WA introduces new regulations to govern short-term rentals

The changes mean that in metropolitan areas such as Perth, property owners who wish to rent an entire property on the short-term market – also known as an “unhosted stay” – for more than 90 days, will have to seek DA approval from the local government.

Metropolitan local governments are therefore being required to amend their planning schemes to include the new development approval stipulation for STRA within the next 12 months. STRA providers will then be able to obtain DA approval beginning on 1 January 2026.

To support this transition, all providers of hosted and unhosted STRA properties within Western Australia must be registered on the STRA Register, which launched earlier this year, by 1 January 2025 to lawfully advertise and take bookings. The resulting data will be used to support future regulation and planning requirements of the STRA sector.

The state has worked with local governments to tailor the new regulations, which include exemptions for planning approval for hosted stays as well as unhosted stays of less than 90 days in metropolitan areas.

In regional areas, councils are being given the choice to decide whether they will require planning approval for unhosted STRA accommodation.

The state noted that it is not, at this point in time, moving to implement caps on the number of nights that an STRA property can be leased on the short-term market.

WA’s planning minister, John Carey, said he felt the regulations would bring “clarity to local governments on how short-term rental accommodation is defined and how related land uses should be regarded in a planning context”.

"Introducing STRA as a dedicated land use will also provide transparency and certainty to communities on where short-term rental accommodation may be permitted in their neighbourhoods,” he said.

Commerce minister Sue Ellery added that the state was working to give “communities, users, and authorities a clearer picture of the STRA sector, enabling better regulation and planning”.