The West Australian Apartment Advocacy (WAAA) has welcomed the Short Term Accommodation Parliamentary Inquiry's recommendation that the industry should be regulated through a state-wide registration system.
The regulation of Western Australia's short-stay accommodation industry through a state-wide registration system "is a start", the Western Australian Apartment Advocacy says.
On Thursday, a Short Term Parliamentary Inquiry conducted by the Economics and Industry Standing Committee recommended all short-term rentals be registered and be issued a registration number, with an interdepartmental working group set up to help determine exactly how the scheme would be managed.
The report found WA had experienced rapid growth in short-term rentals, with at least 20,000 listings available in the state.
But research conducted nationally through WAAA with 2500 apartment owners in March 2019, regarding the impact of short stay, indicated that 39 per cent of WA respondents found there was a negative influence with the other states registering closer to 50 per cent.
WAAA Director Samantha Reece, who presented the research findings to the Parliamentary Inquiry, told WILLIAMS MEDIA that while the inquiry was "long overdue", the findings were a step in the right direction.
"It's a start and I always welcome a start,"
"What we've had is a situation where owner-occupiers were feeling really frustrated," she said.
WAAA Director Samantha Reece. Source: WAAA
“Residents who buy an apartment as a home should not have to endure ongoing antisocial issues associated with short stay, such as damage to the complex and disruptive behaviour.
"It can be quite a sensitive issue because we are talking about very large operators, who turn over billions of dollars each year."
As part of her research findings, Ms Reece lobbied to have short-stay operators responsible for having a portal for customer complaints, as well as a three-strike rule, by which an operator with a short stay apartment would be taken off the system for a 12-month period if they offended three times, and would face five years off the system if they re-offended after that.
She said the sheer number of short-stay operators in WA meant a "very strong stance" was required.
"You need to have a benchmark standard which has been what the industry has been missing up until this point," she said.
“WA should not be tolerant of the small percentage of property owners who are not diligent with their bookings and hence cause upheaval for their neighbours and the complex overall.
“If we have repeat offenders they need to be removed from the industry and that is the only way we can assure a win-win situation for apartment owners and the short-stay industry overall.”
Click here to view the findings of the WA Short Stay Inquiry.
By Sean Slatter
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