Holiday rental providers across New South Wales will be given another four months to upgrade their properties to adhere to new fire safety regulations.
Key points:
- Holiday rental providers will be given more time to implement new fire safety standards
- They will now be required to install lithium smoke detectors and draw up evacuation plans by March 1
- All operators must still register holiday rentals with the NSW Department of Planning by November
Operators had been required to install lithium smoke detectors, draw up evacuation plans and install extinguishers, fire blankets, and emergency contact numbers by November 1 as part of the registration of their property with the Department of Planning Industry and Environment (DPIE).
Rob Jeffress, chair of the Australian Short-Term Rental Association, argued the deadline was too difficult for providers due to the protracted COVID-19 lockdown.
“It takes in anyone, whether they’re on Stayz, Booking.com, Airbnb, [or] their own Instagram page,” Mr Jeffress said.
“That property needs to be registered and you will be required to upgrade to this new standard of fire and safety.
“What we sought was a period of grace so people could still register their properties by November 1, but they’d be given an extension to effect the upgrades until March 1.”
Supplied: ASTRA
)Mr Jeffress said the industry welcomed the grace period but maintained its reservations about some of the new requirements.
“We’ll certainly be seeking to go back and review that when the full system is revisited, one year from registration.”
Very difficult time
Catherine Shields, who runs South Coast Escapes in the Shoalhaven region, said the delayed deadline would “take the pressure off” for some providers, but she worried some of the new requirements were “over the top”.
“For the average holiday rental owner it’s quite a lot of money because you have to get somebody to draw up a different plan for each bedroom showing where the nearest exits are,” Ms Shields said.
Supplied: Catherine Shields
)Ms Shield said she was concerned some providers had decided to leave the industry in the wake of the new requirements and after suffering financially due to the pandemic.
“I think it’s had a really detrimental affect on our capacity to grow the tourism industry in our region,” she said.
The Department of Planning Industry and Environment has been contacted for comment.
Its website said the fire safety standards are considered to strike an appropriate and reasonable balance between the need for higher safety requirements and cost prohibitive safety requirements.
