Short-Term Rentals Are About to Be Regulated Nationwide — But the Body That Decides Whether You Can Airbnb Is Not the Government

On 26 October 2026 the Deputy Minister of Housing and Local Government told the Dewan Rakyat that a nationwide short-term accommodation framework is in final review. "Airbnb is about to be regulated" went round the market that afternoon. But if what you are buying is a condominium or a serviced apartment, the gate that actually decides whether you may let it short term was settled six years ago — and it is not in the government’s hands.

The government side: still on its way

Through PLANMalaysia, the housing ministry is drafting a uniform national planning guideline with the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, the state governments and the local authorities. The core of it: only premises that are registered with the local authority and compliant with its licensing conditions may legally operate short-term accommodation.

• Strata premises stay bound by their management body’s by-laws — the framework expressly preserves the powers of JMBs and MCs under the Strata Management Act 2013.
• No night cap has been set. The deputy minister said any cap has to weigh an owner’s chance to earn income against tourism needs, public safety and residents’ wellbeing.
• Platforms are expected to cooperate — the government wants an automatic licence-status check before a listing goes up, and unlicensed or non-compliant premises delisted.
• Enforcement already has teeth — action can be taken under the Town and Country Planning Act 1976, the Street, Drainage and Building Act 1974 and local by-laws, and illegal listings can be blocked.

Where it stands: final review with the tourism ministry, then Cabinet, then agreement at the National Council for Local Government, then adoption by the states and local authorities. It is not in force nationally and no national start date has been announced.

Penang went first: strata guidelines since 1 April 2023, and its own private accommodation by-laws enforced since 1 August 2026.

The harder gate: your building’s management body

In 2020 the Federal Court decided Innab Salil & Ors v Verve Suites Mont’ Kiara Management Corporation ([2020] 1 LNS 1131): a house rule passed by the management corporation at an extraordinary general meeting may prohibit using a parcel for business, short-term rental included.

Two parts of that ruling are worth a buyer’s memory:

1. A commercial title does not save you. In that case the land’s express condition was "Commercial Building". Reading section 120 of the National Land Code 1965 together with section 70 of the Strata Management Act 2013, the court held the house rule adds a layer of regulation on top of the existing land conditions rather than revoking them.
2. Short letting is not a "dealing". The owners argued the rule breached section 70(5)(a), which bars by-laws from restricting dealings with a parcel. The court disagreed: what a short-stay guest gets is a licence, not a tenancy, so it is not a dealing, and the house rule stands.

So what do you check before you buy

These four can all be checked before you sign, and they are all obtainable:

1. The current house rules and by-laws — do they prohibit or restrict short-term letting or commercial use?
2. Whether those by-laws were properly passed and filed with the Commissioner of Buildings — one that skipped the procedure is open to challenge.
3. Whether the management body has actually enforced them: warning notices, compounds, Strata Management Tribunal claims.
4. How the local authority currently treats short-term accommodation in that area, and whether a licence is required.

A new project with no management body yet needs a different set of questions: what the developer’s sales documents say about short letting, who drafts the first set of by-laws after handover, and what the owner mix will look like once the JMB forms.

Why this matters more in Johor Bahru

A large share of Johor Bahru buyers are working on the same arithmetic: stay in it now and then, let it short term the rest of the year. Whether that arithmetic holds does not depend on how many tourists Johor Bahru gets. It depends on the points above.

And the supply here sits exactly on the fault line: serviced apartments and SOHO units make up a large part of the market, and almost all of them are built on commercial titles — the very category where it is easiest to assume that commercial title means business use means short letting. That assumption is precisely what the Federal Court was ruling on.

To get the title and use distinction straight first, read strata title versus individual title and serviced apartment versus condominium.

Frequently asked questions

Is Airbnb legal in Malaysia?

There are two layers. The first is government: the nationwide planning guideline for short-term residential accommodation (STRA) is being drafted by the Ministry of Housing and Local Government (KPKT) through PLANMalaysia, and it is still a draft. Its direction is that only premises registered with the local authority and compliant with licensing conditions may operate legally. The second layer is your building’s management, and that one is already in force today.

My management corporation bans short-term letting. Does the new national framework override it?

No. The framework expressly preserves the powers of the JMB and the management corporation under the Strata Management Act 2013. In 2020 the Federal Court held in Innab Salil & Ors v Verve Suites Mont’ Kiara Management Corporation that a management body may prohibit short-term letting by by-law.

My unit sits on a commercial title (SOHO or serviced apartment). Does that mean I can run an Airbnb?

No. The same judgment stated plainly that sitting on a commercial title is not an exception. The title’s use is not the answer — the by-laws are.

When does the framework take effect, and is there a cap on nights per year?

Not settled yet — the Deputy Minister told the Dewan Rakyat on 26 October 2026 that the framework is still being drafted. No cap on nights has been set.

How do I check, before buying, whether short-term letting is allowed in a building?

Check two things: whether the building’s house rules or by-laws prohibit short-term letting, and whether the management corporation has passed a by-law on it. Get both documents before you buy — after you buy is too late.

Related

• What to understand before buying in Malaysia
• What to know after buying in Malaysia
• Serviced apartment versus condominium

Sources

1. The content of the national short-term accommodation framework, strata premises remaining bound by JMB and MC by-laws, the absence of a night cap, platform verification and delisting, the current stage (final review with the tourism ministry, then Cabinet, the National Council for Local Government and state adoption), and the two Penang dates: Deputy Minister of Housing and Local Government Aiman Athirah Sabu, answering in the Dewan Rakyat on 26 October 2026, as reported the same day by The Edge Malaysia.
2. That a management corporation may prohibit short-term letting by house rule, that a commercial title is not an exception, and that short letting is a licence rather than a dealing under section 70(5)(a) of the Strata Management Act 2013: Federal Court, Innab Salil & Ors v Verve Suites Mont’ Kiara Management Corporation [2020] 1 LNS 1131, as summarised in Skrine’s case alert of 23 October 2020.
3. By-laws having to be passed at a general meeting and filed with the Commissioner of Buildings, and the enforcement and tribunal routes: the Strata Management Act 2013 and its subsidiary regulations.

General information and commentary only, not legal advice. The national framework is not yet in force; a specific project’s by-laws and its local authority’s rules are governed by that project’s and that authority’s own current documents. Last verified: 27 October 2026.