Short-Term Letting in Strata

Short-term Holiday Accommodation can be also referred to as short term letting and short term rental - however, it is more commonly known as ‘Airbnb’. 

Due to the soar of letting places around the state, the NSW Government finally came up with a solution to oversee short-term rental accommodation by means of legislation provisions that grant new laws and regulations commencing last 10 April 2020.

Since the pandemic the arguments on short-term rental accommodation have been persistent - being argued about by strata scheme residents in strata meetings, the Tribunal (NCAT) and in courts. The COVID-19 pandemic has magnified these issues in the media, with instances referring to short-term rentals as illegal and being banned under the recent legal order. 

There came complaints and feedback as to how a person “must not, without reasonable excuse, leave the person’s residence.” - with strong emphasis on the definition of a reasonable excuse.

When applied to the conditions of a short-term rental, it is a valid assertion that short-term rentals can be an option for those who self-isolate and persons taking care of the vulnerable, having been addressed by the recent legal changes. 

A new by-law has been added to the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 that says “an owners corporation prohibits an apartment being used for the purposes of short-term rental if the lot (apartment) is not the owner or occupant’s place of primary residences. 

A tenant or owner is then permitted to rent a room within their apartment for short-term. Using this reference, Owners Corporation are able to place rules and other by-laws that work around short-term rental accommodation arrangements in their building or complex. 

In addition to strata by-laws, the Code of Conduct for the Short-term Rental Accommodation Industry was created for NSW Fair Trading to implement and regulate legislative protocols. 

Resource: https://www.stratachoice.com.au/kb/short-term-letting/