sarahshields3

Hi Jimmy,

Sarah here, PR for MadeComfy. Please see following for the responses to your questions from MadeComfy founders Quirin Schwaighofer and Sabrina Bethunin.

Do they believe that apartment owners who bought on the basis that their units were residential only (as per their council zoning) should be allowed to pass by-laws enforcing that zoning?

From Sabrina:

We are very respectful of strata regulations and we don’t manage apartments where there is a by-law restriction in place. We are waiting for the new regulations issued by the NSW Government and we will respect those decisions.
We believe property owners have the right to make decisions on how to use their asset and get the best return as well as have the flexibility on the way they can utilise their assets.
We are respectful of the legislation and strata regulation, and our point of view is based on our experience managing multiple properties in buildings as well as stand-alone properties. In our experience when a property is professionally and properly managed, short term as well as long term rentals work without causing any disruption in the community. We have numerous successful stories where property owners have benefited from having the flexibility to use their properties as they need.
From Quirin:
Being a long-term renter myself as well as an Air BnB host and Air BnB guest, I am a strong believer that regulations need to be in place for short-term renting, as there are for long-term letting.

We see that people invest in property for two main reasons, a) to live in it themselves (and build wealth) or b) to make a profit and build wealth by renting it out.

There is no question that everyone in Australia should have the right to live (and travel) feeling safe and without facing disturbances. It is tricky to argue that person who lives in an apartment for more than three months is less of an issue than a tenant who lives there for one month, or two weeks, etc. Also, we ask why does an area need to be classified as commercial when a tenant lives there for less than three months, when in both situations the property is used to house residents and to generate a rental return for the owner.

When we look at the root cause of issues, it comes down to regulations and each community’s expectations of behaviour. It’s how these rules are followed by residents and how these rules are enforced when they’re not followed. This is where legislation needs to catch up and we fully support this.

Or do they think that individual unit owners should be able to subvert their planning regulations and the wishes of the vast majority of their neighbours in order to make the maximum profit from their properties?
From Sabrina:
One of the reasons property investors invest in property is to generate a profit, and this could be in the form of long term rental, capital gain, and also short term rentals. There are a number of property investors – especially in Sydney – who are under mortgage stress due to the rising property prices in Sydney combined with decreasing yields. The struggle of a negative cash flow can make it difficult for people to meet their mortgage payments. In other markets like Brisbane and Perth the situation is even worse where some property values have decreased, and there’s a terrible combination of capital loss and negative cash flow.

Again, we respect the legislation and but we also think property investors should have the opportunity and flexibility to make decisions on how they want their assets to be utilised and their yields maximised within the legal framework.

Quirin:

You asked about our opinion of by-laws and zoning. It comes down to the definition of zones and I will leave that to the highly qualified and informed representatives of our government. I personally do agree that building communities should have the right to influence the rules of their building by majority (+75%) vote. I also agree that these rules be enforced.

Should building communities be able to restrict an owner to rent out his/her property? I personally do not agree with that. We manage more than over 300 properties in Sydney, many of them are in multi-apartment complexes. We always work together with building management and neighbours to ensure they understand the house rules we communicate to guests (most of the time stricter than the by-laws of the building), and to ensure they understand how to contact us should there be any issue.

Having welcomed more than 15,000 guests we have had one complaint over the last two years. This was from a neighbour of an apartment we manage in Darlinghurst. Our guest was making loud noise after 10pm. The neighbour contacted us the next day and we asked the guest to leave, as we were not comfortable with the behaviour. A year later, one of our guests locked herself out of the same apartment, leaving her wallet and phone inside. The same neighbour saw it happening and offered her his phone to contact us, he also lent her some money for the bus so she could make her trip to the Hunter Valley.

This is just an example of how it really comes down to setting standards around guest behaviour, communicating clear rules and building relationships with communities.