› Flat Chat Strata Forum › Airbnb and holiday lets › Can we create a bylaw banning Airbnb? › Current Page
@Lotsofstairs said:
Done to death? From a committee member’s point of view I think not.
I was referring to the discussion about what kind of by-law you could have to limit short-stay letting and what could be done to enforce it.
It’s a complicated question, for sure, but the answers are simple because their scope is limited by the law.
You can pass a by-law supporting your “residential only” zoning but any by-law you pass beyond that will have no standing because of the section 139 (2) restrictions: “No by-law is capable of operating to prohibit or restrict the devolution of a lot or a transfer, lease, mortgage or other dealing relating to a lot.”
That’s why a by-law saying you will enforce local zoning is valid but one saying anything more (or less) than that probably isn’t.
As explained above, a by-law will be accepted by most residents (whether it is valid or not) and ignored by some – until they get a Notice To Comply.
But there will always be others who, for whatever reason, feel they shouldn’t have to comply with the by-law and they are the ones you take to NCAT for a fine. That’s when your by-law gets tested.
So it’s not really ambiguous at all. If you accept the intent of section 132 (2) and its recent confirmation in the Fair Trading handbook, it’s crystal clear.
Schemes that want some sort of half measure will have to wait for the state government to decide whether it wants homes or holiday hotels in our apartment blocks – and their position document could be tabled any day now.