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SHORT-TERM LETTING IN
NSW
How to
handle Airbnb-style letting in NSW – all you need know
Airbnb is growing fast in Australia and almost half the
properties involved are located in New South Wales. Many
would-be hosts are wondering about the legal, tax and
insurance implications – and their questions have now been
answered. The answers are given in a new video released by
Sydney-based specialist travel and tourism lawyer, Anthony
Cordato. The video, which is covers six topics, has been
placed on YouTube. “Airbnb-style short-term letting for
apartments, for holiday houses and for spare rooms is
growing rapidly in popularity for home owners, investors,
and of course leisure and business travellers,” Cordato
says. “The regulatory environment is playing catch-up in
NSW, and while it is, the legal framework is a grey area.”
New South Wales is a hotspot for Airbnb. There are 30,000
properties in NSW, 70,000 in Australia and 2 million
worldwide. “These are big figures,” Cordato notes. This
video covers six topics:
- What Planning Approvals are required for short-term
lettings?
- What restrictions are there for strata titles
properties?
- How does Airbnb work?
- Insurance
- Tax
- Loans using Airbnb income
Filmed at a property investment seminar, the video
includes interesting and relevant questions and comments
from the audience. If you are thinking of venturing
into the world of Airbnb, or similar letting platforms,
this is essential viewing. Written by Peter Needham,
chief travel writer, eGlobal Travel Media
The NSW
Government is under pressure from traditional holiday
apartment operators, from strata residents, from Airbnb and
Stayz, and from property owners who all have a different
view about how short-term letting should and should not be
regulated in NSW.
After a
Parliamentary Committee failed to come up with a politically
acceptable compromise, it has issued an Options Paper. It
has asked the stakeholders, the general public and the
industry to let it know what it should do.
The NSW
Government puts forward four options:
-
Self
Regulation: where the industry / operators adhere to a
Code of Conduct, which includes complaints management,
education and ongoing monitoring and reporting.
-
Special Rules for Strata Properties: where owners
corporations cannot ban short-term letting, but are
allowed to make by-laws to make owners liable for
breaches by their tenants, to streamline enforcement, to
levy extra and to strengthen the powers of the Tribunal.
-
Regulation through the Planning System: The Government
would like to lay down clear planning guidelines for
Local Councils, as it sees them as the best gatekeepers.
-
Registration or Licensing: This is seen a lighter touch
than regulation through the Planning System.
This will
not be a quick process. In the meantime, the fast growing
industry will continue to grow in a legal grey area.
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