Noise and Neighbour Management for WA Short-Stays: Rules, Monitoring and Good Practice

Noise in WA is governed by the Environmental Protection (Noise) Regulations 1997. The regulations set assigned noise levels for noise passing from one property to another, and those levels get stricter in the evening, tighter after 7pm and tighter again after 10pm. As a rule of thumb, if a neighbour can clearly hear noise from your property inside their home after 10pm, it is likely over the permitted level.

Enforcement is layered:

• Local councils investigate most residential noise complaints and can take enforcement action
• WA Police handle urgent situations such as loud parties and antisocial behaviour
• Council STRA requirements – several Perth councils (for example Vincent and Stirling) require a management plan and code of conduct for short-stay that specifically address noise and guest behaviour
• Strata schemes can act under their conduct by-laws where the property is in a scheme

A short-stay operator is responsible for how guests use the property, so noise is squarely your problem to prevent and manage.

The cheapest complaint is the one that never happens. The levers that prevent noise problems are the same ones that protect the property generally:

• Screen every booking. Local one-night bookings and vague answers are classic party-risk signals. Our approach is set out in our screen-every-guest insight.
• Set and enforce an occupancy limit. Overcrowding is the root of most noise events.
• Make it an explicit no-party property, in the listing and the house rules.
• Set quiet hours (for example 10pm to 7am) aligned to the noise regulations.
• Frame house rules as shared values, which attracts respectful guests and self-selects out the wrong ones.

Decibel-based noise monitors (such as Minut or NoiseAware) are a sensible tool, but they must be used correctly, and WA law is specific here:

• These devices measure sound level only, they do not and must not record conversations. Recording a private conversation is restricted under the Surveillance Devices Act 1998 (WA), so audio-recording guests is not an option.
• Disclose the monitoring to guests in your listing and house rules. A sound-level sensor that alerts you when volume crosses a threshold is legitimate; a hidden recording device is not.
• Indoor cameras are not appropriate in short-stay accommodation. Any outdoor camera (for example at the entry) must be disclosed and must not cover private areas.

Used this way, a noise monitor lets you intervene early, a quiet message to the guest when levels rise, before a neighbour ever needs to complain.

Neighbour goodwill is worth more than any rule. The practices that keep it:

• Introduce yourself to immediate neighbours and explain the property is professionally managed
• Give them a direct 24/7 contact, so a problem reaches you before it reaches the council
• Respond fast when contacted, and be seen to act
• Handle parking so guests do not block neighbours or common property

In a strata scheme, this is part of being a good scheme member; see our strata consent guide.

If a complaint does come in, have a protocol:

1. Contact the guest immediately and ask them to bring the noise down
2. Follow up to confirm it has stopped
3. Escalate if needed, a serious, ongoing party may warrant ending the stay under your house rules
4. Record it, keep a note of the complaint, your response and the outcome
5. Follow up with the neighbour to close the loop and preserve goodwill

This article is general information only, current at the time of writing, and is not legal advice. Noise regulations, surveillance law and council STRA requirements change and vary by locality; confirm the rules with your local council and a qualified adviser.