You may be able to cut off this problem at source. Contact Airbnb and tell them that this family is in breach of their own policy – they have lied to Airbnb by ticking the box that says they have permission to list their flat.
Airbnb told me that they respond very quickly to complaints like that. Email them on response@airbnb.com and tell them you have been advise to do so by Jimmy Thomson at the Sydney Morning Herald.
If that doesn’t work (and I’m checking the email address with them right now), your options, given that you have tried everything else, are to talk to a strata lawyer about getting Supreme Court orders against this family.
The point is, it’s one thing paying NCAT fines. It’s another entirely flouting a court order – that’s a criminal offence and they could be arrested.
Or you could try one more time to hit them with everything you’ve got and let them know exactly what you plan to do.
Firstly, organise an executive committee meeting which should have the following items on the agenda:
1. To hire a specialist strata lawyer to pursue anyone in the building who is illegally letting their flats as holiday rentals.
2. If necessary, arrange for a general meeting to authorise legal action at the Supreme Court.
3. Hire a reputable private investigator (as recommended by the lawyer) to gather the evidence required to pursue the case at the NSW Civil Administration Tribunal, the Supreme Court and at council.
4. Send a letter to all residents telling them that you are planning to do this and to warn those who are breaching these laws and who refuse to stop doing so that they will a) be forced by law to stop doing so and b) charged costs related to proving they are breaking the law.
5. Send Notices To Comply to owners suspected of breaching the by-law relating to short-term lets.
6. Take action at the NSW Civil Administration Tribunal under section 119 for failure to provide details of leases or sub-leases which must, by law, be supplied within 14 days of a tenant taking occupation. Maximum fine $550.
7. Authorise members of the executive committee to talk to print media, television and radio to discuss the problems and the failure of the local council to act on complaints.
8. Get quotes for the installation of security cameras to cover car parking areas where cars have been vandalised and the common property areas, specifically those near units that have been illegally let.
Then make sure this family gets copies of the agenda and the decisions taken at the subsequent meeting. They may well ignore the threat, so be prepared to follow through … otherwise, I’d be looking to sell before they destroy the values of all the properties in your scheme.