Ministry of Tourism Permanent Secretary Salaseini Daunabuna. [Photo: FILE]

Airbnb operators, homestays and rental property owners could soon face stricter health and sanitation requirements under the proposed Public Health Amendment Bill.

The Ministry of Health says the changes are aimed at addressing growing complaints about poor living conditions in rental accommodation and bringing newer forms of housing under public health oversight.

Meanwhile, Ministry of Tourism Permanent Secretary Salaseini Daunabuna, although welcomed the move but is seeking clarification on how the rules will apply to different types of accommodation.

“We just want to seek clarification if this is also an attempt to bring in accommodation types that exist as Airbnb accommodations. If that’s the case, we see that there’s no simplified compliance framework for small-scale local operators, and there really should be room for an equal playing field for those that operate within this space.”

Daunabuna told the parliamentary committee that the proposed definition of “lodging” now appears broad enough to capture hotels, homestays, Airbnb operators and even residential properties where rooms are rented out.

Acting Chief Health Inspector Luke Vonotabua says the amendment is necessary because the current legislation does not adequately cover many modern accommodation arrangements.

“We do receive a whole lot of complaints on the ground in relation to tenants that complain about the sanitary conditions of the rented houses that they rent in, and we are limited in the Public Health Act in addressing that.”

Vonotabua believes bringing rental accommodation under a registration framework will help ensure minimum health and sanitation standards are met before properties can be rented out.

“If we can include them in the house, let as lodging definition, then we can have that under the registration as a requirement, then we can have certain standards for them to have before they can actually start business by renting out that particular property.”

The Ministry of Tourism is expected to provide a detailed written submission to the parliamentary committee as consultations on the Public Health Amendment Bill continue.