Penang Island City Council passes guidelines on short-term stays

Joint management bodies to be tasked with enforcement

GEORGE TOWN – The Penang Island City Council (MBPP) has passed its guidelines on regulating commercial short-term stays on the island by selecting respective joint management bodies (JMB) as the main party to enforce such tasks.

MBPP, together with the Seberang Prai City Council, are believed to be the first local authorities in the country to come up with a set of comprehensive guidelines to regulate short-term stays such as through the Airbnb and homestay schemes.

Penang City Mayor and MBPP president Datuk A. Rajendran said the guidelines will be uploaded into the MBPP formal site after the adjournment of the full council meeting.

“The guidelines would be made available soon,” Rajendran told a press conference.

He added that under the local government legislation, JMBs are empowered to enact local bylaws to help them oversee the guidelines. He said that the guidelines are expected to ease concerns among strata and landed property owners over safety and security by strictly regulating short-term stays.

Essentially, those wanting to lease out their units need approval from the JMBs, and if their applications are rejected, they have no choice but to accept the respective JMB’s decisions.

Earlier, he said that even though strata title owners have units which are in commercial buildings, they still require approval from the respective JMB before they can lease their places for short term accommodation.

MBPP has empowered the JMC to regulate Airbnb activities in their respective buildings of either residential or commercial nature. Earlier an official from the Commissioner of Buildings explained that the regulations would cover 1,387 designated residential and commercial strata buildings.

Owners or operators of landed properties, will need special permits from the MBPP while those with strata titles, need to show the JMBs their registration with the Registrar of Companies.

The Commissioner of Building office will also act as a mediator if the JMBs have disputes with the owners and tenants in their buildings over short-term stays.

“We have also informed all JMBs of their rights and how to liaise with the tenants and the unit owners in their respective buildings or high-rise housing schemes.”

In an immediate reaction, the Penang chapter of the Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) Tony Goh praised MBPP for coming out with the guidelines but said more needs to be done to ensure that the short-term stay industry is well-regulated.

From a hoteliers’ standpoint, Goh said that the enforcement aspects for such premises need to be fine tuned.

“Who is doing the enforcement? Is it strictly left to the respective JMBs to do it, or would the council be assisting them on this matter?” he asked. Goh said the guidelines need to be fine-tuned further.

He added that MAH is also appalled by certain developers’ here allegedly selling new units by cajoling prospecting buyers to lease their new units out for Airbnb.

– The Vibes, May 25, 2023