Queensland

Living in Strata has been written with reference to - The Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997, reprinted as in force on 1 July 2008 (Reprint 4C) The Standard Module of Regulations, reprinted as in force on 30 August 2008 (Reprint No.1)

Your body corporate is not the building nor the town house scheme in which your lot is situated. Neither is it a person, the committee or the resident manager. Stewart Silver King and Burns is not your body corporate, though we like to think we are an important part of how it can operate most effectively.

The four fundamental responsibilities of an owner may be categorised as follows. An owner must - Abide by the Body Corporate and Community Management Act, the regulation module and the by-laws. Ensure their details are on the body corporate roll. Maintain their lot and any exclusive use common property. Pay body corporate contributions.

All owners are given the opportunity to participate in making the most important decisions for their body corporate, at a properly convened general meeting.

The behaviour of owners and occupiers of community titles schemes is regulated by the general law. However, each community titles scheme has some specific regulations for behaviour.

The committee is the executive arm of the body corporate. The committee has the duty of putting into effect the lawful decisions of the body corporate (Body Corporate and Community Management Act Section 101). It is a group charged with decision-making power to deal with matters of lesser importance that confront a body corporate during the

The body corporate may make decisions at a general meeting, or through the committee at a committee meeting. A decision of the committee is a decision of the body corporate (Body Corporate and Community Management Act Section 100).

Like most other statutory entities, a body corporate has a mandatory system of financial management prescribed by the Body Corporate and Community Management Act (BCCMA) 1997. Additional Information can be found on the following topics for the financial management of a body corporate in the BCCM (Standard Module) Regulation 2008 - Chapter 7 (Parts 1 to 5) Financial Management - Section 150.

The body corporate manager is the name for the entity that provides administrative services for the body corporate (Body Corporate and Community Management Act Section 14). Examples of administrative services include issuing contribution notices, paying accounts, maintaining the list of owners in the scheme, etc.

The resident manager runs a business that is commonly known as "management rights".

Each body corporate must have an insurance policy. The Body Corporate and Community Management Act (QLD) 1997, The Strata Schemes Management Act 1996 in NSW and the Owners Corporations Act 2006 in Victoria stipulates the minimum type of cover required in these particular states.

Common property is the property within the scheme that is not within any owner’s lot.

A community titles scheme is a type of freehold land. An apartment is a freehold lot. In fact, a community titles scheme may only be created over freehold land (Land Title Act Section 115A). Each community titles scheme requires a name. A name may be reserved (Body Corporate and Community Management Act Section 23) for an initial period of two years with the Registrar of Titles and may be extended only once for an additional one year period. The Registrar may refuse to register the name if (Land Title Act Section 115E, 115F & 115G) –

Developers may use community title for traditional subdivisions, where previously standard titling arrangements were used in order to create communities. The use of community title allows a developer of a significantly sized flat land subdivision to put together a package of urban lifestyle attributes for residents in a suburban environment. Projects of this type offer a distinct market advantage.

The responsibility for maintaining a building, its common property and plant and equipment can be given to a number of different people or organisations such as Committees, resident managers or external facility managers.

A Body Corporate will often have a contract for the provision of caretaking and/or letting.

One of the innovations available under the Body Corporate and Community Management Act and the Land Title Act is the ability to create a pyramid of community titles schemes, known in both pieces of legislation as a layered arrangement of community titles schemes (See Body Corporate and Community Management Act Chapter 2, Part 26).

A Building Management Statement (BMS) is a document that contains details on how two or more owners exist utilising common areas and utilities, and therefore a BMS is similar to Principal Body Corporate (please see Layered Bodies Corporate section). It is not part of the Body Corporate Act, it is a registered document which is governed by the Land Title Act 1994.

When reading this website or when talking with people about body corporate matters it may be helpful to know some of the technical terms that are associated with running a good body corporate.