A win against short term lets

AEA Grand is the lower of two stratas in an apartment building at 187 Kent Street. An appeal on a proposal to convert the AEA Grand strata to serviced apartments has been refused by the Land and Environment Court. This is a significant decision and will be noted with great interest by many strata schemes around the city where short-term lets are, at the very minimum, disturbing the peaceful occupation by resident owners and tenants.

It follows recent OCN representations to City of Sydney forums and an OCN Seminar that discussed the topic. OCN has been vocal in its objections to mixed occupancies in residential buildings. Occupants of serviced apartments and other short-term letting arrangements cause more noise and wear and tear on the buildings than long-term residents, and there are anecdotal incidents of unruly and even threatening behaviour. Long-term residents are entitled to peaceful occupation. OCN also supports local authorities who commonly have issued a DA for the building based on its use as residences, and are then forced into acting against owners who flout that usage.