Short-term rental hosts and neighbours wait until October for Waverley review

Short-term rental hosts, property managers, neighbours and accommodation businesses will have to wait until October for Waverley Council to consider the sector’s local impacts and any possible policy response.

The Strategic Planning and Development Committee deferred the item, titled “Short-Term Rental Accommodation - Impacts and Review”, to the October Council meeting. Cr Katherine Westwood moved the deferral and Mayor Will Nemesh seconded it.

Cr Dominic Wy Kanak asked for his vote against the deferral to be recorded.

The review covers short-term rental accommodation in the Waverley local government area. No new rules, restrictions or enforcement measures for hosts, guests or nearby residents were adopted at the 1 September meeting.

That leaves the review unresolved until October. The supplied decision does not state what recommendations will be put forward or what outcome Council will consider at that meeting.

The item was one of several planning and development matters considered by the committee. Council also noted that a proposed Community Improvement District in Bondi Junction was not widely supported by local businesses and was not feasible at this time.

Council noted feedback provided through the Bondi and Districts Chamber of Commerce. It also noted that information about Community Improvement Districts, including the gazettal of the Waverley local government area under the Community Improvement Districts Act 2025, will be published on Council’s website.

The committee also appointed 14 members to the Bondi Junction Special Entertainment Precinct Working Group until July 2028. Its attachment was treated as confidential, and Cr Wy Kanak’s vote against that motion was recorded.

The short-term rental review is due back before Council in October 2026. Until then, the local rules and management approach for short-term rentals remain unchanged by this decision.