An Appeals Tribunal has upheld a by-law from a Gold Coast body corporate banning short-term letting from its complex.
Short-term rentals have been banned from a Gold Coast complex following a successful appeal by a body corporate this week.
In a Queensland first, an Appeals Tribunal upheld a by-law from the Fairway Island body corporate preventing lettings of under one month to protect the " special residential amenity of their community".
It comes after the by-law was initially overturned when the lot owner challenged it in the Commissioner’s Office.
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In making his ruling, the Magistrate acknowledged the lots in the complex were designed for privacy.
"The true character of the by-law is to ensure that only people who have some long term commitment to the premises occupy them," he said.
"That is, they are residents there and subject to some longer-term control over their behaviour.”
The Fairway Island body corporate is governed by the Building Units and Group Titles Act 1980 (BUGTA), having been established prior to the introduction of Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997 (BCCMA).
While both acts allow for by-laws to regulate the use and enjoyment of a lot, the BCCMA prohibits by-laws from restricting the type of residential use that can be made of a lot.
Grace Lawyers Partner Jason Carlson, who has worked closely with Fairway Island body corporate, told WILLIAMS MEDIA the historic nature of the decision shouldn't allow for others to simplify what is a very complex issue.
"The reality is that the laws are primarily driven by humans and the opinions and arguments they ultimately run about them," he said.
"Fundamentally, what we have seen out of the Fairway Island decision is that it has just generated a lot of conversation.
"Everyone has been told you can't say no to Airbnb to protect long term amenity, and I think we have opened the door on that."
Mr Carlson encouraged the Queensland Government to have a look at the approach taken in NSW, where investor properties are only able to be host short-term letting for 180 nights in the year, and strata companies the power to ban the practice in their buildings.
"We can either leave it to the legal system to wait for the right circumstances to send this up to the Court of Appeal, or the Queensland Government can pay attention to the fact there are quite a few strata communities out there that value long-term residential use and want the ability to say no to Airbnb," he said.
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