A month in Sydney

New South Wales defines a short-term rental accommodation arrangement as a commercial arrangement that gives a person the right to occupy residential premises for no more than 3 months at a time. The Residential Tenancies Act 2010 does not apply to such an arrangement when the guest does not live there as their principal place of residence, so a holiday month runs under the state's Code of Conduct for short-term rentals rather than tenancy law.

No bond is required for a short-term rental, though the host can take a security deposit under the Australian Consumer Law. A residential tenancy agreement is a different contract: a deposit taken under it is a bond, handled under the Residential Tenancies Act.

In Greater Sydney a non-hosted rental may be let for at most 180 days in its registration year, but bookings of 21 consecutive days or more do not count towards that limit. A month-long booking does not use up the host's days.

No state or City of Sydney levy on short stays was found as of September 2026. The advertised price must be the total price, with GST and unavoidable fees such as cleaning included; GST is 10%. No official statistic on monthly rents for holiday flats in Sydney was found, so this guide gives no rent figures.

Surry Hills and Pyrmont suit a month in the inner city, with Central station at the edge of Surry Hills and the Darling Harbour waterfront next to Pyrmont; both sit in the City of Sydney's AUD 7 meter area. Manly and Bondi suit a month by a beach.

Manly's council sells pre-paid spaces in its Manly National and Whistler Street car parks, from AUD 121 a month for 2 days a week to AUD 480 a month for 7 days. Parramatta suits a month with the car in daily use: all-day metered spaces cost at most AUD 10.70, and so does a day at the Fennell Street car park. 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, which covers a month. The eVisitor cannot be extended; a longer stay needs a different visa, and Home Affairs points to the Visitor visa (subclass 600) for a further holiday.

Passengers complete an Incoming Passenger Card on arrival. Some Qantas flights into Sydney offer a digital declaration in the Qantas app instead, in a pilot the Australian Border Force runs with Qantas.

A holiday rental must show its NSW registration number on the listing, and the host must hand over emergency contacts, the Code of Conduct and any strata by-laws. A guest who is on the state's exclusion register may not stay in any short-term rental in New South Wales.

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, the price is locked in at the start, and a long-term cancellation policy that generally needs 30 days' notice applies. Hotels and serviced apartments are outside the short-term rental register, so their long-stay terms are the property's own.

A listing without a registration number. Platforms may not advertise a house or flat that is not on the NSW register.

Counting on a council parking permit. City of Sydney visitor permits exclude serviced apartments, hotels and flats in newer buildings, and Waverley's visitor permits are bought by a resident for visitors to the resident's own home.

Treating a deposit as a bond. A short-term rental needs no bond, so ask what the security deposit covers and when it is returned.

Staying past 3 months. The eVisitor and the ETA allow 3 months after each entry, and the eVisitor cannot be extended.