NSW short-term rental accommodation rules, for property owners
The NSW framework is not complicated, but it has four separate parts and owners usually discover the one they missed at the worst moment. Here is the whole picture, current as at the reviewed date below.
Checked against the NSW Planning Portal on .
The 180-day cap applies to non-hosted short-term stays in Greater Sydney. It is a limit on one way of letting a property, not on the property.
180 nights
Non-hosted short stays
The capped nights. Spend them on the periods that earn the most, not the first ones that ask.
185 nights
Everything else the year can be
Hosted stays, which carry no day cap, and bookings of 21 nights or more, which are generally not counted toward the cap.
1. Registration is mandatory
Every property used for short-term rental accommodation in NSW must be listed on the STRA Register before it is advertised or let. Registration is done through the NSW Planning Portal. At the time of review, a new registration costs $65 and annual renewal costs $25, both non-refundable.
A registration that lapses does not quietly continue. It can be renewed from 45 days before expiry, and it expires outright if it is not renewed within three months. The registration number belongs on the listing.
2. Hosted and non-hosted are treated differently
"Hosted" means the host is present on the property during the stay — a room in the home they live in. "Non-hosted" means the whole dwelling is let with nobody living there. Most investment properties are non-hosted.
Hosted STRA has no annual day cap. Non-hosted STRA in Greater Sydney is capped at 180 days a year. That cap has applied since the framework commenced on 1 November 2021.
3. The 21-day rule is the one most owners do not know
Bookings of 21 consecutive days or more are excluded from the day-limit calculation for non-hosted properties. A six-week corporate or relocation stay does not consume the 180-day allowance.
This is the practical reason a property under the cap should be planned across both markets rather than run as a nightly calendar until it runs out of days in October. Nights inside the cap should be spent where they earn the most; the rest of the year is available for longer stays.
4. The Code of Conduct and fire safety
The mandatory Code of Conduct for the short-term rental accommodation industry commenced on 18 December 2020 and binds booking platforms, hosts, letting agents and guests. It is administered by the Commissioner for Fair Trading. Repeated serious breaches can put a host or a property on the exclusion register, which platforms are required to act on.
Fire safety is a hard requirement, not a recommendation: STRA dwellings must meet the standards set under the fire safety regulation, including interconnected smoke alarms and a displayed evacuation plan, with penalties for non-compliance.
5. Strata by-laws sit on top of all of this
A strata scheme can adopt a by-law prohibiting short-term letting in a lot that is not the owner's principal place of residence. That by-law operates independently of state planning rules and of your registration — being properly registered does not override it.
We check the by-laws and the scheme's position before quoting on an apartment, because the alternative is an owner who has furnished a property they are not permitted to let.
Questions
Common questions about the rules
Do I need to register my NSW property for short-term letting?
Yes. Any property used for short-term rental accommodation in NSW must be on the STRA Register before it is advertised or let, and the registration number belongs on the listing.
How many days a year can I let my Sydney apartment on Airbnb?
If the property is non-hosted — nobody living there during the stay — the cap in Greater Sydney is 180 days a year. Hosted stays, where you are present, have no day cap.
Do long bookings count toward the 180 days?
Bookings of 21 consecutive days or more are excluded from the day-limit calculation for non-hosted properties. This is why mid-term stays are part of the plan for a capped property rather than a workaround.
Can my strata stop me letting short-term?
It can, where the lot is not your principal place of residence and the scheme has adopted a by-law to that effect. That is separate from state rules and separate from your registration, so it has to be checked property by property.
What happens if I do not comply?
Penalties apply under the fire safety regulation, and repeated serious breaches of the Code of Conduct can lead to a host or a property being placed on the exclusion register, which booking platforms must act on.
Want us to check your building before you spend anything?
We read the by-laws and the scheme's position on short-term letting as part of an estimate — and we tell you when the answer is no.