Cleary & Co Urges Enforcement of Existing Short-Term Rental Laws Before New Bans in Sydney

As the City of Sydney Council considers banning short-term rentals in 11 inner-city suburbs, Krystina Cleary, founder of Cleary & Co, a prominent short-term rental management agency, is challenging what she describes as a politically convenient narrative that penalizes compliant homeowners while ignoring widespread non-compliance.

According to data from the City of Sydney, there are 5,454 active short-term rental listings within the local government area, but only 2,468 are officially registered under the NSW Short-Term Rental Accommodation (STRA) framework. This leaves more than 3,000 listings operating outside legal requirements. Cleary argues that this compliance gap represents a systemic failure that weakens the entire regulatory structure.

"I am not clear on how rentals are bypassing the STRA registration, as this is required to list properties for stays under 90 days. Without registering you are either impacting short-term letting options or claiming to be exempt for whatever reason, and this should be picked up by the Department of Planning who are supposedly auditing this process," Cleary said. "It is a pointless exercise to make credible providers in the industry jump through hoops, yet unscrupulous operators can bypass the system entirely."

The City of Sydney motion, passed on 28 April 2026, directs the CEO to investigate restricting non-primary-residence short-term rentals in suburbs including Darlinghurst, Surry Hills, Pyrmont, Potts Point, and Chippendale, where rental vacancy rates sit below 3 percent. However, Cleary notes that short-term rental listings represent an estimated 0.9 to 1.6 percent of Sydney's total housing stock, suggesting the focus on Airbnb is misplaced.

"The Greens have jumped onto this bandwagon in an attempt to gain voters. It is a naive perspective that prime, centrally located real estate should simply be made available to everyone," Cleary said. "It is growth economics 101: centrally located areas become more populated, they change, and they increase in value. If you are a homeowner or investor paying the mortgage month on month, year on year, doesn't that give you the right to decide what you do with your own property?"

Cleary emphasizes that the homeowners affected by potential bans are not large-scale investors but individuals using their properties to fund retirement, visit family, or cover medical expenses. "Under a ban, these owners would be hamstrung into a long-term rental model that does not allow them to use their properties for personal use and which is capped in terms of income. With the current economic uncertainty, who does this actually serve? It did not work in Byron Bay, and it will not work in Sydney," she said.

Despite the regulatory uncertainty, Cleary remains optimistic about the future of short-term rentals in Sydney, predicting a shift toward quality. "Hopefully, what we will see is a true five-star experience for visitors to our city. Unscrupulous hosts, poorly presented properties, and operators trying to cut corners to make a fast dollar only work in the short term. The Airbnb model of shorter-term home rentals is a necessary option in cities across the world, because hotels are no longer a practical option for an increasing number of travellers," she said.

For property owners considering their options, Cleary advises a personal decision based on individual circumstances. "We provide impartial, factual, real advice and we discuss their needs thoroughly from the outset to understand whether this is a feasible and sensible option for them," she said.

More information is available at Cleary & Co.