South West shire looks to tighten reigns on short-term accommodation

Last month councillors from the Shire of Harvey voted to endorse changes to better regulate short-term rental accommodation.

The change comes as the council looks to align with the State Government’s new Short-Term Rental Accommodation Act 2024 which will see owners of short-term rental accommodation required to register their properties by January 1.

The register opened in the middle of this year and will have a $100 fee to renew the accommodation every 12 months.

The change also saw the shire consolidate numerous names used to describe short-term rental accommodation — such as bed and breakfasts — for simplicity.

Within the shire, 58 properties have been identified as STRA, with Binningup hosting 23, Myalup having 14, Australind and Leschenault hosting 11, and Harvey and Brunswick boasting four.

As part of the new law, the council voted to endorse an amnesty period on registration fees for STRA operations which have not received development approval to encourage unknown operators to register.

The standard fee for STRA developments is $295, with with an additional $590 added on as a penalty for those retrospectively applying.

To encourage more STRA operators to join, the grace period will see the $590 penalty waived for operators applying before January 1, 2026.