Anthony Houghton and partner let out suites at their property, Mt Hay Retreat at Berry, year-round via short-term holiday letting platforms like Airbnb and Stayz.

"In a perfect world, we wouldn't need any of this regulation, and the industry would self-regulate," Mr Houghton said.

"But unfortunately there are some outliers who have made it difficult, even if they are a very small number."

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In 2018, the NSW Parliament passed the government's plan for the short-term holiday letting industry.

The government delayed the implementation of short-term rental reforms, including a Code of Conduct and short-term rental accommodation register, at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As part of the changes, Illawarra councils would be able to decide if permitting short-term holiday letting for the entire year is acceptable for their local communities.

Under the new "two strikes and you're out" policy, hosts or guests who commit two serious breaches of the code within two years will be banned for five years, and listed on an exclusion register.

Stayz supported the delay at the time.

However, Stayz believes the NSW Government should now begin implementation of those items to give the sector certainty.

Without these parts of the regulatory response, Stayz fears that some strata schemes will resort to unnecessarily bans for short-term rental.

Stayz also believes a register will help the government and local councils gather key data about the industry.

Without this information, Stayz says it fears regional councils will resort to "unproven" caps on the number of days properties can be let.

"The concern is now that tourists are coming back, they can't go overseas, and at the moment they can't go to Victoria," Mr Houghton said.

"So a lot of people from NSW are going to be travelling in their own state.

"And if there are any flare-ups, especially in cities with Airbnb's and what not, it may be that councils may make knee-jerk reactions.

"And having something in place, even just a simple register that Airbnb, Stayz and companies like that can all talk to, to make sure those repeat offenders are dealt with, (means) the rest of the industry can get on with doing what it does best."

Stayz director Eacham Curry said as the NSW Government continues the task of re-opening the economy in a COVID-safe way, the implementation of regulatory tools, "will give our industry certainty at a time that many Mum and Dad holiday homeowners are starting to get back on their feet".

A Department of Planning, Industry and Environment spokesperson said the department is developing a Short-Term Rental Accommodation Property Register, including the proposed limits for days where the host is not present.

"Since the NSW Government's announcement... The department continues to refine the proposed planning framework to ensure it will provide a balanced response between regulating STRA and allowing it to continue to provide a valuable contribution to the NSW tourism industry."

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