Good morning,
It is well-known that number of properties in the complex are
advertised as short-term holiday places for tourists and
businesses. Few examples from website today.
Lack of proper safety (an example, lot of smoke detectors have not
been replaced for more than 10 years - one in Lot 158 was
manufactured in 1994 and does not operate safely) can create a
disaster for tenants.
In addition, some councils have now been sending letters to owners
corporations asking to sign off statements about compliance with the
Residential Tenancy Act 1987. For example, request sent to SP57348
from Council of the City of Sydney in February 2020
("Compliance-with-Residential-Tenancy-Act-1987-sent-to-strata-complex-in-City-17Feb2020.png").
In it, it states:
The Body Corporate has been advised by the Council of the City of
Sydney that Development
Approval condition 5{c} for the Aston Strata building states
that
“All units approved for permanent residential accommodation
must be either owner occupied,
or occupied by a tenant with a residential lease under the
Residential Tenancy Act 1987. A
certificate signed by the owner or the Body Corporate (if the
development is strata
subdivided) or a Solicitor (holding a current certificate to
practice), must be forwarded to
Council within 12 months of the completion of the
development, and every 12 months
thereafter, certifying that all units approved for
Residential Development are either owner
occupied or are subject to residential leases under the
Residential Tenancy Act,1987.”
The Aston Body Corporate is required under the terms of this
Development Approval to provide
the above Certificate to Sydney City Council.
Verification of SP52948 Development Approval Conditions and Building
and Development Advisory Service at Ryde Council confirms that this
applies to SP52948:
* Short-term tenants are allowed ONLY if owner stays and lives
in property and shares it with visitors. In that case they still
have to get Ryde Council approval.
* The other valid options for a property to be occupied in our
complex are:
1. Owner occupied, or
2. Subject to a lease under Residential Tenancy Act 1987.
* Services like AirBnB, StayZ, and similar are not allowed in
strata complexes by law as yet.
Waratah Strata Management and Uniqueco Property Services share
the responsibility for ensuring the compliance and ensuring their
staff are not involved in supporting those facilities (for
example, keeping keys of the properties and delivering them to
guests, and so on).
Regards,
