In this article we answer the question: Can I park an unregistered car in my strata car park Qld?
Question: Can a resident park an unregistered vehicle in their nominated car park? A few of our committee members are advocating for towing the vehicle.
I’m a committee member of an apartment complex on the Gold Coast. A resident has parked their unregistered vehicle in their nominated car park.
Through our building manager, we asked for the car to be registered or removed. Although the owner said his son would remove the vehicle within 2 weeks, it is still there 4 weeks later. If the tenant resists removing the vehicle, is leaving an unregistered vehicle in their nominated car park legal? A few of our committee members are advocating for towing the vehicle.
Answer: Qld strata legislation does not distinguish between registered and unregistered cars.
Qld strata legislation does not make a link between a vehicle being registered or unregistered, and then it being parked in the designated spot. The references to a ‘vehicle’ under strata legislation point to a definition of ‘motor vehicle’ under Department of Transport legislation, which does not distinguish between registered and unregistered.
Your scheme’s by-laws may refer to a vehicle being registered, or needing to be registered. Even if they did, there may be a question about whether a by-law of that nature is valid. For the purposes of parking it, why exactly would it matter whether a vehicle is registered or unregistered, especially if the occupier is correctly using their allocated car park?
Putting aside validity questions for a moment, if a by-law about parking is being contravened then that by-law needs to be enforced by the committee.
If you are concerned about things such as liability for the body corporate from an unregistered vehicle, you may want to seek legal advice or advice from your insurer about that. You can also make enquiries with the Department of Transport about the implications – if any – of having an unregistered vehicle parked in the scheme.
My suggestion? First and foremost, get clarity in your mind about the relevance of the vehicle’s registration status to you and the committee, and then proceed – taking into account the above – from there.
This is general information only and not legal advice.
Chris Irons
Strata Solve
E: chris@stratasolve.com.au
P: 0419 805 898
This post appears in the March 2025 edition of The QLD Strata Magazine.
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Read next:
- QLD: How To Manage Parking Dilemmas At Your Complex
- QLD: Development Offences in Bodies Corporate
- QLD: Q&A The First rule of Visitor Parking in Apartments – umm, it’s for visitors!
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