A month in Perth

The Residential Tenancies Act 1987 does not apply to an agreement made in good faith to give someone the right to occupy premises for a holiday, and it does not apply to any part of a hotel or motel. It adds a presumption: an agreement for a fixed term of 3 months or longer is deemed not to be for a holiday unless the contrary is proved. A month of holiday is well inside that line.

The state's short-term rental register uses a similar threshold: it covers homes let for periods of less than 3 months, and the register's own guidance says a guest who stays longer than 3 months, other than for a holiday, may come under the tenancy act.

Every short-term rental must be registered and show its registration number clearly in each advertisement, and the public can check the number on the register. In the Perth metropolitan area a whole home let without the host present needs development approval from the council once it passes 90 nights in a 12-month period, and a month-long booking counts towards those nights. A host without approval may not be able to take a long booking late in its registration year, so ask before planning around a specific home.

No state or council levy on short stays was found as of September 2026. The advertised price must be the total, GST included where it applies. No official statistic on monthly rents for holiday flats in Perth was found, so this guide gives no rent figures.

Fremantle suits a month with markets, heritage streets and the port on foot, and its council sells monthly parking permits. Cottesloe and Scarborough suit a month by the ocean with free parking on the street or at the beach, within the signed limits. East Perth suits a month in an apartment beside the CBD. These choices are editorial.

EU and British citizens can travel on the free eVisitor and US citizens on the ETA, which costs AUD 20 in the Australian ETA app. Both are valid for 12 months and allow up to 3 months after each entry, enough for a month; the eVisitor cannot be extended, and a longer stay needs a different visa. Passengers complete an Incoming Passenger Card on arrival.

Airbnb calls 28 nights or more a monthly stay. The first month is charged up front and released to the host 24 hours after check-in, later months are charged 10 days before each period, and a long-term cancellation policy that generally needs 30 days' notice applies. Airbnb, Stayz and Booking.com bookings feed the state register's count of nights for each home.

Fremantle's 2026-27 fees include monthly digital permits for its car parks, such as AUD 208.50 a month for weekdays at Ellen Street or Beach Street and AUD 365 for every day at Parry Street, and a general permit at AUD 541 a calendar month or AUD 127 a week that covers all its fee-paying zones and car parks, time limits still applying. In Cottesloe the street parking is free within its signed limits, and Scarborough is not a paid parking area. In the CBD, the kerb costs AUD 7 an hour by day and the council car parks AUD 5 a night.

A listing without a registration number. Advertising an unregistered home, or one without its number shown, is an offence in Western Australia.

A home at its 90-night limit. Without development approval, a metropolitan host cannot take unhosted bookings beyond 90 nights in 12 months.

Returning to the same kerb. In the City of Perth's time-limited areas it is an offence to come back to the same section of road within an hour.

Staying past 3 months. The eVisitor and the ETA allow 3 months after each entry.