Digital nomads row — Cape Town mayor suggests tax on short-term rentals to protect locals

Cape Town’s problems with digital nomads are well documented – from claims of driving up rental costs to causing a shortage of accommodation, particularly in the centre of town. What is to be done? Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis says one option is to put everyone on an equal footing by implementing suitable taxes on short-term rentals.

Source: Pexels.

Hill-Lewis says a process is under way to change tariffs for those operating short-term rentals, adding that there needs to be an “equal playing field” in the accommodation sector.

As reported, digital nomads occupy short term-rentals along the Atlantic Seaboard, much to the ire of residents, who feel they are being priced out of accommodation in the city as owners rent out apartments and homes to digital nomads who spend weeks working remotely.

Advocacy project Inside Airbnb reported there were about 25,816 listed rentals on the short-term rental platform by 28 December 2024, largely concentrated along the Atlantic Seaboard, in the southern suburbs and along the city’s coast.

Read the full article on Daily Maverick here.