This Q&A about whether a lot owner can convert their garage into a bedroom or living space in QLD has been answered by Hayley Gath, Mathews Hunt Legal.
Table of Contents:
- QUESTION: The committee would like to clean up the parking area. Owners store their items outside of their lot car park spaces against common property walls. Can we remove these items?
- QUESTION: A rented lot in our small building has people living in the garage. Is this legal?
- QUESTION: A lot owner would like to remove a bylaw so they can convert their garage into a warehouse set up for a home occupation. Is this possible?
- QUESTION: A lot owner in our building has converted their garage into a bedroom and a child is living in it. Although I’ve reported this to the body corporate, they will not take any action.
Question: The committee would like to clean up the parking area. Owners store their items outside of their lot car park spaces against common property walls. Can we remove these items?
The committee would like to clean up the common property parking area. Our building has high turnover of tenanted lots. Residents and past residents stored their items outside of their lot car park spaces against common property walls. Can the committee remove these items?
Answer: The committee must handle this issue in accordance with the Act and your by-laws.
It is not uncommon for residential strata complexes with high rental turnover to face issues with the unauthorised use of common property for storage.
The committee must handle this issue in accordance with the Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997 (Qld) (“the Act”) and your by-laws.
Storage in Common Property
Common property must not be used for private storage without body corporate approval. Where property is stored outside of the allocated car parks (e.g., against walls in the basement), the committee may:
- Issue a written request to the lot owner or occupier to remove the items as they are obstructing common property.
- If the items are not removed, consider issuing a formal contravention notice under Section 182 of the Act, which gives the body corporate power to take enforcement action.
- In some cases, particularly where items pose a safety risk or impede access, the committee may need to engage legal advice to determine whether removal is permitted and how to do so without breaching occupants’ rights.
As a general rule, owners and tenants should only store property within the boundaries of their allocated lots or exclusive use areas, with the consent of the body corporate and in line with your by-laws. Where lot entitlements include a car park, storage within that car park is typically permitted (subject to fire safety and obstruction concerns). Still, any property stored on common property outside these boundaries should be removed. If items are permitted to be stored within the boundaries of a parking bay, the occupant’s vehicle must also be able to be parked within the boundaries of the parking bay and not protrude over common property.
If unsure, committees are encouraged to seek qualified strata law advice or consult with the Office of the Commissioner for Body Corporate and Community Management.
Karen Thompson Vision Strata E: contact@visionstrata.com.au P: 07 5630 6546
This post appears in the July 2025 edition of The QLD Strata Magazine.
Question: A rented lot in our small building has people living in the garage. Is this legal?
I am the owner of a unit in a block of four lots.
One of the lots is rented. That lot has people living in the garage. Is this legal?
There are no facilities in the garage. The tenants living in the garage do not have access to the residential lot upstairs associated with the garage.
Answer: The problem should be reported to your local council.
If the unit is not used for its designated purpose, the problem should be reported to your local council, and they can investigate.
The body corporate legislation doesn’t really cover issues like this. Still, overcrowding of units does happen from time to time and sometimes the body corporate might contact the owner or agent to make them aware of the situation. If you felt it was appropriate, you could do the same.
William Marquand Tower Body Corporate E: willmarquand@towerbodycorporate.com.au P: 07 5609 4924
This post appears in Strata News #662.
Question: A lot owner would like to remove a bylaw so they can convert their garage into a warehouse set up for a home occupation. Is this possible?
There is a motion being put forward at our upcoming AGM by an owner wanting to remove the following bylaw: “Where a lot includes an area designed for the parking of cars, the Owner or Occupier of the lot must only use this part of the lot for car parking purposes.”
They are using their garage as a warehouse set up for a home occupation.
In our complex, our council development plan states “Except for visitors car parking generally must be provided undercover and within the main building envelope.”
And our approved Development Application with council states “Each unit is required to have a minimum of one enclosed car park.”
Do both these requirements negate the ability to remove the by-law and hence enable us to enforce the following by law “All lots must be used only for residential purposes.”
Answer: The lot owner cannot do something which council conditions restrict.
The body corporate can approve the removal of the by-law if the council conditions do not actually require such a by-law to be imposed.
However, that does not mean that if and when the by-law is removed, the lot owner is authorised to do something which the council conditions restrict. The council can still take action and there may be other by-laws that are relevant which the committee could enforce (such as a use of lot by-law or a by-law requiring lots to be used for lawful purposes).
Todd Garsden Mahoneys E: tgarsden@mahoneys.com.au P: 07 3007 3753
This post appears in Strata News #503.
Question: A lot owner in our building has converted their garage into a bedroom and a child is living in it. Although I’ve reported this to the body corporate, they will not take any action.
A lot owner in our complex has converted their garage into a children’s bedroom.
I’ve reported this to the body corporate about 30 times over the past 3 years. The owner is not concerned and the body corporate just ignores my messages.
This has become quite an issue in our scheme. What can I do about this? Surely it is not right.
Answer: Contact your local council to determine whether approval is required
I assume that the garage is located within the lot. Accordingly, you can:
- review the scheme’s by-laws to determine whether any by-laws are being contravened; and
- if this is a contravention of the Scheme’s by-laws, you can complete a ‘BCCM form 1 – notice to body corporate of contravention to the body corporate’ and send it to the body corporate.
Additionally, you can contact your local council to determine whether approval is required for the occupation of the garage and whether the required approval has been obtained (if any). If the required approval has not been obtained, the council may take steps to address this issue.
Hayley Gath Mathews Hunt Legal E: hayley.gath@mathewshuntlegal.com.au P: 07 5555 8000
This post appears in Strata News #340.
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