Renovating your lot does not automatically give you permission to make any changes you want. The work may affect common property, infrastructure, other residents or your body corporate’s by-laws.
Before starting, check your scheme documents, lot boundaries and the approval pathway for the proposed work. This guide explains what to review and who may need to approve the renovation.
Do you need body corporate approval for renovations?
Start with two questions:
- Will the renovation affect common property?
- Could it breach a body corporate by-law?
If either answer is yes, body corporate approval may be required. Work entirely inside your lot can still affect common property through pipes, wiring, walls, floors or other infrastructure.
For example, a bathroom renovation may involve pipes or wiring that the body corporate or lot owner must maintain. The location and type of infrastructure will help determine who is responsible and whether approval is needed.
Some changes may be maintenance rather than an improvement. A like-for-like replacement is more likely to be maintenance. Replacing an existing item with something substantially different may be an improvement, which can change the approval process.
Installing hard flooring is a common example. Although the work may be within your lot, it can create additional noise for the lot below or be regulated by a by-law. Some bodies corporate require approval for changes to flooring.
Consider whether the work will create a nuisance or affect other people in the scheme. The renovation must comply with applicable by-laws and your other obligations as an owner or occupier.
If the work improves common property for the benefit of your lot, you may become responsible for maintaining the improvement. The approval may also include conditions that you need to follow.
You can read more about the general distinction between maintenance and improvements in our guide to everything you need to know about lot improvements.
How do you tell whether your renovation affects common property?
Your plan of subdivision helps identify where your lot ends and common property begins. It can also show which parts of a building or structure the body corporate may need to maintain.
Queensland community titles schemes are registered under a plan of subdivision, including building format and standard format plans. The community management statement identifies the regulation module that applies to the scheme. Check these documents together before work starts.
Examples of work that may affect common property include:
- installing an air-conditioner compressor on an outside wall
- replacing a balustrade on or near a lot boundary
- changing a window or its configuration
- altering a wall, door or other building element
- moving or changing pipes, wiring or other utility infrastructure.
These examples do not determine the outcome automatically. An air-conditioner, balustrade or window may be treated differently depending on the scheme documents and the relevant boundaries.
Under the Standard Module, the body corporate must maintain certain common-property elements and some building elements associated with a building format plan. This includes balustrades on, or effectively on, the boundary between a lot and common property, along with certain boundary doors, windows, roofing membranes and structural elements. The owner may still be responsible for utility infrastructure that services only their lot.
A bathroom renovation is a useful example. The bathroom may sit within the lot, while the pipes or wiring being altered may be common property or may service only that lot. Confirm responsibility before removing or relocating them.
Our guide to maintenance versus improvements provides more context about checking boundaries and responsibilities before work begins.
What do your by-laws and community management statement require?
By-laws are rules made by a body corporate to control and manage common property, body corporate assets, services and facilities, and the use of lots. They are recorded in the community management statement for a community titles scheme.
By-laws may regulate:
- external appearance
- colours and materials
- floor coverings
- structural changes
- curtains or window coverings
- noise and the effect of work on neighbouring lots
- renovations or other changes to a lot.
For example, a by-law may require approval for hard floors or specify materials for an external change. It may also set requirements that apply when the work is in an area that appears to be part of your lot.
Check the community management statement and registered plan. The statement can identify the applicable by-laws and regulation module, while the plan helps identify lot and common-property boundaries. You can read more in our guide to getting to know your community management statement.
For schemes created after July 1997, the by-laws listed in the community management statement are generally the by-laws that apply. If the statement does not list by-laws, the standard by-laws in schedule 4 of the Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997 may apply in the circumstances described by the legislation. Older schemes can have more complicated arrangements, so check the scheme records before relying on a standard set of by-laws.
The Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997, commonly called the BCCM Act, places limits on by-laws. A by-law cannot be inconsistent with the legislation, discriminatory or unreasonable when the interests of owners and occupiers and the use of common property are considered. A recorded by-law generally continues to apply unless and until an adjudicator decides it is invalid.
A by-law can affect your renovation, but it cannot impose any condition the body corporate chooses. By-laws can specify colours, materials or other requirements for external changes, provided the requirements comply with the legislation.
