We are the caretakers and managers of a property in Port Douglas. We also own 2 lots in the 35 unit complex.
All parties are currently discussing upgrading the WiFi infrastructure in the building.
Whose cost would this be to cover? Is cabling and fibre the owners or managers cost? I presume hardware/software remains owned by the management?
An owner notified the committee they plan to renovate their kitchen, bathroom and laundry. These renovations include replacing the cabinets attached to boundary walls. The total cost of these works is estimated to be >$3,000.
Our building is under the Building Format Plan(BFP); no specific by-laws cover renovations.
Our body corporate manager advised that given the works are contained within the lot, approval for the works is not required. These are not improvements to common property.
Our body corporate, for maintenance purposes, wants owners to repainted the timber trims and roofs of their townhouses in a new colour scheme. No new colours have been decided on yet. The complex was built in brick Federation style and has red, green and cream-coloured paint with some ochre-coloured timber. I object to the changes the body corporate want us to make as I feel it will detract from the original intention of the building style. Is it lawful for the body corporate to make owners change the colours of the outside and roofs of their houses?
The body corporate decided to improve our swimming pool. The committee's spending limit was increased to $99,000 to complete the work.
The committee spent $205,000 without consultation with owners. Only half the work has been carried out. Owners won't agree to the additional funds required to finish the pool. The pool area looks like a building site.
Does our body corporate manager share any responsibility for not managing the project's budget?
Our committee recently submitted a DA to Brisbane City Council for a material change to a common area rooftop. The DA was submitted without owners' knowledge or written consent. The chair and secretary signed the form that certified they'd lodged the DA with "body corporate consent for making a development application under the Planning Act 20l6".
I've viewed Frank Higginson's maintenance vs improvements webinar, and I believe the rooftop refurbishment is an improvement.