Introduction
Boarding houses provide accommodation for a fee. Generally, residents only occupy a room and share facilities such as kitchen or bathroom with others. Boarding house residents do not have the same rights as tenants.
There are 2 types of 'registrable’ boarding houses:
- General boarding houses – accommodate 5 or more paying residents, not including the proprietor, manager and members of their families. General boarding houses do not include hotels, motels, backpackers' hostels, aged care homes or other types of premises excluded by the Act.
- Assisted boarding houses – accommodate 2 or more people with additional needs. A person with additional needs include disability such as age related frailty, mental illness and/or an intellectual, psychiatric, sensory or physical disability and need help or supervision with every day tasks.
For more information on boarding houses visit NSW Fair Trading.
Payment and fees
You will need to pay a fee to register a boarding house in NSW. For information on fees visit NSW Fair Trading.
How to apply
- Download and complete the form Notification to register a boarding house on the Register of Boarding Houses – PDF.
- Pay the lodgement fee online as per the instructions on the form.
- Lodge your application and your fee receipt:
- in person at a service centre, or
- by email or post to the details on the form.
Note: The form must be lodged within 28 days of:
- a boarding premises becoming a registrable boarding
house, or - the proprietor becoming a new proprietor of the premises.
Search the Register of Boarding Houses
Fair Trading maintains a public register of information relating to boarding houses. It includes information about the proprietor and the type of boarding house. Search the register.
Last updated: 6 June 2025