Airbnb Illegal in NSW Due To COVID-19

In news announced yesterday, it is now illegal in NSW for anyone to leave their home to stay in Airbnb or similar short-term accommodation without a lawful reason for doing so.

​Due to the restrictions put in place by government to contain the spread of COVID-19, it has been declared that people should not be staying anywhere outside of their own permanent home unless they have a valid reason for doing so, such as work, to take care of someone or for their education. 

As stated by the NSW Minister for Better Regulation, Kevin Anderson, “Anyone in NSW who leaves their house without a ‘reasonable excuse’ could spend up to six months in prison and face a fine of up to $11,000 under the emergency ministerial directive.”

To be clear, it is not illegal for hosts to advertise their short-term accommodation, but the majority of guests would no longer have a legal reason for staying there. 

Hosts of short-term properties have been cited as suffering a 90 per cent cancellation rate in the current climate. 

Some short-term stay accommodation hosts are now opting to rent their properties for a longer period of 3 or 6 months on the residential rental market, to ride out the wave of uncertainty while short-term stays have dried up. 

If you have a short-stay property and are unsure of the legislative requirements to transition your property to a longer fixed-term lease, feel free to contact us for a chat. 

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