Potts Point resident Geoff Field no longer dreads the summer months when his street transforms into a "shanty town" for backpackers looking to sell their vans.
The NSW government announced on Wednesday it would support new laws proposed by Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore outlawing roadside car sales in the city council area.
Backpackers caught using city streets as sale yards will thus risk have their vans impounded by Sydney council or being fined.
Signs will be erected at notorious trouble spots such as Victoria Street in Potts Point before the summer, when the number of backpackers in the area skyrockets.
For residents and businesses on Victoria Street, the summer months were "absolute hell", Mr Field said.
"I've actually been out on the verandah and seen people soaping themselves down. I've seen people defecating in the gutter," he told AAP on Wednesday.
"It just becomes an open camping ground, a sewer, a place where people cook meals.
"It was just getting out of hand."
Local Government Minister Don Page said he had observed the situation on Victoria Street first hand and understood the distress it caused locals.
The street had become famous among backpackers' communities worldwide as a place to buy and sell campervans, he said.
"This has been a long-running issue for a number of years and gets worse and worse in the summer months," Mr Page said.
"That area has become known as a place where backpackers can buy vans, do their trip around Australia and then sell their vans, and it's really a big problem for the local community."
The problem had become worse since a local carpark ceased to operate a "park-and-sell" facility three years ago, Mr Page added.
Ms Moore said the new laws would give councils the legal power to stop backpackers from using on-street parking areas as a "sale yard and campsite".
"What's been going on has been inappropriate, and the community has run a very strong campaign," Ms Moore said.
The council will trial a new "car market" nearby, to encourage backpackers to sell their vehicles legally and prevent the problem from spreading to other neighbourhoods.
The space, due to open before the end of the year, is costing the Sydney council $100,000 to establish and will eventually come with a $70 per week charge for use.
As yet, the amendment to the Local Government Act allowing councils to enforce the new law applies only to streets in the Sydney city area.
Randwick Council has in the past banned overnight parking at beachside car parks to curb similar problems.
Mr Page did not rule out making the same law apply to the entire Sydney area, saying other councils could approach him if they wished.
The legislation is expected to be debated on Thursday and passed within weeks.
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