SINGAPORE — Unhappy with the sheer volume of tourists rotating through their condominium for short stays, the management committee of The Sail@Marina [1] Bay decided to take things into their own hands, and last year passed a by-law to compel residents to present their tenancy agreements upon request.

A bouncer was even deployed to deal with aggressive and uncooperative residents, in a precautionary move taken by its Management Corporation Strata Title (MCST).

Access to the condominium was limited to the main lobby.

The move paid off, and these days, hardly any tourists — who book stays via home-sharing platforms such as Airbnb — are spotted in the compound, said the condo’s MCST chairman Augustine Cheah.

As Parliament passed laws on Monday to disallow the use of residential properties as short-term accommodation, National Development Minister Lawrence Wong said that the authorities were considering a new building-use category for private residences to operate as short-term rental apartments. They were also mulling over a reduction in the minimum rental period of six months. Mr Wong also suggested that condominium management committees pass by-laws to manage the use of common property.

Some condominiums have taken action by putting up notices of short-term rental guidelines at lift lobbies and lifts, and training their security guards to spot tourists laden with suitcases.

“These tourists are transient and they don’t take care of the place. And what if they’re perverts who molest someone and run away?” said Mr Cheah.

After passing the by-law in August last year, the management “accelerated enforcement” to deny entry to those who did not observe the rules. For example, on one occasion, a tourist presented a printout of an Airbnb booking and was told that it was not a valid tenancy agreement.

At another condominium in the Central Business District, the management committee has been brainstorming ideas to prevent the misuse of the apartments. Options include passing a by-law to make registration at the main entrance compulsory — either through a logbook or biometric screening — or having the concierge monitor security footage for visitors with suitcases.

But the management committee chairman, who wanted to be known as Alex, pointed out that such measures require heavy manpower. “The management has better things to do than police people through closed-circuit television (CCTVs),” he said.

Mr Robert Tan, condominium management committee chairman of Avon Park in Woodleigh, felt that the best way to tackle the problem was to rope in alert residents to gather evidence proving that certain units were flouting the rules, and report them.

For Ms April Lim, 27, who will be receiving the keys to a new condominium next year, leasing out the unit on Airbnb had seemed like an appealing option. “But there are very grey rules surrounding it now, so I’ll have to think about it,” said Ms Lim, who works in marketing and business development.

On Monday, Airbnb said the URA has been reviewing short-term rental guidelines for nearly two years, and it was “disappointing that the discussion has not moved forward”.

“We support a common sense approach to regulation that helps these hosts share their extra space,” a spokesperson said. VALERIE KOH