Queensland smokers faced a major blow on Wednesday, after a housing law reform gave body corporates the power to ban smoking on balconies.
Announced in November, the sweeping reforms sought to empower body corporates, while giving more people the chance to own pets.
From Wednesday, body corporates will have a wider scope in the by-laws they can create for residential areas, which will allow them to put blanket bans on smoking in common or outdoor areas if there is a reasonable prospect of other tenants being subjected to second-hand smoke.
“The Palaszczuk (now Miles) government is committed to making sure Queenslanders have access to safe and secure housing,” Queensland Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath said last year.
“The health of unit residents will be better protected from second-hand smoke and we have made it easier to keep a much-loved pet while living in an apartment.”
Conversely, body corporates are far more restricted in legislating by-laws blocking pet adoption. Blanket bans will be rejected outright, with the tenant organisations now obligated to prove “an unacceptable risk to the health and safety” posed by pets before a by-law can be instituted.
They will also have more authority to tow vehicles from common property.
The Miles government has targeted its housing law in the lead-up to the October state election amid a statewide housing crisis.
In February, expanded rental laws forbade rent bidding, introduced portable bonds and strengthened renter rights.
Beyond the changes to body corporates, the November legislation improved the contractual rights of land buyers by scrapping the state’s controversial ‘sunset clauses’ whereby land sales could be reneged upon if a deal was not settled within a proposed time frame.
From Wednesday, sunset clauses will require buyer consent and a Supreme Court order or a justification in existing regulation.
“With rising property prices, it was worrying to hear reports of Queenslanders left out of pocket and without the land they wanted to purchase because of developers invoking a sunset clause,” Ms D’Ath said.
“The new limitations on the use of these clauses will give certainty to Queenslanders when purchasing land under an ‘off the plan’ contract.”