and approvals, your insurance. |
Which earns more?
A lease pays the same rent every week, and in Queensland that rent can only be increased once 12 months have passed since it last became payable. A short stay is priced by the night, so it can charge what the property is worth on Riverfire weekend, New Year's Eve or a school holiday, and it earns nothing on a night nobody books.
That makes occupancy the deciding number. A short stay that is priced well and booked consistently can out-earn a lease; one that sits empty mid-week will not. In our experience the gap between the two outcomes is rarely the property itself. It is location, pricing and management, in that order: the right property, rates reviewed every day, and guests looked after well enough that the reviews keep the calendar full.
Compare like with like. The fair test is what a short stay pays you after every fee and expense against what a lease pays you after the agent's fee, not the gross booking total against the weekly rent. Any manager's estimate should say plainly whether it is showing gross bookings or what you would actually receive.
How much work is each?
A lease with a good agent is close to hands-off: one tenant, rent on a schedule, a routine inspection now and then. A self-managed short stay is the opposite. Every booking brings guest messages at all hours, a clean, a linen change, restocking, a check-in that has to work, and a nightly rate that should be reviewed every day.
That workload is where most self-managed short stays go wrong. Owners underprice and stay full at a low rate, or overprice and sit empty, and without a team behind the cleaning and the guest experience the reviews slide, which costs bookings. Many conclude the property is not suited to short stay when the problem was the management.
A full-service manager takes the whole operation off you. At Laurea that means listing creation and photography, a person reviewing your rates every day across Airbnb, Booking.com, Stayz and VRBO, guest communication around the clock, cleaning and linen, an inspection after every clean, and a maintenance inspection every month.
Flexibility and using the property yourself
This is where a short stay is clearly ahead. There is no tenant living in the property, so you can block out dates to use it yourself, have family stay, or take it off the market to sell or renovate, and the only thing to work around is the bookings already taken.
A tenancy is a legal right to live in the home. In Queensland an owner can only end a general tenancy on the grounds the law sets out, such as the end of a fixed term, a sale contract, moving in themselves or a change of use, and most of those grounds need at least two months' notice and cannot be used to end a fixed-term agreement early.
Flexibility also applies to the manager. Laurea has no lock-in contracts: you can leave with 30 days' notice and there is no exit fee, including if you decide to go back to a long-term lease.
Wear and tear, damage and bonds
A short stay has more people through it and more cleans, so linen, towels and small items wear out faster and need replacing more often. A long-term tenant lives in the home every day, and wear builds up between inspections where nobody sees it.
The protections differ too. A Queensland tenant pays a bond of up to four weeks' rent, which is lodged with the Residential Tenancies Authority, not held by the owner. A short-stay guest pays no bond: damage is claimed from the guest through the booking platform, and Airbnb stays carry AirCover host protection.
What changes the risk most is how often someone looks. We inspect after every clean and inspect each property every month, so a problem is found within days of it happening rather than at the end of a lease.
The rules in Brisbane and Queensland
Both options are regulated, just differently. These are the points owners most often ask about. They are a guide, not legal advice, and we checked each against the Council or RTA source on 21 October 2026.
Short-term rental
- Brisbane City Council is not proceeding with its proposed Short Stay Accommodation Local Law 2025, the permit scheme it consulted on, at this time.
- Council rates a house or unit rented to paying guests for temporary accommodation in its transitory accommodation category, at a higher rate than a home let to a long-term tenant.
- Council asks owners to update their rates account when a property's use changes, using its Change of property use form.
- Your building's by-laws and approvals decide whether short stays are allowed. Read them first.
- Confirm with your insurer that your policy covers short-stay guests, not only a tenant.
Long-term lease
- A bond of up to four weeks' rent, lodged with the RTA within 10 days of receiving it.
- Rent can only be increased once 12 months have passed since it last became payable, even across a change of tenant or owner.
- Minimum housing standards apply to every tenancy.
- An owner can only end a tenancy on set grounds, mostly with at least two months' notice, and not before a fixed term ends.
Either way, whoever manages the property for you is handling your money. Ask for their Queensland real estate licence and whether owner funds sit in a trust account. Laurea Management Pty Ltd holds licence 4951495 and runs trust accounting on every property it manages.
When a long-term lease is the better choice
Short stay is not right for every property or every owner. A lease is usually the better choice if one of these applies to you.
- 1
Your building does not allow short stays
If the by-laws or the building's approvals rule it out, that settles it. Read them before anything else, not after you have furnished.
- 2
You need exactly the same amount every week
Short-stay income moves with the season. If your budget or your loan repayments cannot absorb a quiet month, the certainty of a fixed rent is worth more than the upside.
- 3
You do not want to furnish or carry running costs
A short stay has to be furnished and stocked, and the bills sit with the property rather than with a tenant. If you want none of that, a lease is simpler.
- 4
Guests have no reason to stay where the property is
Short stays follow demand: the city, events, hospitals, universities, the river and the islands. A property far from all of them may suit a household better than a guest.
