An apartment building may be able to prohibit some short stays, but Australia has no national yes-or-no rule—and a residential by-law may not remove an approved hotel or serviced-apartment use.
Quick answer: Start with the state, title documents and exact registered rule. In New South Wales, a strata scheme can adopt a special-resolution by-law prohibiting covered short-term letting when the lot is not the host's principal place of residence, but that power cannot be used to ban a host from short-term letting their principal residence. In Victoria, an owners corporation can make a special-resolution rule prohibiting certain stays of less than 28 days in relevant apartment lots, subject to a similar principal-residence exception and registration requirements. Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania take different approaches. Planning approval, leases, registration, levies and insurance remain separate questions.
Editorial note: This article provides general information about Australian apartment schemes, with New South Wales and Victoria as the detailed examples. Rules were reviewed on August 16, 2026. They differ by state, territory, council, title and building, and can change. This is not legal, conveyancing, planning, insurance or financial advice.
The Apartment Listing Does Not Tell You Who Will Use the Building
Imagine a buyer comparing several apartments. Some listings describe ordinary residential lots. Others mention a serviced-apartment operator, an on-site letting desk or income from short stays. The buyer wants to live in the building and use its lifts, pool and gym as a resident. Frequent arrivals, unfamiliar access-card users and luggage in the lobby would materially change the home they think they are buying.
The tempting question is:
Why can't the owners corporation simply ban every short stay?
That question assumes the owners corporation has one unlimited rule-making power. It does not. The answer can change with the state, title type, approved use, wording of the rule, voting method, registration and the way the host uses the lot.
The Australian Government has expressly recognised that states and territories regulate short-term rental accommodation, with some local decision-making powers. There is no single national strata rule that can answer the question for every apartment. Australian Government response to the Senate rental-crisis inquiry
“Are Short Stays Allowed?” Is Really Six Questions
A buyer should treat short-stay use as a stack of permissions and restrictions.
| Layer | The question it answers | Evidence to obtain |
|---|---|---|
| Title and approved building use | Is this an ordinary residential lot, hotel lot, serviced apartment, company title or mixed-use development? | Registered plan, title, development approval, scheme documents and management agreements |
| Owners corporation or strata rule | Does state law let this scheme restrict the particular use, and is the rule valid? | Current registered by-laws or rules, amendment instrument, motion and voting record |
| Planning | Is short-stay or visitor accommodation permitted at this address? | Council or state planning records, consent conditions, permits, day limits and fire-safety requirements |
| Short-stay regulation | Must the property be registered, follow a code or pay a levy? | Registration record, code, state guidance and booking facts |
| Contract | Does a lease, letting-pool agreement or management-rights arrangement permit or restrict the use? | Lease, subletting consent, letting agreement and disclosure documents |
| Insurance | How must the actual use be disclosed, and how does it affect cover or cost? | Policy schedule, product disclosure statement, renewal proposal and written broker advice |
Passing one layer does not pass the others. A state registration number is not proof that the lot complies with its building rules. Paying a levy is not planning permission. A sales agent's statement that “short stays are banned” is not the registered rule.
New South Wales: Strata Can Target Investment-Style Short Stays
Section 137A of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 gives a NSW owners corporation a specific power. A by-law made by special resolution may prohibit a lot from being used for a short-term rental accommodation arrangement when the lot is not the principal place of residence of the person granting the guest the right to occupy it.
The same section limits that power: the by-law has no force to the extent it tries to prevent this use when the lot is that person's principal place of residence. NSW Strata Schemes Management Act 2015, s 137A
In practical terms, a NSW scheme can target non-hosted or investment-style short-term letting. It cannot use section 137A to impose a complete ban on a resident host occasionally letting their own principal home.
That exception is not immunity from every building rule. Valid rules about noise, obstruction, parking, damage and use of common property can still apply. State planning rules, registration and the Code of Conduct can also apply independently.
NSW “special resolution” does not simply mean 75% of every owner
An ordinary NSW special resolution passes when no more than 25% of the value of votes cast is against the motion. Vote value ordinarily follows unit entitlement. It is therefore misleading to describe the rule as a universal requirement that 75% of every owner in the building must vote yes. NSW Strata Schemes Management Act 2015, s 5
That distinction matters in buildings where many owners do not vote. It also explains why a person cannot determine the outcome by counting hands in the room without checking entitlements, proxies and the formal voting record.
