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On 1 November 2021, the NSW Government implemented a new planning framework that permits the use of residential premises for short-term rental accommodation across the state of NSW.
The new legislation regulates STRA via imposing:
- new obligations on booking platforms, hosts, letting agents and guests;
- a mandatory Code of Conduct for all participants, Code of Conduct for the Short-term Rental Accommodation Industry;
- a mandatory short-term rental accommodation premises register, STRA register;
- strata scheme by-laws that restrict certain types of short-term rentals and
- new fire safety standards for dwellings used for STRA and associated penalty notice offences for non-compliance.
STRA Compliance and Code of Conduct
The mandatory Code of Conduct is administered by the Commissioner for Fair Trading in the NSW Department of Customer Service.
The Code sets out the legal responsibilities and creates new minimum standards of behaviour and requirements for all industry participants, including:
- booking platforms (eg Airbnb, STAYZ, etc.)
- hosts
- guests
- letting agents and facilitators.
With the Code in place, community members are able to make a complaint with Fair Trading if they believe that the code has been breached.
For information about the Code, visit the Short-term rental accommodation | NSW Fair Trading
Councils have a role in enforcing compliance relating to fire safety (including overcrowding), planning approvals & registration, parking or ongoing noise.
More information regarding STRA can be found on the NSW Department of Planning and Environment website at Short-term rental accommodation | Planning (nsw.gov.au)