Can I short-term rent in Greater Sydney (Sydney Metro)?

Registration is via the NSW Planning Portal. Confirmed directly from the DPHI FAQ: a non-refundable one-off fee of $65 applies for the initial 12 months, with an ongoing annual renewal fee of $25. Registrants must confirm the dwelling meets the STRA Fire Safety Standard when registering and must abide by the Code of Conduct. Renewal opens 45 days before expiry (reminders at 45/30/7 days); if not renewed by the expiry date the listing status changes to 'blocked' and is held for 3 months (during which it cannot accept new online bookings) before automatic de-registration.

Exceptions: Approved tourist/visitor accommodation (hotels, motels, B&Bs, serviced apartments, caravan parks) is exempt from STRA registration. Caravans and moveable/tiny homes are also exempt from the STRA planning framework. (This exemption line was not re-confirmed verbatim in this verification pass, carried over from the prior research at unchanged confidence.)

Non-hosted STRA (host does not reside on the same premises during the stay) is restricted to a maximum of 180 days per 365-day annual period in the Greater Sydney region (not including the Central Coast). Verified directly against the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure's FAQ (PDF text-extracted in this pass), the following 33 Greater Sydney LGAs are subject to the 180-day cap: Bayside, Blacktown, Blue Mountains, Burwood, Camden, Campbelltown, Canterbury-Bankstown, City of Canada Bay, City of Parramatta, City of Ryde, City of Sydney, Cumberland, Fairfield, Georges River, Hawkesbury, Hornsby, Hunters Hill, Inner West, Ku-ring-gai, Lane Cove, Liverpool, Mosman, North Sydney, Northern Beaches, Penrith, Randwick, Strathfield, Sutherland, The Hills, Waverley, Willoughby, Wollondilly and Woollahra, this exact 33-LGA list matches the source verbatim. Hosted STRA is not day-limited and may be carried out 365 days per year in any zone where residential accommodation of that dwelling type is permitted.

Exceptions: Bookings of 21 or more consecutive days do not count towards the 180-day cap (supports corporate/mobile-workforce stays); the property must still be registered and meet fire safety requirements. Properties with a valid pre-existing council development consent (DA) for STRA are bound by that DA's conditions instead of the statewide day limit, but must still register.

STRA can be undertaken in lawfully constructed dwellings in any zone where that dwelling type is permitted (with or without consent) as exempt development, so no formal planning approval is required provided the fire safety standard is met and (for non-hosted) the day cap is respected. Boarding houses, seniors housing, rural workers' dwellings, group homes, hostels, refuge/crisis accommodation, build-to-rent housing and co-living housing cannot be used for STRA. If a dwelling exceeds the day limit or otherwise falls outside the exempt pathway, it becomes unauthorised development and the local council (e.g. City of Sydney) can take planning enforcement action.

Exceptions: Properties with an existing valid development consent for STRA operate under that consent's conditions instead of the exempt pathway/day cap.

Confirmed directly against the STRA Fire Safety Standard document (PDF text-extracted in this pass): Class 1a dwellings need smoke alarms complying with AS 3786 on bedroom corridors/hallways and other bedroom-free storeys, mains-powered or non-removable-battery (10-year minimum life) and interconnected if more than one alarm; a private garage attached to (but not part of) the dwelling needs an interconnected AS 1603.3 heat alarm; and an A4-minimum evacuation diagram meeting detailed specs (height, legend, 'YOU ARE HERE' marker, address) must be affixed at the entrance and in each bedroom. Class 2/4 (multi-unit) buildings have additional requirements (confirmed to exist in the document; keyless interior-openable entry doors and kitchen fire extinguisher/blanket were reported in the original record but the relevant later section of the Standard was not re-read verbatim in this pass, carried over at slightly reduced confidence). No formal compliance certificate is required at registration, hosts self-declare, and councils monitor/enforce via penalty notice offences.

Confirmed directly against the current NSW Fair Trading/nsw.gov.au Code of Conduct page (fetched in this pass, redirected from fairtrading.nsw.gov.au): the Commissioner may record a 'strike' for a serious contravention of the Code, and 'must record on the exclusion register for five years' a guest or host who has had two strikes recorded within a two-year period; excluded parties cannot be advertised or booked via platforms/letting agents. Serious contraventions are offence provisions under s54C and civil penalty provisions under s54D of the Fair Trading Act 1987 (confirmed reference exists; exact dollar figures not stated on this page, see penalties rule). As at this check, no people or premises were listed on the exclusion register.

STRA can be undertaken in lawfully constructed dwelling houses, attached/semi-detached dwellings, dual occupancies, multi dwelling housing, residential flat buildings (apartments), secondary dwellings (granny flats) and shop-top housing, in any zone where that dwelling type is currently permissible. It cannot be used in boarding houses, seniors housing, rural workers' dwellings, group homes, hostels, refuge/crisis accommodation, build-to-rent housing or co-living housing. The STRA framework does not apply to tourist/visitor accommodation land uses (hotels, motels, B&Bs, serviced apartments, caravan parks) which are regulated separately.