Short-term Rental Accommodation (STRA)

The NSW state-wide policy and STRA laws impose obligations on all industry participants, including booking platforms, hosts, letting agents and guests. This provides more certainty for local communities and visitors regarding potential amenity impacts on residential neighbours due to inconsiderate or anti-social behaviour.

The STRA planning policy framework comprises standard provisions and introduces:

• a definition for STRA, hosted STRA and non-hosted STRA
• an exempt development pathway for:
  • hosted STRA in a dwelling, 365 days per year
  • non-hosted STRA in a dwelling located in an unrestricted area, 365 days per year
  • non-hosted STRA in a dwelling located in a prescribed area, 180 days per year

• an exemption of bookings of 21 consecutive days or more from day limits for non-hosted STRA
• All STRA dwellings must also meet the general requirements outlined in Section 113, Part 6 of the Housing SEPP.

Note: Clarence Valley Local Government Area has a 180-day limit for non-hosted STRA dwellings located within the R2 Low Density Residential zoned land within our coastal villages. Maps detailing where these ‘prescribed area’ 180-day restrictions apply can be accessed below: 

• Angourie and Wooloweyah(PDF, 199KB)
• Brooms Head(PDF, 168KB)
• Diggers Camp and Wooli(PDF, 256KB)
• Iluka and Yamba(PDF, 642KB)
• Minnie Water(PDF, 160KB)
• The Sandon(PDF, 162KB)

The STRA policy is also supported by:

• enactment of the Environmental Planning and Assessment (Development Certification and Fire Safety) Regulation 2021 to introduce minimum fire safety standards for dwellings used for STRA and farm stay accommodation.
• amendments to the Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2001 to introduce associated penalty notice offences for non-compliance.
• the implementation of a NSW Government-run STRA  register that will ensure compliance with the STRA fire safety standards, as well as tracking day limits of each STRA dwelling and provide details to assist local councils with monitoring STRA in their local government areas (LGA). All hosts or letting agents must also comply with the new fire and safety requirements and agree to follow the code of conduct.

• host means the owner, tenant or permanent resident of a dwelling who uses the dwelling to provide short-term rental accommodation
• hosted short-term rental accommodation means short-term rental accommodation provided where the host resides on the premises during the provision of the accommodation.

Note: ‘Hosted’ means the host needs to be living on the property but not necessarily in the home being rented. For example, homeowners who live on a property with a granny flat are able to rent out the granny flat 365 days of the year.

• non-hosted short-term rental accommodation means short-term rental accommodation provided where the host does not reside on the premises during the provision of the accommodation.

All lawfully constructed dwellings that are permitted to be used as residential accommodation in all land-use zones can be used for STRA. Typical residential accommodation dwelling types include:

• a dwelling house (free-standing house), an attached dwelling, or a semi-detached dwelling
• a dual occupancy
• multi-dwelling housing
• a residential flat (such as a unit in a block of flats)
• a secondary dwelling (such as a granny flat)
• housing above shops.

What kinds of dwellings are not permitted to be used for STRA?

The following dwellings are not considered STRA under the STRA rules:

• boarding houses
• seniors’ housing
• rural workers’ dwellings
• group homes
• hostels
• refuge or crisis accommodation
• build-to-rent housing
• co-living housing
• moveable dwellings: caravans, tents or glamping accommodation.

More information about the rules for STRA is available on the Planning Portal.

The mandatory Code of Conduct for the Short-term Rental Accommodation Industry (Code) is administered by the Commissioner for Fair Trading in the NSW Department of Customer Service.

The Code sets out the legal responsibilities and applies minimum standards of behaviour and requirements on all STRA industry participants, including:

• Booking platforms
• Hosts
• Guests
• Letting agents and facilitators.

The Code also creates disciplinary actions that NSW Fair Trading can take, including listing non-compliant participants on an Exclusion Register. Once listed on the Exclusion Register, the person or premises is prohibited from participating in the short-term rental accommodation industry for five years.

For information about the this code, visit the NSW Fair Trading website.

Dwellings proposed to be used for STRA are required to comply with the STRA fire safety standards.

The fire safety standards are enacted by Part 13A of the Environmental Planning and Assessment (Development Certification and Fire Safety) Regulation 2021 which:

• introduce minimum fire safety standards for STRA dwellings and associated penalty notice offences for non-compliance;
• require all STRA dwellings to comply with the relevant fire safety standards, including the requirement for all STRA dwellings to an evacuation plan and interconnected smoke alarms; and
• require all STRA dwellings to be registered on the NSW Government-run STRA register to confirm compliance with the new fire safety standards.

A factsheet on fire safety standards is available on the Planning Portal.

All STRA properties must register on the STRA Register. All hosts must first ensure the dwelling they propose to use for STRA complies with the fire and safety requirements and agree to follow the Code of Conduct.

A letting agent must keep a record of the full particulars of each transaction involving a short-term rental accommodation arrangement that is entered into using the letting agent’s services.

The record must be kept:

• for 3 years after the end of the occupancy period
• in a readily producible form

In many cases you can resolve minor grievances by speaking directly with a STRA host, letting agent or visitor. In cases where issues can not be resolved directly you should contact the following: 

Local Police - for matters that require urgent response including excessive noise, anti-social and illegal behaviour:

• Grafton – 02 6642 0222
• Maclean – 02 6645 2444
• Yamba – 06 6603 0199
• Coffs/Clarence Police District webpage

Clarence Valley Council - for fire safety (including unsafe overcrowding), planning approvals, parking, long-term ongoing noise issues and concerns with breaches to the non-hosted STRA 180 day yearly limit (within our coastal town prescribed areas):

• Report It to Council 
• Connect with us

NSW Fair Trading - for potential, deliberate and/or persistent breaches to Code of Conduct, including:

• noise that because of its level, nature, character, or quality, or the time it is made, is likely to harm, offend, or unreasonably disrupt or interfere with the peace and comfort of neighbours and other occupants of the premises
• violent or threatening manner towards neighbours or other occupants of the premises
• acting in a manner that could reasonably be expected to cause alarm or distress to neighbours and other occupants of the premises
• use or enjoy the premises in a manner, or for a purpose, that interferes unreasonably with the use or enjoyment of common property by neighbours and other occupants of the premises in a strata or community scheme
• intentionally, recklessly or negligently cause damage to premises, any common property or any other communal facilities within the immediate vicinity of the premises, or neighbouring premises, or any public property in the vicinity of the premises

Short-term rental accommodation complaints | NSW Fair Trading – or phone NSW Fair Trading on 13 32 20