strata & BODY CORPORATE NEWS
Can a Body Corporate deduct money from a Caretakers remuneration
CAN A BODY CORPORATE DEDUCT MONEY FROM A CARETAKER'S REMUNERATION? It depends on the terms of the caretaking agreement. Caretaking Agreement Some caretaking agreements allow the body corporate to recover the costs of rectifying a default of the...
Two Common Misconceptions about Withholding Access to Records
TWO COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT WITHHOLDING ACCESS TO RECORDS Take the following real-life example (and assume that the person satisfies all eligibility requirements): • An ‘interested person’ or committee member starts, or threatens to start, a...
Three Things To Do in Response to a Vague Record Copy Request
THREE THINGS TO DO IN RESPONSE TO A VAGUE RECORD COPY REQUEST Here are two-real life examples: “I request copies of all correspondence from any unit owner to the body corporate requesting for the program of works relating to the water penetration...
Internal Emails Between Committee Members – Public or Private?
INTERNAL EMAILS BETWEEN COMMITTEE MEMBERS – PUBLIC OR PRIVATE? We are often asked, do emails between committee members form part of the records of a body corporate? The answer is…it depends (so you need to read on). Internal communications This is...
Do Statutory Easements Allow Owners to Disregard the By-laws
DO STATUTORY EASEMENTS ALLOW OWNERS TO DISREGARD THE BY-LAWS? A 29-month dispute about the location of an owner’s air conditioning unit has been decided by the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal, with the body corporate coming out on top....
Can a Body Corporate Withhold An Owner’s Access to a Lawyer’s Written Advice?
CAN A BODY CORPORATE WITHHOLD AN OWNER’S ACCESS TO A LAWYER’S WRITTEN ADVICE? Let’s take look at this scenario: A body corporate believes that an owner is in breach of the scheme by-laws or that a caretaker is in breach of the management...
Terminated Caretaking Agreements – is it the Courts Problem
TERMINATED CARETAKING AGREEMENTS - IS IT THE COURTS PROBLEM? We all know that disputes about terminated caretaking and letting agreements are heard by QCAT. However the Supreme Court of Queensland has recently considered whether the Courts...
Resolutions Without Dissent
THE POWER OF ONE The Queensland strata legislation, like other States’ legislation, includes varying motion types which necessitate different levels of voting support in order to become resolutions. Each State has unique categories of...
When Should A Body Corporate Allow A Discount for an Overdue Payment?
WHEN SHOULD A BODY CORPORATE ALLOW A DISCOUNT FOR AN OVERDUE PAYMENT? The legislation has created a significant incentive for owners to pay their contributions by allowing a body corporate to fix a discount of up to 20% to be given to owners...
What is Gallery Vie
WHAT IS GALLERY VIE? What is Gallery Vie, and why is the caretaker wanting to vary the caretaking agreement? Gallery Vie is the name of a strata building which was involved in a 2015 Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT)...