As of 1 August 2022, anyone who is responsible for short-term rental accommodation (STRA) including letting agents, booking platforms, hosts and facilitators will have to comply with new obligations on the exclusion register.
What is the short-term rental exclusion register (STRA)?
The short-term rental accommodation (STRA) exclusion register was introduced in December 2020 as part of the mandatory Code of Conduct for the Short-Term Rental Accommodation Industry (the code). From 1 August 2022, the public-facing element of the exclusion register will be made available.
This exclusion register provides the following details:
- Hosts who are not allowed to offer their premises for short-term rental accommodation
- Guests who are not allowed to book short-term rental accommodation
How do people get on the exclusion register?
If a host or guest has breached the Code of Conduct for the Short-Term Rental Accommodation Industry, they will get a strike against their name. If two strikes are given within a two-year period, then they will be added to the exclusion register. In certain situations, NSW Fair Trading can also record a host or guest on the exclusion register if they have been charged with or convicted a criminal offence.
How long do you get banned for?
Anyone listed on the exclusion register is banned from STRA for five years.
What are letting agents required to do?
As of 1 August 2022, letting agents must comply with the following requirements under the code:
- Do not advertise or facilitate the offering of STRA premises if the host is listed on the exclusion register, either for all premises they offer or in relation to specific premises.
- Do not offer STRA premises to guests who have been listed on the exclusion register.
This also applies to booking platforms and facilitators and will be closely monitored by NSW Fair Trading from 1 August 2022.
How to use the exclusion register?
You can access the public register to check for excluded hosts and guests from STRA via the NSW Fair Trading website. You can search the register using the person’s name along with:
- Email address
- Phone number
- Residential address
Keeping up to date with these details can be difficult, especially if a letting agency deals with many short-term rental accommodation providers. However, licensed letting agents can be easily informed of changes to the exclusion register when subscribed to NSW Fair Trading updates via the NSW Fair Trading website.
If you are not subscribed to receive notifications, it is your responsibility to check the exclusion register before each booking to make sure you are not entering into a STRA arrangement with an excluded host or guest.
How to subscribe to the exclusion register?
- Visit the subscriber portal and sign up as a new user and enter your Agent License Number to subscribe to updates on changes to the exclusion register.
- When changes are made to the exclusion register, you will receive a notification.
- Once subscribed, you can accept bookings without checking the register, unless you receive a notification from NSW Fair Trading.
What to do when changes are made to the exclusion register?
If the exclusion register has changed, you will receive a notification.
- Login to the subscriber portal.
- Review the information on excluded participants.
- If the host is recorded as banned on the exclusion register, you must not list or offer this premises for STRA.
- If the guest is recorded on the exclusion register, you must not enter into a STRA agreement with them.
Find out more
To learn more about the exclusion register or to access the register or the Code of Conduct, you can visit the NSW Fair Trading website. Alternatively, speak to one of our friendly consultants at The Strata Collective today.