99% (or more) of Queensland bodies corporate still cannot prohibit short term letting

Contributed by Frank Higginson, HYNES LEGAL – 8 November 2019

99% (or more) of Queensland bodies corporate still cannot prohibit short term letting

There has been a bit of recent publicity about this decision by a Queensland Magistrate for a body corporate at Fairway Island where the body corporate’s prohibition via a by-law on lot owners letting their lot on a short term basis was held to be valid.

The only reason this was possible is because this body corporate is one of the very rare ones still regulated by the Building Units and Group Titles Act 1980 (‘BUGTA’) – the forerunner to the Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997 (‘BCCMA’). Due to a unique legislative quirk, some bodies corporate in large master-planned or staged communities built before 1997 (like Hope Island where this body corporate is) remain regulated by the BUGTA.

None of the findings in the QCAT appeal decision have been disturbed by the Fairway Island decision. The BUGTA does not have a section 180(3) like the BCCMA does.

There are more than 50,000 bodies corporate in Queensland. This decision applies only to the 500 or so residential ones who remain regulated by the BUGTA.

If you aren’t sure what legislation your body corporate is regulated by, just have a look at your last AGM or committee meeting papers. If they have references to BCCMA plastered all over them, then you have your answer.

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