A third of metropolitan councils still to get onboard with short-term rental planning scheme despite deadline

A third of metropolitan councils have missed the State Government’s deadline to overhaul planning rules for short-term rentals such as Airbnb — despite having more than a year’s notice. The rule requiring all metropolitan local governments to amend their local planning laws by the end of 2025 was announced in September 2024. The West Australian has confirmed that 10 councils are yet to finalise their laws. According to the State Government, seven more are expected to have it completed by the end of January. The remaining three — the Town of Cambridge, the City of Kwinana and the Shire of Serpentine-Jarrahdale — are aiming to finalise their schemes sometime after January. Local planning schemes were asked to be amended by the Government so development approvals could be obtained in line with new rules for metropolitan unhosted short-term rentals. A Government spokesperson said the regime would still apply to all suburbs. “Regardless of the new schemes being in place, unhosted metropolitan STRA will require a development application to be lodged from January 1, 2026,” they said. The planning scheme changes was one of a number of measures announced by the Cook Government in 2023 to address potential long-term rentals being taken off the market to be advertised for short-term stays. It also launched the STRA incentive scheme offering a $10,000 financial incentive to owners of unhosted short-term rental properties to long-term rentals. Since the program launched in 2024, 538 payments have been made to those transitioning their homes to long-term rentals, adding up to more than $5 million. The scheme was extended in July until the end of 2025 and 48 more applications have since been approved. The Government spokesperson said there were a number of schemes on the go to reduce the housing crunch. “Our Government is doing everything it can to alleviate pressure in the housing and rental markets, with a $5.8 billion investment in housing measures since 2021,” they said. “This includes our STRA Incentive Scheme and the Vacant Property Incentive Scheme, which together have brought 826 properties onto the long term rental market. “Both of these successful schemes have been extended to 28 February, 2026.” The raft of changes also brought along a short term rental database, spreading light on how many registered short stays were in the State. The data reveals that there are more than 11,000 short-term rentals in WA, with almost 5000 in the metropolitan area. The South West has the most short term rentals with a little more than 3000. It also showed that holiday homes for rent were spread far and wide, with 26 short-term rentals registered across the Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Christmas Island, which have a combined population of less than 2300.