The Proprietors 'Surf Regency' Buildings Units Plan 4246 v Coastalstyle Pty Ltd; Humphries & Anor v The Proprietors 'Surfers Palms North' Group Title Plan 1955

The High Court of Australia considered two applications for special leave to appeal, which were heard together due to overlapping issues. The first application, brought by The Proprietors 'Surf Regency' Buildings Units Plan 4246, concerned the power of a body corporate constituted under the *Building Units and Group Titles Act* (Qld) to grant exclusive rights to manage and let units in a development. The second application, brought by David John Humphries and another, concerned The Proprietors 'Surfers Palms North' Group Title Plan 1955.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether a body corporate, in the absence of a specific by-law authorising such an action, possessed the power to enter into an agreement that created the exclusive right for a letting agent to carry on the business of letting units within the development. This issue arose in the context of an assignment of letting and management rights in the 'Surf Regency' building.

The applicant's argument, as presented, focused on the nature of the agreement and its implications for the use of common property. The agreement in question, found at page 76 of the record, purported to grant exclusive rights to a letting agent. Crucially, clause 2A on page 77 of the record made provision for the exclusive use of common property by this agent for the purposes of their business, which was understood to include advertising and administration. The Court was asked to consider whether such a grant of exclusive rights over common property, without an express by-law, was within the powers of the body corporate.