New local planning scheme allows ‘unhosted’ short-term holiday rentals in Broome

“Unhosted” short-term holiday rentals will now be allowed in residential areas of Broome after the Shire’s latest local planning scheme was officially approved by the State Government. The Shire of Broome announced on October 4 their new Local Planning Scheme No. 7 had been accepted by Housing Minster John Carey and would come into affect in the coming year. The scheme will see unhosted short-term rental accommodation leased through companies such as Airbnb and Stayz allowed within residentially zoned areas which was not permitted under the previous local planning scheme. But current owners of unhosted short-term rentals will need to lodge a development application in the next six months to continue using their property as a “holiday house” or face substantial fines. An unhosted short-term holiday rental is a single dwelling used to provide short-term accommodation but the owner does not live there, such as properties rented through Airbnb and Stayz Shire of Broome president Desiree Male said after community consultation the decision was the best way to navigate the conflicting interests on short-term rental accommodation. “Some homeowners want to use their property to generate income using websites such as Airbnb, but accommodation providers like hotels and caravan parks have argued that short-stay accommodation providers have an unfair advantage, given the disparity in rates paid by the two options,” she said. “Then there is the rental shortage in Broome which isn’t made any easier by unregulated short-stay accommodation in our town. The Shire carefully considered all these points of view through a public submission process in 2022, resulting in the new local planning scheme.” Unhosted short-stay rental accommodation properties will also be subject to higher rates under the Shire’s differential rate model, moving from rating category GRV residential to GRV tourism “Applying higher rates to approved holiday houses is appropriate as the level of service given to holiday houses will be higher than the services provided to standard residential properties,” Cr Male said. Responding to questions whether the policy was the right move on October 4, Housing Minister John Carey said local governments were best placed to manage unhosted short-stay rental accommodation in their jurisdiction. “We’ve always been on the public record to say that we understand that regional local governments understand their communities the best and so they will understand how the rental markets operate and we respect that,” he said. Mr Carey said the State Government’s package of reforms to regulate unhosted short-term holiday rentals, like Airbnbs, will be announced sometime later this year. Local Planning Scheme No. 7 also includes a review of development standards and a full review of public purpose local reserves.