Can I short-term rent in New South Wales?

Registration is via the NSW Planning Portal and is a precondition of the general requirements for STRA under State Environmental Planning Policy (Housing) 2021 s113(e), which requires the dwelling to be registered on the register established under the Environmental Planning and Assessment (Development Certification and Fire Safety) Regulation 2021, Part 13A (ss102A-102C). Initial registration costs $65 (non-refundable); annual renewal costs $25 (non-refundable), renewable from 45 days before expiry (registration period runs 12 months from the initial registration date). A unique STRA Property ID must be displayed on all listings.

Exceptions: Excluded accommodation types (boarding houses, co-living housing, group homes, hostels, rural workers' dwellings, seniors housing, refuge/crisis accommodation) fall outside the STRA exempt-development framework entirely, SEPP (Housing) 2021 s113(c),(f).

Fee schedule as published by NSW Planning: $65 non-refundable for a new STRA registration; $25 non-refundable for each annual renewal. Renewal window opens 45 days before expiry with reminder emails at 45/30/7 days out.

SEPP (Housing) 2021 s112(1)(b)-(2): a dwelling in a 'prescribed area' cannot be used for non-hosted STRA for more than 180 days in a 365-day period; a stay of 21 or more consecutive nights to the same guest(s) is excluded from the day count entirely. Hosted STRA (host resides on premises during the stay) is exempt development with no day cap under s111. 'Prescribed area' is defined in s112(3) as: (a) the Eastern Harbour City, Central River City and Western Parkland City (i.e. the Greater Sydney Region as defined in the Greater Sydney Region Plan); (b) Ballina local government area; (c) [repealed]; (d) land in Clarence Valley LGA shown edged heavy black on the 'Clarence Valley Short-term Rental Accommodation Area Map'; (e) land in Muswellbrook LGA shown edged heavy black on the 'Muswellbrook Short-term Rental Accommodation Area Map'. The Clarence Valley and Muswellbrook caps therefore apply only to specific mapped precincts within those LGAs, not the whole council area, the maps are adopted planning instruments viewable via the NSW Planning Portal spatial viewer, not reproduced as a simple suburb list in the legislation text itself.

Exceptions: Stays of 21+ consecutive nights to the same guest(s) don't count toward the cap. Land outside the mapped 'prescribed area' polygons in Clarence Valley/Muswellbrook, and all NSW LGAs not listed, have no state day cap on non-hosted STRA (council planning controls may still separately apply).

SEPP (Housing) 2021 s112(1)(c): for a dwelling on land in the Byron Shire LGA other than 'excluded land', non-hosted STRA is capped at 60 days in a 365-day period. 'Excluded land' is defined in s112(3) as land identified as 'Excluded Land' on the 'Byron Shire Short-term Rental Accommodation Area Map', this corresponds to the Byron Bay town centre and Brunswick Heads precincts, which are not subject to a state day cap (i.e. effectively year-round/365-day availability for non-hosted letting in those precincts). The 21-consecutive-night exclusion under s112(2) also applies to the Byron 60-day cap.

Exceptions: Excluded Land (Byron Bay town centre and Brunswick Heads, per the Byron Shire STRA Area Map) is not subject to the 60-day cap. 21+ consecutive-night stays don't count toward the cap.

SEPP (Housing) 2021 ss111-113: hosted STRA is exempt development if the dwelling meets the 'general requirements' (s111); non-hosted STRA is exempt development if it meets those requirements AND (where applicable) the relevant day cap (s112). General requirements (s113) include: lawfully constructed for residential use; not part of a tenanted component of a building; not a boarding house/co-living housing/group home/hostel/rural workers' dwelling/seniors housing; the residential use type must be permitted (with or without consent) on the land; registered on the STRA Register; not refuge/crisis accommodation; if classified BCA class 1b or 2-9, must hold a current fire safety certificate/statement (or have no fire safety measures required); not a 'moveable dwelling' under the Local Government Act 1993; and the use must otherwise be lawful. If a dwelling exceeds the applicable day cap or fails a general requirement, it falls outside exempt development and would need development consent (complying or standard DA) from the relevant council to continue non-hosted letting beyond the threshold.

Exceptions: Development consent conditions and other legislation (e.g. strata by-laws, lease terms) can impose additional restrictions on top of the planning exemption, noted at SEPP (Housing) 2021 s113 note.

Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 s137A: a by-law made by special resolution may prohibit a lot being used for a short-term rental accommodation arrangement (as defined in Fair Trading Act 1987 s54A) only if the lot is NOT the principal place of residence (PPR) of the person granting occupancy. Conversely, s137A(2) makes such a by-law of no force or effect to the extent it purports to prevent STRA use where the lot IS that person's PPR, i.e. owners/permanent residents letting out their own home (including while present, or spare rooms/whole-home while away) cannot be banned by strata by-law; only non-PPR (investment/non-hosted) STRA can be banned by the OC.

Exceptions: By-laws cannot restrict STRA on a lot that is the letting party's principal place of residence, regardless of hosted/non-hosted status.