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Short-Term Rental Accommodation

online community engagement

Short-Term Rental Accommodation (STRA) refers to the practice of renting out a property (or part of a property) for a relatively short period of time, such as on a nightly or weekly basis. This type of accommodation is usually booked through online platforms and is popular among travellers and visitors seeking temporary lodging for holidays, business trips or other short stays.

The State Government has committed to various initiatives to deliver better regulation of the Short-Term Rental Accommodation sector.

The Town of Cottesloe has prepared a scheme amendment for the purpose of updating the scheme text to introduce, modify and delete various land use classes and definitions to facilitate State Government reforms for Short-Term Rental Accommodation.

The Town of Cottesloe has also prepared a local planning policy on Unhosted Short-Term Rental Accommodation, to ensure their scale and operation is compatible with their setting and does not result in unacceptable adverse impact on the amenity of neighbours.

Consultation on this project has now closed. Thank you to everyone who made a submission.

Town of Cottesloe Local Planning Scheme No. 3 - Amendment No. 15: Short-Term Rental Accommodation (Standard Amendment)

 

The Town of Cottesloe has prepared a scheme amendment for the purpose of updating the scheme text to introduce, modify and delete various land use classes and definitions to facilitate State Government reforms for Short-Term Rental Accommodation (STRA).

 

Council considered the scheme amendment for advertising at its 25 March 2025 meeting, and the Western Australian Planning Commission (WAPC) subsequently approved the scheme amendment for advertising on 12 May 2025.

In November 2023, the WAPC released Position Statement: Planning for Tourism and Short-Term Rental Accommodation (Position Statement) and associated Guidelines. The release of the Position Statement complemented other whole-of-government reforms relating to STRA, responding to recommendations made in the 2019 parliamentary enquiry Levelling the Playing Field: Managing the impact of the rapid increase of short-term rentals in Western Australia. This included development of a state-wide registration scheme for STRA, as well as an incentive scheme to encourage transition of properties from the short to long term rental market.

 

Alongside the registration scheme, which sits separately to the planning system and is mandatory for all STRA, amendments to the Planning and Development (Local Planning Schemes) Regulations 2015 (LPS Regulations) were flagged as a key part of the State Government’s goal to ensure a fairer and more consistent treatment of STRA from both a legal and practical standpoint. These amendments to the LPS Regulations, gazetted on 18 September 2024, have triggered the need for the Town to amend its scheme to align with the state planning framework.

Local Planning Policy 5: Unhosted Short-Term Rental Accommodation

 

The Town of Cottesloe has prepared a new local planning policy for Unhosted Short-Term Rental Accommodation (STRA) and is inviting feedback.

 

The policy provides guidelines for the assessment of development (planning) applications for Unhosted STRA, to ensure the scale and operation of Unhosted STRA is compatible with its setting and does not result in unacceptable adverse impact on the amenity of neighbours.

 

Council considered and adopted the policy for advertising at its 22 April 2025 meeting. The policy complements and aligns with proposed Amendment 15 to Local Planning Scheme No. 3 - Short-Term Rental Accommodation that is being advertised concurrently.

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