A NSW by-law is only one part of the state framework
NSW separately operates a Code of Conduct, planning framework and premises register for most residential short-term rentals. The planning framework distinguishes hosted and non-hosted accommodation and can impose location-dependent annual day limits. Most residential short-term rental premises must be registered before advertising, with the property ID displayed on the listing. NSW Government: Short-Term Rental Accommodation · NSW Planning: Short-Term Rental Accommodation · Service NSW: Register a Short-Term Rental Property
Registration does not cancel an applicable strata by-law.
Victoria: A New Ban Power, but Not an Informal House Rule
From January 1, 2025, Victoria's owners-corporation legislation allows an owners corporation to make a rule prohibiting short-stay accommodation in relevant apartment lots. For this power, a short-stay arrangement is generally a lease or licence for a continuous period of less than 28 days in a lot or part of a lot affected by an owners corporation in the Class 2 portion of a building.
The prohibition cannot apply when the owner, lessee or sub-lessee providing the accommodation occupies the lot as their principal place of residence. Official guidance says that person can still offer a room while living there or offer the home while temporarily absent. Victorian Owners Corporations Act 2006, s 138 and Schedule 1 item 5.5 · Consumer Affairs Victoria: Making Rules to Ban Short-Stay Accommodation
The power originated in the Short Stay Levy Act 2024, but the levy and the building rule answer different questions. Victoria's 7.5% levy applies to covered bookings from January 1, 2025, subject to its own exclusions. Paying the levy does not make a prohibited use lawful under an owners-corporation rule or planning control. State Revenue Office Victoria: Understanding the Short Stay Levy
What “75% support” means in Victoria
The prohibition requires a special resolution. Ordinarily, that means 75% of the total votes for all lots affected by the owners corporation. If a ballot or poll is used, the calculation is based on 75% of total lot entitlements. It is not merely 75% of the owners who happen to attend. A two-lot subdivision requires unanimity for a special resolution. Victoria also has an interim-special-resolution pathway with its own thresholds, notices and objection period. Victorian Owners Corporations Act 2006, ss 7, 96 and 97 · Consumer Affairs Victoria: Voting and Ballot Guidelines
After the correct process, the new or amended rule must be consolidated and registered with Land Use Victoria. Consumer Affairs Victoria warns that an unregistered rule is void and unenforceable. A rule may also fail if it is oppressive, unfairly prejudicial or discriminatory, or inconsistent with legislation. Consumer Affairs Victoria: How to Make Owners Corporation Rules
“We added it to the house rules” is not enough.
Four More States Show Why the Answer Is Not National
The following is a high-level comparison, not a substitute for advice on a particular scheme.
| State | Officially supportable starting point | What must not be overlooked |
|---|---|---|
| Queensland | Current Queensland Government guidance says community-title schemes generally cannot make by-laws banning or restricting short-term letting where that is a lawful residential use or dealing with a lot. Schemes can regulate conduct such as noise, parking and common-property use. | Local planning may still prohibit or condition the use. A conduct rule is not a letting ban. Queensland Government, Common Ground issue 44 |
| Western Australia | The statewide Short-Term Rental Accommodation register has been mandatory since January 1, 2025. Official registration guidance asks whether a strata by-law prohibits STRA and says registration may be blocked when such a by-law applies. | Registration and local planning approval are separate. WA Government STRA Register Guide · WA Government: What Needs to Be Registered? |
| South Australia | In a community-title scheme, a by-law may prohibit or restrict paid leasing or occupancy for less than two months. A variation requires a special resolution and becomes effective when filed with the community plan. | Do not automatically apply the community-title rule to a legacy strata-title scheme. Confirm the title and current legislation. SA Community Titles Act 1996, ss 37, 39–40 |
| Tasmania | Official guidance says a body-corporate by-law may impose a minimum letting term of up to six months. A change must be registered within three months and does not operate until registration. | Planning approval remains separate. Tasmanian Government: Strata Living in Tasmania |
The absence of ACT or Northern Territory from this table is deliberate. A confident national chart should not fill gaps by copying another state's rule. For those jurisdictions, obtain the registered scheme documents, planning information and current local advice.
The Hotel and Serviced-Apartment Trap
The word “apartment” can describe very different legal products.
An ordinary residential lot offered for occasional short stays is not necessarily equivalent to:
- a serviced-apartment lot with an approved visitor-accommodation use;
- a hotel component in a mixed-use tower;
- a lot tied to a letting pool or management agreement;
- company title or another ownership structure; or
- commercial facilities designed around transient guests.
