Short term rental accommodation

In June 2018, the NSW Government announced that there would be a new regulatory framework to manage short-term rental accommodation. The key elements of the framework are:

• a state-wide planning framework and State Environmental Planning Policy (Affordable Rental Housing) Amendment (Short-term Rental Accommodation) 2021 to achieve consistency and certainty across local planning controls; 
• a Code of Conduct for the Short-term Rental Accommodation Industry to apply to online accommodation platforms, letting agents, facilitators, hosts and guests; 
• changes to strata laws to allow owners corporations to adopt by-laws that prohibit non-resident lot owners from offering short term rentals; and
• a mandatory Short Term Rental Accommodation Register.

Short-term rental accommodation does not involve purely commercial accommodation providers such as hotels, motels, and bed and breakfast establishments. It generally involves residential dwellings that may also be used by the owners for their own accommodation at times.

The objectives of the mandatory Code of Conduct for the Short-term Rental Accommodation Industry are to:

• set out the rights and obligations of short-term rental accommodation industry participants; 
• provide for resolution of disputes and complaints about the conduct of short-term rental accommodation industry participants;
• outline the compliance and enforcement approach that applies to contraventions of the code by short-term rental accommodation industry participants; and
• facilitate the oversight of the short-term rental accommodation industry.

All hosts or letting agents must comply with the new fire and safety requirements and agree to follow the code of conduct.

To register your short-term rental accommodation: 

1. Read the Short-term Rental Accommodation Fire Safety Standard; 
2. Read the Code of Conduct for the Short-term Rental Accommodation Industry; and
3. Register via the NSW Planning Portal.