Question: A resident uses their garage as an extra entertainment room and disturbs surrounding residents. Could we introduce a by-law to restrict this activity?
Can we establish a by-law that restricts the use of the garage to the parking of cars?
Our strata block has garages between each villa. The villa’s garage adjoins the next villa’s bedrooms. All noise in the garage area can be heard in the bedrooms.
A resident uses their garage as an extra entertainment room with lounges, a coal-burning BBQ, TV, etc. The noise from this garage space disturbs the surrounding residents with smoke, smell, and noise.
Can we establish a by-law that restricts the use of the garage to the parking of cars?
Answer: This type of entertainment may be in breach of planning consents for the complex.
Garages are not considered “habitable” spaces, so this type of entertainment may be in breach of planning consents for the complex. It also appears that the entertainer is breaching a wide range of laws/by-laws including nuisance (smoke, smell, noise) and by-laws that regulate behaviour.
In our view, a garage by-law restricting use to car parking and/or limited storage would be reasonable. In our experience, this by-law is commonly used to preserve the “appearance and amenity” of the building and to ensure the area is used as per the approved purpose under the DA.
This post appears in the February 2025 edition of The NSW Strata Magazine.
Leanne Habib
Premium Strata
E: info@premiumstrata.com.au
P: 02 9281 6440
If you’re concerned about how your neighbour uses their garage, I imagine there will be plenty of other minor things that will bother you too. It’s a town house. If that’s too much, perhaps acreage would suit you better… though I suspect even then, you’d find something to complain about—maybe the horses in the paddock across the road.
I live at [removed by admin] and two owners in my apartment complex have converted their garages into living quarters or hobby rooms. This is illegal. How do I go about notifying body corporate on this matter? Thank you Ms. Dianne K Russell.
If you live in a townhouse with attached garage, obtain permission from Strata to convert said garage into a bedroom/living space, then have DA approval from local government, have proper builder, electrician etc to do the work would this be OK.
We have a tenant who who had people sleeping in the garage attached to the villa I rang the local council who asked to see our minutes where we had spoken about it The council rang the owner told him that would be there in three hours to inspect the garage all matresses were gone but bedheads etc plus sleeping bags were in the garage which happened to have a timber floor laid the council has no doubt that the garage was used for habitation and we’re were told that they are checking randomly in the future no warnings there is a 3,000-00 fine if they are caught it only ever takes one doesn’t to cause trouble