Body corporates who ban Airbnb and other short-term lets within their complexes and then encourage owner-occupiers to spy on suspected short-term properties are acting unlawfully, with lawyers raising privacy and harassment concerns.
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Tasmanian Strata Title legislation allows body corporates to ban short-term letting within strata complexes to a minimum of 30 days.
One Tasmanian body corporate who banned short term letting attempted to enforce this ban by issuing letters to its members, encouraging them to collect evidence of short-term letting in the form of photos or videos.
Australian Lawyers Alliance lawyer Greg Barns said this type of activity could lead to the harassment of other innocent occupiers and neighbours, which in turn could give rise to legal action at common law.
"In addition, snooping around taking photos and surveilling premises is actually unlawful, there is no provision for this in legislation," he said.
Stratatas general manager Mark Waiss said it would never encourage body corporates to enforce short term bans in such a way.
"There is a right way and a wrong way of doing things... why would you want to create angst between your lot owners," Mr Waiss said.
He suggested that body corporates considering such bans should do so over a length of time, where the intention to ban is discussed and minuted in an annual general meeting, and then minimal letting terms implemented at the next meeting.
"This gives owners the opportunity to pre-plan, to stop taking short-term bookings and start looking at alternatives," he said.
Tasmania currently has 9651 registered strata plans, but the Land Titles Act does not keep records of any registered individual by-laws, including short-term letting by-laws.
In the past 12 months, four applications for relief regarding short-term letting have been made to the recorder of titles, and none of these have been appealed to the Resource Management and Planning Appeal Tribunal.
Mr Waiss said any short-term letting ban must be legitimate, where a body corporate has passed a resolution to apply a minimal letting term with a more than 50 per cent majority at its annual general meeting attended by more than 50 per cent of members.
Any resolution that is not registered with the Land Titles Office within three months of the resolution passing is void.
