Airbnb and councils in Perth WA

This is more of a sour grapes post than anything else, but I'm just really annoyed.

Had a tenant break lease in my townhouse in South Perth and just to explore options I thought I'd check with the council about short term stays. Turns out zoning is R25/40 and anything under R50 is flat out prohibited.

I'm not about to do it anyway, but it's no wonder people do this illegally. It's my property. What business does the council have in telling me what I can and can't do with it?

I can understand restrictions, or subject to no objections from neighbours etc but complete prohibition?

 

Are you sure? I wouldn't of thought an AirBNB would be classed as a "Serviced Apartment".

 

Yes, I'm sure. I spoke to the planning department in South Perth Council. I asked about what the process was if I wanted to rent out my property as short-stay accommodation, and specifically Airbnb. Response was it's prohibited due to the zoning. R50 or higher is permissible at council discretion (discretion... don't get me started).

 

Zoning is to protect the amenity of the area. Quiet residential areas are not always suited to short term rentals where guests are not always mindful of other residents. If you want to do short term rentals, a property in the appropriate zone would be more appropriate.
Marg

 

I can understand your frustrations - but this is a silly thing to say. Shall we just scrap all planning laws then and let people build and do whatever they want with their properties?

 

I am not sure about this. "Residential" is a zone. R50 is not a zone, R50 is a density code. From my experience, just because a town planner told you something does not mean that they are correct. I just had this with a DA at city of Belmont. The planner wrote to my builder but got s number of things wrong. I called up and sorted it out but the initial assessment was definitely not correct.

I would have to look at South Perth's scheme and the planner could be correct. I just would not assume they are without checking.

 

Definitely agree about this, so I just had a peek myself.

Looks like the closest thing in the scheme to an airbnb is "tourist accommodation" which has that Rcode requirement - so it looks like it might check out this time.

Interestingly, "bed and breakfast" is potentially permissible but probably doesn't cover airbnb looking at the definition.

 

Otherwise use not listed, which is discretionary anyway, so no help at all.

 

I knew someone would say this as soon as I posted
No, I'm not for a minute suggesting we scrap planning laws, or let people build whatever they want. I just feel that some in some areas there is council overreach. It's not as though I'm attempting to construct a dwelling without any regard for safety standards etc - I just want to let some people stay in MY property and I do think that who resides in my property is my business.

What is the issue exactly? If I allowed people to stay in my unit for free, I wouldn't be breaching any laws. So why is the fact that there is an exchange of money, illegal?

 

This property is across the river from the city centre. Generally if you want "quiet residential", that wouldn't be near the city.

 

Thanks - I'll keep that in mind for future reference.

 

I have the same feeling sometime.
What if i have my genuine guests (friends, relatives etc) coming over every now and then for overnight stays ? Are they prohibited to stay there ?
I think it's definitely not about ' guests not being mindful of other neighbours' issue on council's behalf. I think it is more about council wanting to get a 'cut' out of the income being earned from AirBnB rentals.
And most of the councils are still thinking about how to do that without causing major outcry. Hence, everything is prohibited at this stage.