Short-term Rental Policies Under Review

As the NSW Government grapples with the housing crisis across the state short-term rental accommodation (STRA) comes under the spotlight.

Policies and framework for STRA in NSW will be reviewed with the hope to unlock the supply of long-term and affordable accommodation.

As such, the NSW government is looking for community feedback on the recently released discussion paper which will form part of the comprehensive review of NSW STRA.

Have Your Say…

• Complete the survey
• STRA discussion paper
• Further information

The survey completion deadline is 14 March 2024.

Review Your STRA By-laws

Do you need to review or update your current short-term rental accommodation (STRA) by-law? Speak to the STRA experts today!

Adrian Mueller I BCOM LLB FACCAL I Partner

Since 2002 Adrian has specialised almost exclusively in the area of strata law. His knowledge of, and experience in strata law is second to none. He is the youngest person to have been admitted as a Fellow of the ACSL, the peak body for strata lawyers in Australia. Profile I Linked

Contact Us

For all strata law advice including by-laws, building defects and levy collections contact our specialist NSW and Sydney strata lawyers here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.

Popular regional areas of NSW have been experiencing a housing crisis for some time now due to the lack of supply of full-time rental homes, further fuelled by the pandemic and devasting floods in recent times.

What Restrictions are in Place?

In response to the housing crisis new holiday letting regulation has recently come in across the Byron Shire where a home can only be on the short term market for 90 days.

Also, now in place are short term holiday restrictions of no more than 180 days a year for the greater Sydney region, Ballina area, Bega Valley, the City of Newcastle, Dubbo, parts of the Clarence Valley and Muswellbrook regions.

The Loophole

However, some letting agents have found a loophole allowing them to get around the new legislation.

A multi-dwelling property where a person lives in one of those homes can still rent the others without restriction where there is more than one dwelling on the property, which permits a possible 365-day annual income.

These properties are usually defined as:

• Hosted – where the owner lives on the premises for most of the time, or
• Non-hosted – where the owner simply plays landlord, and the home is permanently off the long term market

It’s the latter category that has come under fire for inflaming the housing crisis.

A proposed 90-day cap on short-term letting in parts of Byron Shire is expected to be implemented to alleviate a dire rental shortage on non-hosted properties.

The cap, if passed, is set to be enforced from June 2024 to give landlords time to plan ahead.

Do you need a Short Term Accommodation By-law Review?

It’s 8 weeks until the holiday season are your STRA by-laws up to date?

CONTACT US HERE FOR A STRATA BY-LAW REVIEW!

Contact Us

For all strata law advice including by-laws, building defects and levy collections contact our specialist NSW and Sydney strata lawyers here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.

There have been a number of important key changes made to strata laws over the last 6 months.

This includes changes to legislation and recent court and NCAT decisions.

In this article we provide an overview of those key changes to help you get across them and make recommendations as to what you should do get the most out of them and to ensure you comply with them.

The article covers the following strata law key changes:

• Building Defects – duty of care
• Removing abandoned goods and illegally parked cars – the new rules
• Developer and common property rights by-laws
• No pets by-laws
• NCAT – can now award damages
• COVID-19 – strata regulations extended
• Short term rental accommodation – mandatory code of conduct

The full article and recommendations are available here An Overview of Recent Key Changes to Strata Law

For all NSW strata legal including by-laws, building defect and levy collection advice contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.

On 20 October 2020 the Department of Fair Trading announced the mandatory ‘Code of Conduct’ for the short-term rental accommodation arrangements (STRAs).

This Code of Conduct was published in the Government Gazette on 28 October 2020 and is scheduled to commence on 18 December 2020, just in time for the Christmas/New Year festive season and school holidays.

Your strata scheme should take this opportunity to read the ‘Code of Conduct’ and to consider reviewing and if needed, updating its short term rental accommodation by-laws.

This will ensure the changes made to legislation governing this space in April 2020 and now with the publication of the new mandatory ‘Code of Conduct’ are covered.

Especially as the festive season and school holidays are just around the corner – 38 working days until Christmas Day!

In this paper we review the Short Term Rental Accommodation New Code of Conduct

Did you know there are only 38 working days until Christmas day? To ensure the right short term rental accommodation by-laws are in place for the festive season click below now and we’ll be in touch.

Short Term Rental Accommodation By-law

For all NSW strata legal including by-laws, building defect and levy collection advice contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.

Do New Strata Laws Thwart Anti-Airbnb By-Laws?

On 10 April 2020, new strata laws commenced. These laws clarify that an owners corporation is able to make a by-law that can prohibit a lot being used for a short-term rental accommodation arrangement in certain circumstances.

However, the new laws may have unintended consequences that invalidate or limit the reach of existing by-laws that prohibit short-term rental accommodation arrangements.

In this article we take a closer look at the new laws and their unintended consequences that seem to have been overlooked… Are new Strata Laws Anti-Airbnb By-laws?

For NSW strata legal, building defects and levy collection advice please contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.

On 10 April 2020, new strata laws concerning short term rental accommodation arrangements commenced.

These laws give an owners corporation power to make a by-law prohibiting short term accommodation in certain circumstances.

But there are two major problems with the new laws that limit their effectiveness.

In this article we take a look at the new laws and those problems addressing:

• New Strata Laws Concerning Short Term Accommodation
• Background to the New Short Term Rental Strata Laws
• Problem One – Principal Place of Residence Exemption
• Problem Two – Unlawful STRA Arrangement Exemption

So, what are the problems the New Strata Laws for Short Term Accommodation have created?

 For NSW strata legal, building defect or levy collection advice please contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.

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