It’s Possible! Gold Coast: Regulation + BNB Hosting (A Complete Guide)

PART A – Accepted Development Subject To Requirements

Below we explain part A of the Bed and Breakfast and Farm Stay Code for short term rental accommodation hosts who want to operate their Airbnb (or other platform) as a home-based business on the Gold Coast. 

If your bed and breakfast operation can fit or already fits into these self-assessable criteria, then you can run your Airbnb as a home-based business. 

1. You must live at the property.

This is pretty self-explanatory. You must be a permanent resident and this property must be considered your main residence. 

The reason for this is that the home-based business must be considered to be the secondary use of the lot, not the primary use. Therefore it must be primarily your place of residence. 

This means investors who have purchased this property to use solely for bed and breakfast operations are out of luck, and must apply for development approval with a material change of use.

So, the bottom line is that, if you’re not living at the property, and it’s an investment or just your holiday house, then you will need to submit a development application and get full planning approval for your Airbnb. 

2. The amount of space used by the home-based business must not exceed a total of 50m2.

Interestingly, we’ve noticed that the Home-based Business Code states that a home-based business is not allowed to exceed 45m2, while a bed and breakfast is listed as 50m2 in the Bed and Breakfast and Farm Stay Use Code.  

So, this means that you could rent out that spare bedroom provided it is restricted from the resident and is used exclusively by the guest. You can also share the rest of the house provided you stay under these particular size limits for the rented space that the guest occupies.

As far as the code states, there are no specific requirements about the rented space being attached to the sleeping quarters of the Host. The Host just needs to be a resident on the premises. 

You can rent out your detached dwelling like a granny flat, or you might choose to stay in the granny flat while renting out the main house, but you have to keep an eye on that 50m2 total. 

3. Your property must be located in a residential zone.

Zoning is a huge part of town planning and development approval. 

To check your property’s zoning, visit the Gold Coast City Council’s interactive City Plan map, and add the zoning overlay to it.

Lots used for home-based businesses are required to be within a zone that is permitted to be used for residential purposes. Any other zoning will require a development application. 

When checking your zoning, be sure to check all of the zoning overlays that apply to your lot. There are a number that may limit your ability to operate a home-based business or to develop your lot. 

This is the bread and butter of a good Gold Coast town planner, so don’t be afraid to reach out to one for some quick advice. 

4. Check-in and check-out times are restricted.

This means no check-in or check-out activities between the hours of 10PM at night to 6AM the next morning. Check-in and check-out is permitted between the hours of 6AM to 10PM. 

5. Guest accommodation must look like a regular house.

Any dwelling used for accommodation must look like a ‘normal’ dwelling. This means it will need to be of a similar design to the main house and be constructed of similar materials. 

So, if you are planning on starting a glamping venue with a handful of canvas tents, or want to build a series of spaceship themed cabins, then you will need to submit a development application. Good luck! 

6. You may only have a maximum of four guests at any one time.

This is to stop parties and noise while maintaining the amenity of the area. So, no more than four guests at any one time, including children. 

You may stipulate this in your house rules, and this can be grounds to cancel an Airbnb booking for unregistered guests. Do not be afraid to use this to protect yourself! 

If you opt to host more than four guests, you will need to get planning permission for your Airbnb. Additionally, you will need to obtain a short-term rental accommodation license from the Gold Coast City Council.

7. The use of the premises for guest accommodation does not compromise it’s use as a dwelling.

Essentially, this means you still need to be able to live in the property while you have a guest. 

For example, if you had a one-bedroom studio apartment, you wouldn’t be able to rent out the whole studio if you had no other place to stay. Airbnb also doesn’t allow renting a single bed, either. 

This means that you need at least a 2 bedroom property. 

8. A restriction in the number of non-guest visitors and deliveries.

Home-based businesses are only allowed 1 delivery per day, and up to 6 visitors. The way visitors park must also be managed to avoid causing interruption to your neighbours and increasing street traffic. 

9. A limit of 1 non-resident employee on premises at all times.

This has implications for your cleaning and maintenance services, so it’s important to schedule these at opportune times and avoid them overlapping whenever possible. 

10. The operation must not affect the amenity of the area.

Most importantly, your home-based business must not negatively impact the amenity of the area for whatever the surrounding lots use it for. 

So, if your neighbours are using their lots for purely residential purposes, your Airbnb can’t be found to cause them any nuisance. 

Noise is the number one concern, so loud music and parties are not allowed. Airbnb also has its own rules against parties and gatherings. We suggest you exercise your right to cancel bookings and avoid any noise-creating activities.

Other considerations are odour and any other considerations, like privacy or anything else that your neighbours may reasonably consider to be infringing on their use of their lot. 

Our advice is to think ahead here, set proper rules, create privacy for your guests, and make friends with your neighbours.