Question: Tenants in our small complex have a couch-surfing short-stay business. We have a by-law prohibiting Airbnb. What action can we take?
Tenants at our complex of 10 lots have an obvious couch-surfing short-stay business. An extra 2 or 3 vehicles are regularly parked at the complex or on the street verge for a few days or up to a few weeks. Many of the vehicles have interstate plates.
Our complex has a by-law prohibiting Airbnb. However, the tenants are the hosts, and the owners may not be aware of the activity. Is the strata company or the council of owners are able to change this situation?
Answer: It’s important to confirm that short stay is occurring before progressing.
Short stay accommodation has been a hot topic for strata schemes, and there are a few different ways to manage this issue.
Confirm the lot is used for short stay
A lot of the information you have provided suggests short stay may be occurring but doesn’t prove it is and may be explained by the tenants having housemates or guests visiting. It also may be the case that the extra vehicles belong to other owners or tenants. It’s important to confirm that short stay is occurring before progressing.
One way you could confirm this is by checking online platforms to see if the lot is being advertised for short-term stays or by searching the Short Term Rental Accommodation register (more details below).
Contacting the property manager and/or owner is also a good step to confirm this. And, if they are unaware, having this conversation as an initial step can often stop the issue in its tracks, especially if the lease agreement prevents subletting or short stay accommodation.
Review Your Bylaws
If, after your inquiries, you confirm it is a short-stay setup, and the owners or property managers do not resolve the issue, review your by-laws to see what recourse is available.
You mentioned there is a by-law prohibiting Airbnb. Depending on its wording, it may also cover couch surfing or other short-term rentals and may cover tenants as well as owners. A strata lawyer can assist in interpreting the by-law.
There may also be other breaches of the by-laws outside of the short stay, or other by-laws that cover the situation, such as parking/vehicle by-laws or by-laws that prohibit conducting a business.
If a breach of the by-laws can be established, the strata company may issue a breach notice to the lot and escalate the matter through the State Administrative Tribunal to resolve.
Consider the Short-Term Rental Accommodation Act
From 1 January 2025, anyone conducting short-term rentals in WA must register with the State Government and display a registration number.
You can verify registration here: Check if a STRA is registered
If your by-laws prohibit short stays, registration can be cancelled or suspended, and the tenant could be reported to the STRA Registers Team.
Courtney Butters-Kerr B Strata E: operations@bstratawa.com.au P: 9382 7700