Woman ordered to repaint her roof after neighbours complain it’s the wrong red
A Queensland woman has been ordered to repaint her roof after neighbours in her townhouse complex took offence to the shade of red she chose.
Maria Gourley had the roof of her townhouse in Brisbane’s The Gap painted in 2023 at her own expense in “heritage red”.
When Maria refused to repaint the roof, the body corporate took the dispute to the Office of the Commissioner for Body Corporate and Community Management. 9News
But the Fernbrook body corporate argued the colour violates its bylaws and demanded she repaint it.
One of the residents labelled the roof “a jarring surprise”, writing “it disturbs the harmonious look of that section of the complex”.
“It’s now turned into this war and peace ... and I don’t think I’m totally at fault, I think it’s 50-50,” Gourley told 9News.
Gourley said she asked the body corporate what colour to use and they simply told her to choose something similar to the other roofs in the decades-old complex.
She chose “heritage red” from a colour chart but said she would have complied with the body corporate had they specified a colour.
Maria Gourley had the roof of her townhouse painted in 2023 at her own expense in “heritage red”. 9News
“How do I colour match?” Gourley said.
“The roofs are dirty, as you can see.
“A colour on a painting chart ... when you apply it to a big area like this, you know, it’s a different colour again.”
When Gourley refused to repaint the roof, the body corporate took the dispute to the Office of the Commissioner for Body Corporate and Community Management, which ruled the request was reasonable.
Gourley lodged an appeal of the decision in the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal, which was dismissed on Monday.
She has been given three months to repaint the roof in “Nutech coral”, a colour that has since been formalised in the bylaws by the body corporate committee.
She has been given three months to repaint the roof in “Nutech coral”, a colour that has since been formalised in the bylaws by the body corporate committee. 9News
“We’re now going into storm season, industry shut down for Christmas, and if we have a storm, the roofing guys priorities are the people in need of emergency help, so ... I’m just going through my options at the moment,” Gourley said.
The Fernbrook Body Corporate declined to comment.
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