Question: Can a body corporate require approval for removing trees within a lot’s boundaries?
After checking with our immediate neighbours in our townhouse complex first, we cut down the trees so more sunlight could reach our lot. The committee of our townhouse complex said that body corporate approval was required to remove trees within our lot boundaries because we’ve altered the lot’s appearance.
Our understanding was that “altering the lot appearance” referred to things like changing a door or repainting a wall, not trees within the lot.
We also feel we’re being targeted. Other units have cut trees and the committee raised no issue. This is the first time we’ve had a request like this made. Is the body corporate obliged to pursue this?
Answer: Body corporate approval is generally required for changes to a lot’s external appearance, but refusing approval for tree removal would be difficult to justify.
Generally speaking, if you are making changes to the external appearance of a lot, you will need to make an application to do this. Check your by-laws. There is usually one in there about this.
Still, I don’t know that the body corporate could refuse a request like this. Maybe the trees are part of the essential character of the complex, but if you are responsible for maintaining them, that responsibility would also likely extend to your right to remove them.
As it is, there is probably nothing to do. If the body corporate wants to make an issue of the situation, they could give you a breach notice, but it wouldn’t bring the trees back.
And, you shouldn’t consider yourself as ‘targeted’ just because the body corporate has reminded you of an expected procedure. As an owner you should know what those procedures are or take the time to ask in advance if you don’t. You obviously thought about this situation enough to ask your neighbours. As an owner in a body corporate, it is important to understand that your neighbours are not just the people who live next to you, but all of the other owners in your complex.
This post appears in the May 2026 edition of The QLD Strata Magazine.
William Marquand
Tower Body Corporate
E: willmarquand@towerbodycorporate.com.au
P: 07 5609 4924
I am having the same issue. I have a large bloodwood leaning towards my bedroom just under 3m from the roofline. Body corporate are not giving me approval to remove the tree. I am thinking of taking this to the BCCM Commissioner. I have the smallest home of all the properties and have cleared the least area. Many other properties have cleared more than 4m out from their curtilage.
Hi Elodie
We have just received this reply back from William Marquand, Tower Body Corporate:
The Commissioner’s office exists to help resolve disputes within body corporates so if you feel the need to do so then escalate to that step.
Before you do, think through the process you have engaged with the body corporate to settle this matter.
What steps have you taken to advise the body corporate of the issue and what kind of response have you had?
As far as possible, I would recommend seeking a formal response from the body corporate before proceeding to the Commissioner’s office. When you say the body corporate is not giving you approval, what does that mean? Is it a rejection based on a few emails or has the matter been voted on?
From the correspondence, we don’t know anything about the tree — who’s responsibility it is and what any costs of removal might be. Would council permit removal? You should check this information. If it is a body corporate tree can the committee make the decision to remove it or does it have to be a decision of all owners? These are important details that could affect any response from the body corporate or any progress of a legal claim.
Have you submitted any formal motions to the body corporate regarding the removal of the tree? This could be a motion to the committee or to all owners. If you have not done so it may be worth taking this step before escalating your claim. Even if your submission is rejected, you will at least have a formal record of any decision of the body corporate. The question then is whether that decision was within the law and reasonable.
If you are making an application to the commissioner, try to make sure that the application is concise and focused. If you clearly define the issue you can get a definitive response.
This may sound harsh, but, to be frank, the way you have framed your question submission doesn’t really do that. This is just a website where we provide informal advice so you may not have thought through the need to explain all relevant factors, but if you apply to the commissioner’s office you are entering a legal process and should expect a response consistent with that from the body corporate. This isn’t intended to put you off making an application, but if your application is not sufficiently organised it is unlikely to be successful.
William Marquand
Tower Body Corporate
W: towerbodycorporate.com.au
E: willmarquand@towerbodycorporate.com.au
T: 0756094924
This information is not intended to be personal advice and you should not rely on it as a substitute for any form of advice.