NSW, for example, excludes approved tourist and visitor accommodation such as hotels and serviced apartments from the residential Short-Term Rental Accommodation Code and register. NSW Fair Trading: Short-Term Rental Accommodation · NSW Planning: Short-Term Rental Framework
A residential short-stay by-law may therefore be the wrong tool for removing an approved hotel use already embedded in the development. A buyer who wants a resident-dominant building should identify the title, development consent, scheme description, management rights and current operation before signing—not assume the owners corporation can vote the business model away later.
An Apartment Buyer's Short-Stay Due-Diligence Checklist
Use this checklist before the contract becomes unconditional.
1. Identify the exact property product
Ask whether the lot is ordinary strata, community title, legacy strata, company title, a serviced apartment, a hotel lot or part of a mixed-use development. Obtain the registered plan and title rather than inferring the answer from the floor plan.
2. Obtain the current registered rules
Do not rely on a sales listing, agent summary, lobby notice or downloadable “house rules” file. Request the complete registered by-laws or rules and every current amendment.
3. Read the short-stay definition carefully
Look for the minimum or maximum stay, hosted versus non-hosted treatment, principal-residence exception, lot classes covered and commencement date. A 28-day Victorian definition should not be imported into NSW or another state.
4. Verify how the rule was made
Request the motion, notice, meeting or ballot result, minutes, consolidated instrument and proof of registration. Ask a conveyancer or property lawyer whether the scheme had power to make the rule and followed the required procedure.
5. Check the planning history
Obtain the development approval, approved use and conditions. Check council or state requirements for day limits, parking, fire safety, occupancy and permits. Silence in the by-laws does not create planning approval.
6. Separate residential short stays from hotel operations
Read the scheme description, registered plan, management-rights documents and letting-pool agreements. Identify which lots and shared facilities support visitor accommodation.
7. Read recent records for the operating reality
Review meeting minutes, correspondence summaries, complaints, breach notices, legal disputes and proposals involving access control, cleaning, security or repairs. Ask how visitors receive keys or fobs and whether they can access the pool, gym, parking and lifts.
8. Check insurance in writing
Obtain the certificate of currency, policy schedule and relevant disclosure documents. Ask the scheme's broker how short-stay or hotel activity must be disclosed and whether it affects cover, premiums, excesses or exclusions. Do not assume every insurer follows one unwritten rule.
9. Price the governance and operating costs
Look for additional cleaning, security, concierge, access-control and repair costs. Review ordinary levies, special levies, the capital-works position and how mixed-use expenses are allocated.
10. Make the answer a purchase condition
Ask your conveyancer or property lawyer to answer in writing:
Can this building lawfully prevent the type of short stay I am concerned about, and what would be required to change or enforce the current rule?
If a quiet, resident-dominant building is essential, uncertainty is not a minor paperwork issue. It is a go/no-go purchasing fact.
NSW Government guidance independently recommends reading the by-laws and reviewing the strata report, finances, insurance, defects, planned works, disputes and legal matters before buying. Victoria similarly advises buyers to investigate the owners corporation, insurance and annual-meeting minutes. NSW Government: Buying a Strata Property · Consumer Affairs Victoria: Research Types of Property to Buy
If You Already Live There, Report the Problem to the Right Place
A resident's concern may be about an invalid use, or it may be about conduct during an otherwise permitted stay. Route the issue by what happened.
| Problem | Useful first channel |
|---|---|
| Possible breach of a registered building rule | Owners corporation, strata committee or appointed manager |
| Planning approval, overcrowding, fire safety, parking or persistent environmental noise | Local council or relevant planning/enforcement authority |
| Immediate danger, violence or suspected crime | Police or emergency services |
| NSW Code of Conduct issue | NSW Fair Trading, following the official complaint guidance |
| Victorian owners-corporation rule dispute | Internal complaint process, then the applicable dispute-resolution or VCAT pathway |
Record the date, time, lot if known, common property affected, witnesses and any photographs or video taken lawfully. Quote the exact rule or approval condition instead of describing every visitor as suspicious. Ask for an incident number and the next formal step.
Do not deactivate another lot's access, confront visitors aggressively or collect identity documents without authority. Access-control systems should be adopted and operated by the authorised building body in accordance with privacy, fire-safety and other legal requirements.
