Question: Under a new CMS by-law, can a body corporate require owners to install under-tile soundproofing and pay for noise testing when renovating exclusive use balcony flooring?
In Brisbane, our body corporate has introduced a new CMS by-law that applies to renovations of balcony flooring. The by-law requires any lot owner who renovates their balcony to significantly upgrade the exclusive use common area by installing under-tile soundproofing, even though this was not part of the original building. In addition, the by-law requires the owner to arrange and pay for noise testing to prove the new flooring meets a specific sound transmission standard.
Can the body corporate legally impose these conditions on lot owners when they carry out balcony flooring renovations?
Answer: The committee must be reasonable, and lot owners need to avoid causing unreasonable interference with other lots.
No. In W4 [2017] QBCCMCmr 555, the adjudicator adopted the prior decisions of McLeod v Body Corporate for Stradbroke Tower and Villas [2015] QCATA 146 and 3 Parkland Boulevard [2014] QBCCMCmr 91 by relevantly providing:
“As in the 3 Parkland Boulevard case, it is likely to be unreasonable for the body corporate to require a higher measurement of noise isolation than currently existing where hard surfaces are already present. Owners are not expected to increase sound isolation, and that it is likely that other lots are in a similar position.”
However, the way the lot is used still needs to avoid causing an unreasonable interference with other lots. If noise (creating an unreasonable interference) is being created with the current floor, the lot owner would need to either:
- change their behaviour and use of the lot to avoid the unreasonable interference; or
- carry out the suggested improvements to avoid the unreasonable interference.
This post appears in the September 2025 edition of The QLD Strata Magazine.
Todd Garsden Mahoneys E: tgarsden@mahoneys.com.au P: 07 3007 3753