- 5
You already have a good tenant on a fixed term
A fixed term cannot be ended early to switch to short stay. Plan the change for the end of the term, with the notice Queensland law requires.
- 6
You cannot get the right insurance
If your insurer will not cover short-stay guests, do not run it as a short stay until you have a policy that does.
And the reverse: if the building allows it, guests want to stay nearby, you are comfortable with income that moves with the season, and you would like to use the property yourself now and then, short stay is worth a proper look.
If a lease is the better option for your property, we'll tell you.
Owner questions, answered
What Brisbane owners ask when they are deciding between Airbnb and a lease.
Should I rent my Brisbane apartment on Airbnb or on a long-term lease?
It depends on four things: whether your building allows short stays, whether guests want to stay where the apartment is, whether you can live with income that changes month to month, and whether you will run it yourself or have it managed. If the building allows it and the location has guest demand, a well-run short stay can out-earn a lease, because it is priced nightly and can capture event and holiday weeks a fixed rent never sees. If you need the same amount every week, do not want to furnish, or want no involvement at all, a long-term lease is usually the better fit. Compare what you would actually receive from each after every cost, not the headline numbers.
Is Airbnb more profitable than long-term rental in Brisbane?
It can be, but only if the comparison is done properly. A short stay earns more on its good nights and nothing on its empty ones, and it carries costs a lease does not: furnishing, cleaning, linen, consumables, bills and a higher management cost. The fair test is the owner's payout from a short stay after every fee and expense, against lease income after the agent's fee. Occupancy decides most of that result, and occupancy comes down to location, pricing and how well the property is managed.
How short-stay management fees workIs Airbnb legal in Brisbane?
Brisbane City Council consulted on a short-stay permit scheme, the proposed Short Stay Accommodation Local Law 2025, and its own page now says it is not proceeding with that local law at this time. That does not mean there are no rules. Council rates houses and units rented to paying guests for temporary accommodation in a separate, higher transitory accommodation category and asks owners to tell it when a property's use changes, and your building's by-laws and approvals still apply.
Do I need to tell Brisbane City Council if I Airbnb my property?
Council asks owners to update their rates account when a property's use changes, including when it is used for paid guest or temporary accommodation. It has a Change of property use online form for this, or you can phone Council. Council treats a whole house or unit let to paying guests as transitory accommodation, which it rates at a higher level than a home let to a long-term tenant, so factor that into the comparison.
Can my body corporate stop me renting my unit on Airbnb?
Whether short stays are allowed in your building depends on your scheme: its by-laws, its community management statement and the building's approvals. Read them before you furnish or sign anything, and get advice if the wording is unclear. When we look at a new building we review the by-laws before an owner commits, because a manager who waves that question away is handing the risk to you.
How we approach CBD buildingsI have a tenant. Can I switch from a long-term lease to Airbnb?
Yes, but on Queensland's timetable rather than yours. An owner can only end a general tenancy on the grounds the law sets out, such as the end of a fixed term, a sale or a change of use, and most of those grounds need at least two months' notice and cannot end a fixed-term agreement early. The usual path is to plan the switch for the end of the current term, give the required notice, and use the gap to furnish and photograph the property.
Can I go back to a long-term lease later?
Yes. With no tenant in place, a short-stay property can return to the long-term market whenever you decide, subject to any bookings already taken. With Laurea there is no lock-in contract: you can leave with 30 days' notice and there is no exit fee.
Does Airbnb cause more wear and tear than a long-term tenant?
More guests means more cleans and more use of the furnishings, so expect to replace linen and small items more often. The difference is how often the property is seen. A long-term tenancy is inspected occasionally; a well-run short stay is cleaned and checked after every guest, so a problem is found within days rather than months. There is no bond on a short stay, so damage is claimed from the guest through the booking platform, and Airbnb stays carry AirCover host protection.
Do I have to furnish my property for a short-term rental?
Yes. Guests expect a fully furnished and equipped home, from the beds and linen to the kitchen, the wifi and the toiletries, and the presentation shows in the photos that sell the nights. If your property is unfurnished, Laurea quotes a furnishing package separately from management.
Can I still stay in my property if it is on Airbnb?
Yes, and it is one of the main reasons owners choose short stay over a lease. You block out the dates you want and the calendar is filled around them. A long-term tenancy gives the tenant the right to live there for the whole agreement.
Is short-term rental income taxed differently from rent?
The tax position of a short-stay property can differ from a lease in ways that depend on your own circumstances, including how the property is used across the year. We do not give tax advice. Speak to your accountant before you switch, and keep the records they ask for from the first booking.
Find out what your property would earn as a short stay
Tell us about the property and we will come back with a free written estimate of what it should earn as a short stay, which you can set against the rent you receive now. We look at the building's by-laws before you commit to anything. If a lease is the better option for your property, we'll tell you.
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Last updated 21 October 2026