In NSW, by-law enforcement can progress from a warning to a notice to comply and, where necessary, orders or penalties through NCAT; mediation is compulsory for most strata disputes before an application. NSW Government: Strata By-Laws · NCAT: Strata Schemes
Victoria retains conduct-based remedies even where a blanket prohibition does not apply. Owners corporations may issue breach notices for specified conduct including excessive noise, interference, hazards, damage or obstruction. Three separate breach notices within 24 months can support an application to VCAT for a temporary restriction on short-stay use. Consumer Affairs Victoria: Laws to Prevent Unruly Parties
Five Claims to Treat Carefully
| Claim | More accurate position |
|---|---|
| “The owners corporation can ban anything.” | Its power comes from legislation. The rule must fit that power, follow the correct procedure and comply with other laws. |
| “Victoria only needs 75% of the people at the meeting.” | The ordinary special-resolution threshold looks to all affected votes, or total lot entitlements in a ballot or poll—not merely attendees. |
| “A registration number proves the apartment is legal.” | Registration is one layer; planning, building rules, contracts and insurance remain separate. |
| “Paying Victoria's levy makes the stay permitted.” | A levy is a tax obligation, not owners-corporation or planning approval. |
| “Full-time management is the only way to enforce a rule.” | On-site staff may improve evidence and access control, but statutes also provide notices, complaints, mediation and tribunal pathways. |
Where Pine Fits
The hard part of a short-stay building question is rarely finding one document. It is keeping the title, registered rules, meeting minutes, planning approval, insurer correspondence, incident reports and deadlines connected without mixing their legal roles.
Open Pine to organize those records into a dated file, separate confirmed facts from unanswered questions and prepare a focused list for a conveyancer, owners corporation, council or other appropriate reviewer. Pine does not decide whether a by-law is valid, provide legal advice, contact a regulator for you or guarantee that a rule will pass or be enforced.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can an owners corporation ban every short-term rental in Australia?
No national rule gives every owners corporation that power. The answer depends on the state or territory, title type, exact use and validity of the registered rule. NSW and Victoria also protect certain short stays involving the host's principal place of residence.
Can NSW strata ban short-term letting in an investment apartment?
A NSW owners corporation may adopt a special-resolution by-law prohibiting covered short-term rental use when the lot is not the host's principal place of residence. Check the exact registered by-law, planning status and facts before treating the answer as final.
Can NSW strata stop a resident from occasionally letting their own home?
Section 137A makes a prohibition ineffective to the extent the lot is the host's principal place of residence. Other lawful rules about noise, damage, parking and common property, as well as planning and Code obligations, can still apply.
Does Victoria really require 75% support for a ban?
Victoria requires the statutory special-resolution process. Ordinarily that means 75% of total votes for all affected lots, or 75% of total lot entitlements for a ballot or poll—not 75% of whoever attends. A two-lot scheme requires unanimity, and an interim-special-resolution process may apply in other schemes. The consolidated rule must also be registered.
Does a short-stay levy or registration override the building rules?
No. A levy or state registration is a separate compliance layer. It does not override a valid building rule, planning requirement, lease or insurance obligation.
Are serviced apartments the same as residential short-term rentals?
Not necessarily. An approved hotel or serviced-apartment use may sit outside a residential short-term rental framework and may be embedded in the title, development consent or management arrangements. Buyers should investigate the specific building.
If the by-laws say nothing, are short stays automatically allowed?
No. Planning controls, state registration, leases, development documents and other laws can still restrict the use. In some jurisdictions, the scheme may also be unable to make the prohibition a resident expects.
Official Sources
- Australian Government response to the Senate rental-crisis inquiry
- NSW Strata Schemes Management Act 2015
- NSW Government: Short-Term Rental Accommodation
- NSW Government: Buying a Strata Property
- Victorian Owners Corporations Act 2006
- Consumer Affairs Victoria: Making Rules to Ban Short-Stay Accommodation
- Consumer Affairs Victoria: How to Make Owners Corporation Rules
- Queensland Government: Common Ground issue 44
- WA Government: Short-Term Rental Accommodation Register Guide
- South Australia Community Titles Act 1996
- Tasmanian Government: Strata Living in Tasmania
This article provides general information only and is not legal, conveyancing, planning, insurance or financial advice. Short-stay and strata rules differ across Australian states, territories, councils and buildings, and they can change. Before buying a lot, proposing a rule or starting enforcement action, obtain the current registered scheme documents and planning approvals and seek advice from a qualified professional in the property's jurisdiction.
