As one Queensland Body Corporate recently experienced, the term of a contract can be highly significant when considering a motion for a contractor engagement. The Queensland BCCM Commissioner passed down a decision which highlights the necessity for owners to be wary and knowledgeable about their rights. Northcliffe’s Body Corporate manager breached the requirements … in relation to […]
A Body Coporate that we manage in Taringa has recently raised the issue of smoking. This is a common issue which frequently arises in our managed schemes; what measure of control does the Body Corporate have over smoking? While by-laws regulating smoking in Queensland community titles schemes may be passed, they are unable to prohibit the activity […]
We just got a letter from Urban Utilities suggesting that a Body Corporate that we manage has a water leak. We take such a letter very seriously because we know that water leaks can be very expensive. However, in this case, the Body Corporate was a relatively new development. The automatic letter generated by the Urban Utilities computer […]
The developer (and building contractor) is the first person to contact when a defect is found in a new scheme. If they are unresponsive, then recourse to the Queensland Building and Construction Commission may be possible. The time to lodge a non-structural defect issue with the QBCC is quite short. Full details are on their website – www.qbcc.qld.gov.au. Once […]
One of our clients is having problems with a lot owner parking on the common property. Most by-laws permit such parking subject to permission (with a stated end date) being given by the Body Corporate upon the applicant writing to the Committee with a valid reason. The Committee are required to consider the application and make reasonable […]
We recently started a new Body Corporate scheme on behalf of a developer. At the first AGM, there were many new owners who had never been part of a Body Corporate in Queensland. There was much confusion about insurance, and specifically about the insurance that a lot owner might have and the insurance that a Body Corporate […]
We heard recently of a case where a Body Corporate on a Standard Format Plan was denied insurance. The buildings in the Body Corporate had common walls and so the insurance needed to cover the buildings as well as the common property. An insurance inspection report had uncovered deficiencies in many of the lots (related to the […]
We recently reviewed a Body Corporate administration renewal of a four lot scheme. The total remuneration of the Body Corporate Manager was in excess of $3,000 not including insurance commission. The BCM had engaged the Body Corporate with a Chapter 3 Part 5 engagement. That remuneration seems excessive! However, in partial defence of the BCM, the use of the […]
Worked through a stressful changeover of a small Body Corporate this month. The exiting Body Corporate Manager (Brisbane central city based) was refusing to handover the books until the lot owners made prepayments. Seems that there was enough money for the insurance that was falling due or for the final Manager fees but not both! My recommendation was […]
In Building Format Plans, the Body Corporate is responsible to insure the buildings on scheme land. Most insurance policies include cover for anything that is ‘plumbed in’ to the building. This would include stoves, airconditioning units, solar panels, rainwater tanks. Insurance coverage addresses events such as fire, theft, motor fusion, storm and consequential damage. It does not address […]