This article discusses whether a body corporate can regulate social gatherings by introducing booking systems under common property booking bylaws to manage noise and shared facilities.
Question: Around 20 residents have been meeting in the pool area for drinks on a Sunday afternoon. Some residents have complained about the noise and the BC is talking about introducing a booking system to control the use of the space. Really! How can this be reasonable?
We live in a highrise consisting of 156 Units and there is a common area open 7 am to 9 pm consisting of a BBQ are next to a pool area.
Around 20 residents have been meeting in this space to chat, have nibbles and a drink together on a Sunday afternoon up to around 7 pm. The Body Corp have introduced new By-Laws regarding noise. The Body Corp says they have received complaints regarding the noise from the gathering. 3 units directly overlook this area and we feel these are the ones complaining about the noise.
The Body Corp have indicated that if this continues, they will evoke one of our ByLaws that states:
The Body Corporate may operate a system under which owners and occupiers may book for the use of the facilities, and the system may include rules to as to:
- maximum time limits: and
- how the booking list is operated and by whom.
How can the Body Corporate arrange a booking system for the use of a common area of the Pool and BBQ areas and dictate this to us?
Answer: Your use of the pool area might seem perfectly fine to you, but it might not be fine to others.
The Body Corporate has responsibility for managing common property. While generally that means the body corporate cannot prohibit access to common property, or discriminate between different types of people accessing common property (e.g., one rule for tenants and another for owners), it is reasonable for the body corporate to regulate access to common property. That might mean a booking system.
Think about it practically: let’s just say there is a common use tennis court for a 100-lot building. Managing use of the tennis court would be impossible without some kind of scheduling (especially if a lot of people there liked tennis!)
You also need to keep in mind that the body corporate is responsible for enforcing by-laws. It is typical there is a by-law about noise and nuisance. Even if your gatherings are during the day, if they are causing noise and nuisance – and I stress, I do not know enough at this stage to know if that is the case – then the body corporate are obliged to address that.
Putting all the above to one side for a moment, remember that you are in a community. There is give and take. Your use of the pool area might seem perfectly fine to you, but it might not be fine to others, and vice versa. I’m afraid that is part and parcel of living in a community titles scheme. If you want this situation resolved amicably, so that you and everyone else can get the best possible outcome (compromise), you would want to start discussing and talking with the body corporate about this situation. There might be any number of relatively simple solutions that can work. Also, a tip: maybe avoid using words like ‘dictate’. It’s unnecessarily emotive.
This post appears in the October 2022 edition of The QLD Strata Magazine.
Chris Irons
Strata Solve
E: chris@stratasolve.com.au
P: 0419 805 898
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