Can I short-term rent in Shoalhaven?

Shoalhaven LGA is on the NSW South Coast and falls outside every area to which the state's 180-day non-hosted annual cap applies. VERIFIED by opening the actual legislation text on legislation.nsw.gov.au: State Environmental Planning Policy (Housing) 2021, section 112(3), defines 'prescribed area' (the areas subject to the 180-day cap under s112(1)(b)) as only (a) the Eastern Harbour City, Central River City and Western Parkland City (i.e. the Greater Sydney Region), (b) Ballina local government area, (d) land in the Clarence Valley LGA shown on the relevant SEPP map, and (e) land in the Muswellbrook LGA shown on the relevant SEPP map. Byron Shire is separately capped at 60 days under s112(1)(c). Shoalhaven appears in none of these categories. Separately, Shoalhaven Council's own live STRA guidance page (shoalhaven.nsw.gov.au) was opened directly in-browser this pass (the page uses a JS tab layout; content was confirmed present in the DOM under the FAQs tab) and reads, verbatim: 'Does the Shoalhaven have a limit on how many days per year I can rent my property out like some other Councils such as City of Sydney and Byron Bay? No, you can still rent your property out 365 days a year in the Shoalhaven Local Government Area. *However as previous, no one booking can last longer than total 3 months consecutively without a Lease agreement.' Confidence high.

Exceptions: Individual short-term rental accommodation 'lettings' under the Shoalhaven LEP 2014/DCP 2014 Chapter G16 exempt-development pathway are separately capped at no more than 45 consecutive days per letting in any 12-month period (see planning_approval rule below), a different, narrower control aimed at distinguishing genuine short-stay tourist use from de facto permanent occupation (it governs whether development consent is needed at all, not an annual night-cap). This 45-day figure is independently confirmed against the primary DCP PDF.

Chapter G16 of the Shoalhaven DCP 2014 explains that Clause 7.13 of the Shoalhaven LEP 2014 lets residential accommodation be used as tourist/visitor accommodation without council development consent, provided the use is short-term (defined in the Chapter as 'no more than 45 consecutive days in any 12 month period') and does not interfere with neighbourhood amenity. VERIFIED VERBATIM this pass by reading the primary PDF directly (section 3, Context): 'residential accommodation is used as tourist or visitor accommodation for no more than 45 consecutive days in any 12 month period. This type of accommodation is typically in the form of holiday rentals and excludes backpackers' accommodation and bed and breakfast accommodation.' Also restated as Acceptable Solution A2.1 in section 5.1: 'Short-term rental accommodation is only to be used for holiday stays for no more than 45 consecutive days in any 12 month period.' This is a local exempt-development threshold layered on top of (and separate from) the statewide STRA registration scheme; it governs whether a DA is needed at all, not registration or an annual night quota. If amenity is negatively affected or the 45-day threshold is exceeded, the owner must obtain development consent under cl 7.13.

Exceptions: Bed and breakfast accommodation and backpackers' accommodation are expressly excluded from this Chapter's definition of short-term rental accommodation.

DCP 2014 Chapter G16 section 5.4 states guests/owners must not use STRA for regular weddings or other functions without development consent. VERIFIED VERBATIM this pass by reading the primary PDF directly: 'You or your guests must not use your short-term rental accommodation for regular weddings or other functions without development consent from Council. Council may consider an application for a temporary use of land for a maximum period of 52 days in a 12 month period. Refer to Clause 2.8 of the Shoalhaven LEP 2014.' A private function requiring a tent or marquee must also comply with Division 3 of the Codes SEPP (exempt/complying development codes).

VERIFIED VERBATIM this pass by reading the primary DCP PDF directly (controls A8.1-A8.2, section 5.1): 'A8.1 A bushfire evacuation plan is required for all short-term rental accommodation in bushfire prone areas. A8.2 Smoke alarms must be installed and remain operational in your short-term rental accommodation.' This sits alongside, and is additional to, the statewide STRA Fire Safety Standard self-declaration regime that applied from 1 March 2022 under the state STRA framework (also confirmed on council's FAQ page this pass: 'Requirements around fire and emergency procedures have been postponed until 1 March 2022').

VERIFIED this pass by reading the primary DCP PDF directly, sections 5.1-5.3: (i) 'the maximum number of guests must not exceed 2 adult guests per bedroom' (A3.1); (ii) guests must not create noise offensive to neighbours 'at any time during their occupancy, but especially between the hours of 10pm and 8am' (A5.3), and the amenity-interference examples in section 5.2 list use of outdoor spas/pools/BBQs between 10pm and 8am, so this functions as a de facto restriction on those areas in that window rather than an absolute ban on all noise; (iii) a 24-hour contactable local management agent able to attend the site and respond to complaints (A10.1); (iv) one business identification sign at the letterbox naming the property as a holiday rental and giving the 24-hour contact number, per DCP Chapter G22 signage controls (A11.1-A11.2); (v) 'You or your 24 hour contact person should notify Council in writing of all complaints within 48 hours of when the complaint was made... Council will require the date, time and type of complaint as well as the actions taken' (A13.1); (vi) waste must be collected via Council's kerbside service or a private contractor, public beach/park bins explicitly not acceptable, bins not to sit kerbside more than 1 day before/after collection (A6.1-A6.3).

Exceptions: Applies to residential holiday rentals; excludes bed and breakfast and backpackers' accommodation, which are covered elsewhere in the DCP.

VERIFIED VERBATIM this pass by reading the primary DCP PDF directly, section 6.1: 'If you or your guests do not comply with this Chapter and your short-term rental accommodation is interfering with the amenity of the neighbourhood in any way, then you will be required to obtain development consent from Council in accordance with clause 7.13 of the Shoalhaven LEP 2014. Council may also take enforcement action against you including issuing a penalty infringement notice under the relevant legislation or for ongoing breaches, legal proceedings may be commenced. You may also be required to install mandatory signage at the property.' No specific dollar figure appears anywhere in Chapter G16.