Sydney is clamping down on lockboxes favoured by owners of Airbnb and other short-term accommodation properties.
The City of Sydney council plans to forcibly remove lockboxes attached to poles, trees, signs, fences and other public infrastructure from April 1 next year, citing safety and environmental concerns.
“These assets are provided for community use and must remain safe, accessible and free from obstructions,” the City of Sydney said in a statement.
Lord Mayor of Sydney, Clover Moore, said lockboxes on infrastructure – used by short-term accommodation owners as well as tradespeople – were unsightly.
“They can interfere with our ability to maintain City of Sydney assets and they can damage the things they are chained to, we’ve even had an instance of one being drilled into a street tree,” she said.
From next April, councils will store removed locked boxes for up to 28 days without notice. Unclaimed lockboxes may be disposed of after this time.
“We are putting people on notice that the base of a tree or a metal bike stand is not an appropriate place for a lockbox,” Moore said.