WA Government to offer Airbnb owners $10,000 incentive to make properties available for long-term rent

Airbnb owners will be offered $10,000 to make their properties available for long-term rent as the Cook Government attempts to relieve pressure on WA’s historically tight housing market. The major incentive accompanies a raft of changes to the State’s short-term rental accommodation (STRA) rules, headlined by a new 90-night limit in Perth unless specific council approval has been obtained. Regional councils will be permitted to implement their own approach to short-stay homes, opening the door to towns like Dunsborough and Margaret River — which have been inundated by Airbnb listings in recent years — setting much stricter caps. Every short-stay property in WA will also have to be registered by the start of 2025 as part of a new Government database that will track the exact number and location of both hosted and unhosted properties. Premier Roger Cook said the long-awaited reforms — which have been in consultation for nearly two years —struck a balance between what has become a popular form of tourist accommodation and the amenity of local neighbourhoods. “My Government has consulted extensively with industry, stakeholders and the community to develop these reforms, which will create a more level playing field with traditional accommodation providers while ensuring regulation is in place to manage impacts on neighbourhoods and housing supply for local communities,” Mr Cook said. “We are also doing everything we can to get more housing and rental properties onto the market quickly to help meet current demand, and I encourage owners of short-term rental accommodation to consider the new incentive and other benefits of transitioning their property to the long-term market.” That new incentive is a $10,000 payment — split into two parts — for any owner willing to switch an existing STRA property to the long-term market. To qualify, the entire home must have been available for rent on a short-stay platform like Airbnb or Stayz in the past six weeks. The owner must then enter into a minimum 12-month lease agreement with new, long-term tenants. A maximum of $800 per week can be charged in Perth — including Mandurah — and $650 per week in the South West. An initial $4000 payment will be made once an application for the STRA Incentive Scheme is approved and the home is leased to long-term tenants. The remaining $6000 will only be paid after a long-term tenancy in the qualifying home reaches 12 months. The $10,000 STRA Incentive Scheme will only be in place for six months and is expected to launch at the end of the year. It is available to any WA property owner, regardless of whether they live interstate or overseas. It is hoped the measure will act as an immediate release valve for rental vacancy rates that dipped to just 0.7 per cent in September, among the tightest ever recorded in Perth. Nation-leading population growth in WA and ongoing struggles in the housing construction sector have seen rents skyrocket since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, placing a huge strain on families attempting to secure accommodation. Housing Minister John Carey said the new Airbnb regulations would help correct the balance while protecting the rights of landlords. “These reforms are a balanced approach in providing greater regulation of short-stay accommodation across the State and provide an incentive for property owners to move their short-stay properties to the long-term private rental market,” Mr Carey said. “The planning approval process provides an opportunity for potential impacts of un-hosted STRA to be assessed and management measures put in place – providing a much more consistent planning framework across the Perth metropolitan area.” The Government has opted against capping the maximum number of nights a home can be leased for short-stay accommodation. In Perth, property owners will be permitted to rent out their homes through short-stay platforms for less than 90 nights per year without having to seek any kind of permission. But if they wish to make their homes available for short-term leasing for longer than that, beginning from January 2026 they will need to apply to their relevant local government for special development approval. The 90-night regulation-free limit in Perth is more generous than the 60 nights that was proposed in the consultation paper released in December 2021. Commerce Minister Sue Ellery said there was no “single solution” to correct WA’s housing crunch. “The short-term rental accommodation incentive scheme aims to bring some short-term rentals back to the long-term rental market,” she said. “The registration and planning changes ensure that a property can still be used as a short-term rental accommodation provided it is registered and has obtained all required planning approvals. “The information gathered by the STRA Register will help State and Local Government to establish a clear picture of the STRA sector in Western Australia, including how many there are and where they are located.”