"I'm dreaming of a White Christmas" like many others in the lead up to the busy festive season. In recent years, short-term leasing your home while on holidays has been viewed as a popular way to generate income, resulting in exponential growth in platforms for people to host guests on short-term tenancies.
We are starting to field a number of legal enquiries from "would be" landlords. One emerging issue is whether a Strata Committee can pass a by-law to prevent a property owner in a strata complex from letting their property as guest accommodation.
Irrespective of what your strata committee or the by-laws may say, in NSW the strata title legislation prohibits any such restrictions. This means that unless the zoning within the area where your property is located doesn't allow you to let for guest accommodation, you can't be prevented from doing so by your strata committee or by the strata by-laws relating to your property.
It is my belief that the amount of accommodation coming onto the market and the potential for an oversupply of property in Sydney will only lead to more investors making their properties available for short-term guest accommodation, in order to meet the costs of owning and maintaining their properties. As such, I can see more people becoming concerned about the legal issues around the management of short-term guests including:
- What paperwork is going to be signed?
- Are there different tax consequences for letting your property out for short-term guest accommodation?
- How do you manage a situation where the tenant abandons the property, leaves damage and/or disturbs adjoining owners?
- What fees, if any, will be charged for the management of short-term guest accommodation?
Short-term guest accommodation has risen rapidly in Australia over the last few years and is likely to continue to increase. My team is more than happy to assist you in relation to your issues should you require advice.
In the meantime, have yourself a merry little Christmas.
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