Check the general by-laws and any exclusive-use by-law that applies to the area. The wording of the documents is important, particularly where the renovation involves an external wall, balcony, courtyard, car space or other area connected to your lot.
Who approves an improvement and what process applies?
The approval process depends on what is being changed, whether the change is an improvement to common property and which regulation module applies to your scheme.
For a community titles scheme under the Standard Module, an owner can ask the body corporate to authorise an improvement to common property for the benefit of the owner’s lot. An ordinary resolution at a general meeting is generally required, unless the work is a minor improvement and the required conditions are met.
Under that section, a minor improvement has an installed value of $3,000 or less. The improvement must not detract from the appearance of any lot or common property. The body corporate must also be satisfied that using or enjoying it is not likely to promote a breach of the owner’s duties as an occupier, such as by causing a nuisance.
A renovation costing less than $3,000 cannot automatically be approved by the committee. The work must first be an improvement to common property, the applicable regulation module must be confirmed, and the conditions in the relevant provision must be considered.
If those conditions are not met, the improvement may need approval by ordinary resolution at a general meeting. The approval may include conditions about materials, timing, access, noise, protection of common property or future maintenance.
The process can be different under another regulation module. For example, the government guidance identifies different approval arrangements for commercial and specified two-lot schemes. Confirm the applicable module before relying on the $3,000 threshold or the Standard Module approval pathway.
A practical approval request should include enough information for the body corporate to make an informed decision, such as:
- a description of the proposed work
- plans, drawings or photographs
- the location of the work
- the materials, colours and finishes
- the contractor’s details
- the estimated cost
- how pipes, wiring and other infrastructure will be treated
- the expected effect on common property and neighbouring lots
- proposed timing and access arrangements
- who will repair or maintain the improvement after completion.
Do not begin work while an approval request is being considered. Keep the written approval and any conditions with your renovation records.
What rules apply to exclusive-use areas?
An exclusive-use area remains common property or a body corporate asset. An exclusive-use by-law gives the owner of a particular lot exclusive use or other special rights over it. The area may be a courtyard, balcony, car space or another part of the common property.
The wording of the exclusive-use by-law is central. It may authorise the owner who benefits from the by-law to make stated improvements, such as installing fixtures or making other changes to the area.
If the exclusive-use by-law does not authorise the proposed improvement, the owner must obtain body corporate approval. Under the Standard Module, improvements over $3,000 must be approved by ordinary resolution at a general meeting. The committee can approve an improvement to an exclusive-use area if the cost is $3,000 or less, subject to the applicable requirements and the wording of the by-law.
Read both sets of by-laws before applying for approval. If the exclusive-use by-law is silent about improvements, do not assume you can proceed without the body corporate’s approval.
The owner with exclusive use will commonly be responsible for maintaining the area and paying its operating costs, unless the by-law says otherwise. Under the Standard Module, the by-law can also impose conditions such as payments to the body corporate. There are specific exceptions for some structural elements and utility infrastructure.
Who maintains an approved improvement after the work is finished?
Approval does not necessarily transfer responsibility for the improvement to the body corporate. An owner who receives approval under the Standard Module must comply with the approval conditions and maintain the improvement in good condition unless the body corporate excuses them from that responsibility.
Responsibility can also depend on whether the item is part of the lot, common property or utility infrastructure. Under the Standard Module, the body corporate has maintenance obligations for common property. An owner must maintain their lot and certain utility infrastructure that services only their lot.
If an approved improvement increases the body corporate’s insurance premium, the owner may also have to pay the additional amount. The owner must give the body corporate details of the nature and value of relevant improvements as soon as practicable after they are substantially completed.
Before work begins, confirm:
- who will maintain the improvement
- whether the body corporate needs details of the completed work
- whether the work affects insurance
- whether the approval includes conditions about future repairs
- what happens if the lot is sold.
Renovations in a Queensland community titles scheme can involve different plans, boundaries, by-laws and regulation modules. Check those documents first, obtain the correct approval and confirm ongoing maintenance responsibility before work starts.
If you would like help reviewing the process for your scheme, contact StrataCare at reception@stratacare.com.au.
