A proposed $200 annual fee for anyone advertising to rent their home as short-term holiday accommodation will not be introduced this year.

The decision was made during this week's Thames-Coromandel District Council deliberations on its Draft Long Term Plan (2015-2015)

The Thames-Coromandel District Council says proposed $200 annual fee for short-term accommodation service providers will not be introduced this year. Photo: File

Council will now work with short-term accommodation service providers like Bachcare, Bookabach, Trademe and B&B owners.

It will investigate what methods can be used to see how the groups they represent can contribute financially to council's economic development activity.

If voluntary solutions are not found, then the proposed fee will be put in next year's Draft Annual Plan.

Deputy mayor Peter French says council have had on-going discussions with short-term accommodation booking providers as well as during the consultation period for the Draft LTP.

'One option they put to us was establishing a stakeholders working group to look at this issue, along with other issues around the tourism sector.

'We'd like to investigate this and so the next step will be our Economic Development Committee making contact with these organisations.

Peter adds: 'We are also signalling though, that our council is also committed to looking at some form of rating contribution from this sector towards economic development, starting in the 2016-2017 financial year.”

The proposal to charge the annual $200 fee was set out in our Draft LTP that went out for public consultation earlier this year.

It targeted residences and small bed and breakfast operators who are letting their properties commercially on a short-term basis - approximately 1,400 homes.

The charge would not affect anyone who was providing accommodation to friends and family for free.

In the Draft LTP consultation document council signalled there'd be an $8 decrease in everyone's Uniform Annual General Charge to pay for economic development activity if the fee was introduced.

This will now not occur for 2016-2017 and the status quo will remain.

'Our economic development activity goes towards our Economic Development programme which includes our walkways, cycleways, and events that attract visitors.

'Economic Development is strongly orientated towards supporting the tourism sector and short-stay accommodation providers that are direct beneficiaries of this.”

Other district councils around the country already rate short-term holiday accommodation providers using a tourism and economic development charge.

'During the Draft LTP consultation our Council received 391 submissions on the short-term holiday home accommodation proposal with 309 opposed, 77 in favour and seven neutral.”

During deliberations council also agreed to proceed with a proposal that properties with four or more bedrooms for hire be reclassified as commercial properties.

These properties will be assessed as commercial for the purpose of economic development and wastewater.

To read the full LTP deliberations report click here.

At deliberations this week Council resolved:

1. Not to proceed with the short-term accommodation rate proposal for 2015/16.
2. Recognises that short-term accommodation providers do benefit from the council's economic development activities.
3. That staff in conjunction with the Economic Development Committee initiate a consultative process with the short-term accommodation booking providers to provide a contribution for the benefits received from the Council's economic development activities for inclusion in the 2016/17 Draft Annual Plan.
4. The status quo remains with the funding provided via the UAGC.