Can I short-term rent in Byron Shire?

Heavily restricted

Byron Shire runs one of the strictest STR regimes in NSW: non-hosted STRA (no resident host) is capped at just 60 days a year across most of the Shire, effective 23 September 2024, cut down from the previous 180-day cap. Two mapped precincts, Byron Bay Town Centre and Brunswick Heads, are carved out of the cap entirely and permit non-hosted STRA 365 days a year. Hosted STRA (host lives on the property) is unrestricted everywhere in the Shire, 365 days a year, same as the rest of NSW.

Last verified 2026-07-24 against official sources. Every fact below links to where it comes from.

The rules, fact by fact

Rule	What applies	Applies to	Since	Source
Registration	Transition rule: STRA dwellings registered or renewed in the 12 months before 23 Sept 2024 kept the old 180-day cap until their next renewal. Byron Shire's STRA regulatory framework (exempt development pathway, fire safety standards, STRA Register) commenced on 31 January 2022, about three months after it started elsewhere in NSW (1 November 2021). For the 2024 cap change, DPHI applied a rolling transition rather than a single cut-over date: non-hosted STRA dwellings registered or renewed within the 12 months before 23 September 2024 retained the previous 180-day cap until their next renewal on or after that date, at which point the 60-day cap took over. New registrations from 23 September 2024 went straight onto the 60-day cap. Registration fees and process (NSW Planning Portal, $65 one-off initial fee + $25/yr renewal) are the same statewide framework, not Byron-specific.	Non-hosted	2024-09-23	State Gov
Night cap	Non-hosted STRA capped at 60 days per year across most of Byron Shire LGA, effective 23 September 2024. From 23 September 2024, the exempt-development day cap for non-hosted STRA (no host residing on site) in most of the Byron Shire LGA was cut from 180 days to 60 days in any 365-day period. This is a Byron-specific reduction below the standard NSW 180-day regional cap (which still applies in Ballina, parts of Clarence Valley/Muswellbrook, and Greater Sydney). The 60-day limit applies to all new registrations from 23 September 2024, and to existing STRA dwellings from their next renewal date on or after 23 September 2024. The day count is calculated from the dwelling's STRA Register registration date, and bookings of 21+ consecutive days do not count toward the cap (same state-wide exemption). Hosted STRA remains unrestricted at 365 days/year throughout the Shire. Exceptions: Bookings of 21 or more consecutive days are excluded from the day count. Dwellings covered by a pre-existing valid council development consent (DA) for STRA are governed by that DA's conditions instead of the 60-day cap.	Non-hosted	2024-09-23	State Gov
Night cap	Two mapped precincts, Byron Bay Town Centre and Brunswick Heads, are exempt from the 60-day cap and permit non-hosted STRA 365 days a year. The Housing SEPP 2023 amends the exempt development pathway so that two 365-day mapped precincts, in and around the Byron Bay Town Centre, and at Brunswick Heads, are excluded from the 60-day non-hosted cap; non-hosted STRA in these precincts can run 365 days a year, the same as hosted STRA anywhere in the Shire. This is confirmed directly by DPHI's own FAQ and its Byron Shire policy page. The exact cadastral boundary of each precinct is mapped in the Housing SEPP 2023 spatial layer on the NSW Planning Portal; that map was not able to be rendered via text fetch, so no street-level boundary description is asserted here (an earlier draft of this record contained street names sourced to a February 2023 Independent Planning Commission proposal-stage document, which predates and does not necessarily match the Minister's September 2023 final determination, that detail has been removed as unverified).	Non-hosted	2024-09-23	State Gov
Hosted vs non-hosted	Hosted STRA (host lives on the property during the stay) is unrestricted at 365 days a year everywhere in Byron Shire, same as statewide. DPHI's FAQ confirms hosted STRA, where the host lives on the premises (not necessarily in the exact room/dwelling being let; a homeowner living on a property with a granny flat can let the granny flat 365 days a year), is not subject to any day limit and may be carried out 365 days per year on any land where residential accommodation of that dwelling type is permitted. This rule is statewide and is not varied for Byron Shire; the Shire's 60-day cap and the two 365-day precinct carve-outs apply only to non-hosted STRA.	Hosted	2021-11-01	State Gov
Penalties	Exceeding the day cap is unauthorised development; Byron Shire Council can investigate and take planning enforcement action. Operating non-hosted STRA beyond the applicable cap (60 days outside the two precincts) falls outside the exempt-development pathway and constitutes unauthorised development under the Environmental Planning and Assessment framework. DPHI's FAQ states there are penalties for non-compliance with the STRA rules, including fines for failing to meet the fire safety standards and enforcement proceedings by the local council, and directs day-cap and fire-safety compliance queries specifically to Byron Shire Council rather than the state department. No Byron-specific fixed penalty amount for day-cap breaches is published by DPHI; this sits separately from and in addition to the NSW-wide fire-safety penalty notice regime and the Fair Trading Code of Conduct strikes/exclusion-register mechanism that apply identically across NSW. ⚠ Our confidence in this fact is medium. Confirm with the source before relying on it.	Non-hosted	2024-09-23	State Gov

Penalties

Non-hosted STRA operated beyond the applicable day cap (60 days, or outside precinct exemption): Unauthorised development, council compliance investigation and EP&A Act enforcement action; no fixed Byron-specific penalty schedule published source

What's changed in Byron Shire

2024-09-23 New 60-day non-hosted STRA cap and the two 365-day precinct exemptions (Byron Bay Town Centre, Brunswick Heads) took effect, replacing the previous 180-day cap; rolling transition applies based on each dwelling's registration/renewal date. source
2023-09 Minister for Planning and Public Spaces determined Byron Shire Council's planning proposal, settling on a 60-day non-hosted STRA cap plus two 365-day exemption precincts (Byron Bay Town Centre, Brunswick Heads). source

Host checklist for Byron Shire

Transition rule: STRA dwellings registered or renewed in the 12 months before 23 Sept 2024 kept the old 180-day cap until their next renewal. official page
Confirm anything marked below high confidence directly with your council.

Common questions

How many nights a year can I short-term rent in Byron Shire?

Non-hosted STRA capped at 60 days per year across most of Byron Shire LGA, effective 23 September 2024. Exceptions: Bookings of 21 or more consecutive days are excluded from the day count. Dwellings covered by a pre-existing valid council development consent (DA) for STRA are governed by that DA's conditions instead of the 60-day cap.

Do I need to register my short-term rental in Byron Shire?

Transition rule: STRA dwellings registered or renewed in the 12 months before 23 Sept 2024 kept the old 180-day cap until their next renewal.

Spotted something out of date? Rules change fast. That is the whole reason this site exists. Report an error and we will re-verify against the official source.