Nobody who has been a regular reader of this website or my columns in the SMH will be surprised to learn that I probably do have a problem with it.
But let’s look at the facts (and I’m going to play devil’s advocate here) If the building is fully jointly residential/commercial then there shouldn’t be a problem.
However, I suspect that the zoning allows for both commercial activity in the commercial section and residential-only in the residential section. If that’s the case, then you shouldn’t be running short-stay lets in the building. End of story.
But let’s assume you never set out to maintain your city pad using Airbnb but, hey, when it came along, why wouldn’t you use it? Is there a middle ground?
Regarding the insurance, the law allows for people whose use of their lot causes insurance premiums to be raised to pay the difference individually, so you could go back to the strata manager and ask them to obtain a quote for the increased insurance, with a view to paying it.
Also, as you may have read elsewhere on this website, there is considerable discussion about whether anti-Airbnb by-laws are valid or not. You might want to re-list and take your chances at NCAT.
But let’s look at the big picture: unfortunately for you, your neighbours really don’t want you allowing complete strangers over whom neither you nor they have authority, control nor responsibility getting free access to their home.
By the way, the unofficial council moratorium on illegal holiday letting doesn’t mean the law has changed, it just means that your councillors and council workers have found another excuse for not doing their jobs.
You could re-list your property and wait for the committee to take you to NCAT as a test case and/or do their damndest to make your life difficult (nothing personal, but I would).
Cancelled keys, fines for not registering tenants names, fines for not handing over copies of the by-laws, reports to the tax office, locked access to facilities … there’s a whole armoury there for the determined anti-short-stay committee without so much as filling in a Fair Trading form.
So perhaps the best solution may be to find another property where short-stay letting is allowed, if not actively encouraged. And sell your flat at a premium.
You’ll make a profit – nobody wants to live in a block of flats that’s being turned into a holiday hotel, so residents will be desperate to sell.
And people who love living in apartments will pay more to stay somewhere that actively keeps the short-stay set at bay.
Win-win?