The fight between a local council in one the most picturesque parts of Australia and accommodation giant Airbnb hasn't eased, a year after a controversial rental cap was imposed.

Home to celebrities and yoga instructors, Bryon Bay in northeast NSW has become a coastal battleground over spiralling property prices amid a housing crunch.

The Byron Shire placed a 60-day cap on non-hosted short-term rental accommodation (STRA) in September 2024, in a bid to reduce prices for locals competing with holiday-makers.

But Airbnb, whose whole business model relies on hosts opening up their homes to travellers, says a year on from the experiment there are fewer long-term rental listings available.

"Targeting short-term rentals is not a silver bullet to deal with the housing challenges in Byron Ba

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