Short term rental accommodation

As of 1 January 2025, reforms have been introduced by the State Government to centralise the registration of Short Stay Rental Accommodation (STRA) within Western Australia.

STRA’s are now required to be registered with the State Government. Information regarding what does and doesn’t need to be registered with STRA, this can be found here Short-Term Rental Accommodation Register.

In addition to the recent STRA legislation changes the City has adopted Local Planning Policy 2.27: Unhosted Short Term Rental Accommodation which will assist with this matter.

STRA has separated short term rental accommodation into ‘hosted’ and ‘unhosted’ accommodation registrations. Please see the definitions below for ‘hosted short term rental accommodation’ and ‘unhosted short term rental accommodation’.

Hosted STRA is exempt from requiring planning approval with the City of Fremantle. However, it is important to note that hosted STRA still requires registration with STRA.

Hosted STRA includes ancillary dwelling, or ‘granny flats’, where the host lives in the primary dwelling on the property. A host may alternatively live in the ancillary dwelling, with the primary dwelling being rented out as STRA.

If an unhosted STRA operator within the City of Fremantle area intends to rent out a property on a permanent basis (more than 90 days), development approval from the local government must be obtained prior to operation. STRA Operators should contact the City of Fremantle to confirm specific development approval requirements prior to Short-Term Rental Accommodation Register with STRA.

If you have an existing Short Stay Accommodation (SSA) registration with the City of Fremantle, you can use your SSA code provided with your original registration in the development approvals section of your STRA registration.

An exemption from the requirement to obtain development approval applies within the Perth metropolitan area where unhosted STRA is leased for 90 nights or less (non-consecutive) within a 12-month period, as per the date of registration.

The 90-night exemption caters for property owners who wish to let out their primary residence for unhosted STRA on a temporary basis (such as when on holidays, for example) without needing development (planning) approval, however Short-Term Rental Accommodation Register is still required. The exemption is monitored through booking events collected as part of the STRA Register.

Definitions:

Hosted short-term rental accommodation means any of the following:

• short-term rental accommodation where the owner or occupier, or an agent of the owner or occupier who ordinarily resides at the dwelling, resides at the same dwelling during the short-term rental arrangement;
• short-term rental accommodation that is an ancillary dwelling where the owner or occupier, or an agent of the owner or occupier who ordinarily resides at the other dwelling on the same lot, resides at that other dwelling during the short-term rental arrangement;
• short-term rental accommodation that is a dwelling on the same lot as an ancillary dwelling where the owner or occupier, or an agent of the owner or occupier who ordinarily resides at the dwelling, resides at the ancillary dwelling during the short-term rental arrangement.
  

Unhosted short-term rental accommodation means short-term rental accommodation that:

• is not hosted short-term rental accommodation; and
• accommodates a maximum of 12 people per night.

For further information on this, please contact planning@fremantle.wa.gov.au.

Complaints 

Concerns regarding short-term rental accommodation can be directed to the City’s Compliance Services at info@fremantle.wa.gov.au or via the customer portal.