This article discusses how Queensland bodies corporate can manage parking by-law breaches and that just because they can tow doesn’t mean they should.
Question: How can a body corporate enforce parking by-laws if towing companies refuse to tow vehicles due to outdated legislation?
Local towing companies have advised that, because there has been no update to their legislation, they cannot provide towing services to bodies corporate when residents park in breach of by-laws. This is frustrating, as bodies corporate are legally required to enforce parking compliance but lack the legislative tools to do so. Why doesn’t the government review related legislation to prevent gaps like this? What options are available to manage repeat offenders without issuing constant by-law breach notices?
Answer: Simply because a body corporate can tow doesn’t automatically mean it should tow.
So here’s a fun fact: before my life and career in strata, I spent many years drafting government policy and legislation, including instructing Parliamentary Counsel on the content of Bills and subordinate legislation.
From that experience, I would agree with your expectation that the government would, when it amends legislation or introduces new legislation, ensure that other legislation is reviewed to ensure consistency, or that other legislation is consequentially amended. There is typically extensive intra-government consultation to ensure this.
The flipside of this particular coin, though, is that sometimes, legislation is amended with little or no thought to its practical implementation or consequences, including impacts on other legislation. And that is where you have seemingly found yourself. The 2024 amendments to towing sounded like a godsend for many schemes dealing with parking issues. Really, though, all the amendments have done is clarify that a body corporate CAN tow – the consequences and practicalities of that were not included in the amendments.
Remember that simply because a body corporate CAN tow doesn’t automatically mean it SHOULD tow. There might be some communications and engagement – particularly if yours is a large scheme – that would be worthwhile, highlighting to all residents (including tenants, aka occupiers) the by-laws about parking you want them to comply with. It’s not a good idea to just assume residents already know, and there’s no harm in a reminder anyway.
Perhaps you don’t have to ‘breach’ every instance, as you say. If we cast our minds back to ancient Roman times, the term ‘decimate’ used to refer to the execution of 1 out of every 10 soldiers, to make an example of them and instil a culture of compliance. We definitely don’t think execution is the way to go, but perhaps making an example of 1 or 2 parking contraventions might send the message you want to the rest of the scheme.
This is general information only and not legal advice.
Chris Irons Strata Solve E: chris@stratasolve.com.au P: 0419 805 898
This post appears in Strata News #768.
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