If you live in a unit or a town house then no doubt you’re familiar with the rules of your body corporate.
Individual body corporates can set rules guided by the body corporate legislation in their respective state, but enforcing them is a different story.
Queensland is the latest state to consider changing body corporate legislation and it could affect you if you live in a unit or town house complex.
Under the proposed changes, body corporates would be given more to power enforce by-laws over issues such as pets, smoking, towing cars and debts.
So, what do the changes mean for you?
Well, it means your body corporate will be able to actually enforce rules with the support of voting tenants/owners.
For example, under the current rules in Queensland, body corporates can only restrict the keeping of pets – not prohibit them.
But under the proposed changes, the body corporate would be able to bring in a no-pets by-law provided that every single eligible tenant/owner agreed to the change.
If the by-law was applied, it would not be applied retrospectively – so it wouldn’t impact an existing pet you own but it could make it more challenging if you move into another facility.
But it’s not just pets.
Under the current rules in Queensland, body corporates can’t actually prohibit anything – including smoking.
That means a body corporate can’t stop you from smoking in your unit if you own it (although if you rent, you generally won’t be allowed to).
A body corporate also can’t stop your neighbour from smoking on a balcony or veranda, even if the smoke is drifting into your home.
But that could be about to change.
The proposed changes mean new unit developments can now have no smoking by-laws, while the unit complex you live in could introduce a no smoking by-law if all the eligible voting tenants/owners agree.
Another proposed change would give body corporates the ability to report suspected over-crowding to local councils or fire authorities.
One of the biggest proposed changes, if accepted by the Queensland Government, would bring the state in line with other states such as New South Wales and Northern Territory.
The change focuses on the termination of strata schemes, or put simply, the ability of a body corporate to make a decision about selling or redeveloping a unit or town house complex.
Under the current rules, 100% of eligible voting owners/tenants in a body corporate need to vote in favour of terminating the strata scheme.
But under the proposal, that number would be dropped to 75%, making it easier for the owners of a unit complex to make a decision to sell up or redevelop as group.
However, it means that even if you oppose to the sale, your home could still be sold anyway.
But it wouldn’t be a cut and dry process, the process of terminating the strata scheme could take months or even years, with planning, evidence, cooling off periods and the possibility of appeals making it a longer process.
It’s a proposed change that the Property Council of Queensland called for last year, arguing that termination of strata scheme rules could be brought into line with New South Wales.
Supporters of the changes argue that it would allow ageing and deteriorating unit or town house blocks to be redeveloped, especially if they’re sitting on valuable or sought after land.
You might be wondering what has brought about the proposed changes?
Well, the Queensland Government asked the Queensland University of Technology’s Commercial and Property Law Research Centre to come up with some proposals for changing the body corporate legislation.
The resulting Government Property Law Review report has attracted wide ranging interest from tenants, body corporates, property developers and other special interest groups.
According to the report, the recommendations are designed to “improve the ability of the body corporate to enforce decisions that are supported by a large majority of the members of the body corporate”, which includes prohibiting “particular types of behaviour”.
“As the number of people living in community titles schemes increases, the need for the types of reforms recommended in this paper will continue to become apparent,” the report states.
“The recommendations are designed to give the body corporate certainty that it will be able to recover unpaid contributions, penalty interest and recovery costs from defaulting lot owners even if the lot owner is located overseas.”
Meanwhile, the Queensland Government has opened QUT’s recommendations to public consultation.
From now until May 5, you will have the chance to have your say on the proposed changes.
Attorney-General and Minister for Justice Yvette D’Ath said the proposed changes would improve the ability of a body corporate to make and enforce by-laws dealing with vehicle towing, pets and second-hand cigarette smoke drift between units.
“Some stakeholders have expressed concern that the current thresholds and processes for terminating community titles schemes are too onerous,” she said.
“QUT have provided recommendations on this issue. Before considering them further, the government is seeking the community’s views.”
Starts at 60 approached the State Government for further commentary on the proposed changes, but the Department of Justice declined to comment on the recommendations until the public consultation period was completed.
You can read the full QUT report here.