2023-03-07 Planning & Environment Meeting Agenda

PLANNING & ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                       7 MARCH 2023


      1.    Increase staff resources to include two additional local law assessment and compliance
            officers on a temporary basis to assess the backlog of applications and undertake
            compliance action where required;
      2.    Undertake compliance and enforcement action on properties operating short stay
            letting or home hosted accommodation without an approval or not displaying an
            approval notice;
      3.    Introduce an annual renewal fee on 30 June 2023 for all short stay let and home hosted
            accommodation properties on a sliding scale at a rate of:
                 Detached house $400
                 Detached house limited to 4 times and maximum 60 days $100
                 Unit $200
                 Unit limited to 4 times and maximum 60 days $100
                 Home hosted accommodation $100
C.    Continue to monitor the implementation of the Short Stay Letting or Home Hosted
      Accommodation local law and make improvements where needed; and
D.    Continue to liaise with the multi-interest stakeholder group on the implementation of the local
      law on an as-needs basis and thank this group for their input into the review process to date.


REPORT
The purpose of this report is to provide the outcomes of a 12 month review of the Short Stay Letting
or Home Hosted Accommodation Local Law (local law) as required by Council’s resolution on 21
October 2022. The report makes recommendations on actions and improvements to the ongoing
implementation of the local law as identified by the review and the introduction of an annual renewal
fee.
1.    Background
Following an increase in the number of dwellings being used for short term accommodation and
the resulting negative impacts on residential amenity on permanent residents, Council identified
the need to manage the ongoing use of short term accommodation properties through a local law
framework.
A first draft of the local law was initially prepared and publicly notified in late 2019 but was put on
hold following the State Government’s intention at the time to take a state wide approach to
managing short stay letting. The State deferred the matter with the onset of COVID-19 prompting
Council to recommence the preparation of its own local law. A revised version of the draft local law
was publicly notified a second time in 2021. 615 submissions were received and considered which
resulted in numerous amendments to the final version of the local law.
On 21 October 2021 Council resolved to make Subordinate Local Law – Schedule 21A Operation
of Short Stay Letting or Home Hosted Accommodation together with a range of other actions to
support the implementation of the local law.
The local law commenced on 1 February 2022 and in accordance with Council’s resolution, the
following actions have been undertaken over the last 12 months to implement the local law:
     the establishment of a new local laws team comprising 5 staff to administer the local law, and
      the new T1 assessment approvals system and processes;
     the establishment of a 24/7 Council complaints hotline and complaints register operating as
      an intermediary between the complainant and the contact person responsible for the STA
      property;
     use of security services to observe and record activity at properties where required, on a 12
      month trial basis;


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