Council supports state-wide short stay registration

Fremantle Council has thrown its support behind the state government’s plans to implement a state-wide registration system for short-term rental accommodation like Airbnb.

In December last year the government invited comment on the proposal, which is in response to the recommendations of a Parliamentary inquiry into the short-stay accommodation sector conducted in 2019.

The registration scheme being investigated by the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries would require providers of short-term rental accommodation to register their property in order to operate and advertise, including advertising and taking bookings online through platforms such as Airbnb.

Fremantle Mayor Hannah Fitzhardinge said the state government’s proposal is similar to the system the City of Fremantle already has in place to manage short-stay accommodation.

“There are around 300 short-stay accommodation providers in Fremantle, so they’re an important part of our accommodation mix and have a significant role to play in supporting Fremantle’s visitor economy,” Mayor Fitzhardinge said.

“But it’s also important they don’t have a detrimental impact on the neighbours, or have an unfair advantage over other accommodation providers.

“Since 2009 we’ve had our Short Stay Accommodation Local Law which requires short-stay providers to register their property. This is so we know how many of them are out there and the details of the property owner should we ever need to contact them.

“We also have some basic conditions such as a minimum two-night stay, and that a nominated property manager must be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with their contact details physically on the property where the public can see them.

“We’ve found that registration has been a simple and effective way of regulating short-stay accommodation, with less than five complaints received per year on average.

“In our evidence to the Parliamentary inquiry the City put forward our registration system as a model that could be implemented across the state, so it’s pleasing to see the government moving in this direction.”    

The City of Fremantle’s submission on the government’s short-term accommodation registration proposal was endorsed by Fremantle Council last night.

The submission recommends the registration scheme cover both hosted and unhosted short-term accommodation, and that details of registered properties be accessible to local governments to assist them in monitoring short-stay accommodation and ensuring compliance with planning and other regulatory requirements.

The council also recommended that local governments should still be able to require the provision of additional information or apply additional operating requirements over short-term rental accommodation operating within their jurisdiction.