Newcastle holiday home providers will have more time to prepare for new regulatory framework after the NSW Government decided to delay its implementation.
New rules for Short Term Rental Accommodation, including providers in Newcastle only being able to lease non-hosted properties for 180 days per year and a mandatory government-run register, have been pushed back from July 30 to November 1.
It comes after calls from providers and the CEO of Newcastle City Council to delay the changes to allow the industry time to adapt.
Eacham Curry, who is the corporate affairs director of holiday rental platform Stayz, said the additional time was vital to ensuring the smooth rollout of the reforms.
"Stayz calls on the NSW Government to use the additional time it has allowed itself to work with industry to undertake proper trialing and testing of the new register of all short-term rental listings," Mr Curry said.
"We also call on the NSW Government to reconsider the expansion of regions covered by its unproven 180-day cap on the availability of short-term rental accommodation, while noting also the complexity it introduces by applying only to unhosted properties.
"Traditional accommodation offerings are often limited in regional areas and the tourism industry is only starting to bounce back after a tough 18 months dominated by Covid-19 and bushfires.
"The expansion of night caps to further regions is a blow to the tourist economy and the NSW Government should rethink their approach in the face of an uncertain outlook for tourism."
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