Changes to the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW) will commence on 10 April 2020, allowing the passing of by-laws by Special Resolution that prohibit short-term rentals where the lot is not the host’s principal place of residence. That is, investment lots.
Below is an extract from the Strata Management Amendment Act outlining this:
137A Short-term rental accommodation
(1) A by-law made by a special resolution of an owners corporation may prohibit a lot being used for the purposes of a short-term rental accommodation arrangement if the lot is not the principal place of residence of the person who, pursuant to the arrangement, is giving another person the right to occupy the lot.
(2) A by-law has no force or effect to the extent to which it purports to prevent a lot being used for the purposes of a short-term rental accommodation arrangement if the lot is the principal place of residence of the person who, pursuant to the arrangement, is giving another person the right to occupy the lot
These changes are in response to issues which have arisen between landlords (and their tenants) versus other building inhabitants in the case of Airbnb-style short-term lets. The changes are set out in Schedule 2 to the Fair Trading Amendment (Short-term Rental Accommodation) Act 2018 (NSW).
Code of Conduct – commencement update
The short-term rental accommodation Code of Conduct was expected to commence as well, however, given the current COVID-19 situation, coupled with the recent bushfires, the accommodation sector has been significantly impacted so the Code is now expected to commence alongside the Register and the planning instruments in the second half of this year, with the exact date to be determined in time.
Guidance on the amendments
In the coming weeks, the Department of Customer Service will be releasing further guidance in relation to the above-mentioned amendments to ensure that both strata organisations and managers are kept well informed in regard to these new changes, commencing 10 April 2020.
More information is available by clicking on the links below: