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The following is a extract from a press release from Greg Nash, chairman and CEO of the PICA Group:
In some cases the owners corporation can allow short-term stays. For example, if the zoning and the local environment plan (LEP) don’t prohibit it, then offering short-term stays can be possible with development consent, depending on the by-laws.
Owners corporations can allow short-term stays and can include specific requirements within the by-laws to minimise the potential risk. For example, they may demand a tenancy notice for each and every new guest, along with how long they will be staying. If owners don’t comply then the owners corporation can refuse to issue security keys, prevent guests from using the facilities and more.
Greg Nash said, “The bottom line is that an owners corporation cannot have something like Airbnb forced upon them. The person wanting to run the Airbnb must satisfy any number of legal requirements first and, even then, the owners corporation has a right to put a stop to it through the by-laws.
“If a person in a building is running an Airbnb illegally, many councils are happy to prosecute as they are empowered to enforce zoning and local environmental plan (LEP) requirements. Additionally, if the person is in breach of a by-law limiting occupancy, they can be subject to fines of $5,500 for the first offence and up to $11,000 for a second offence with the money going to the owners corporation, not the state.”