• Read more about Are house rules valid if they were not passed as registered rules?
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At our recent AGM, I objected to a resolution for new house rules that passed the previous year. I believe the house rules contain mistakes and some conflict with the model rules. I tabled a document explaining my concerns.

One issue involves a colour scheme change to the building facade. The committee chose the new colour scheme without consulting owners. My understanding is that a facade colour scheme change requires a special resolution, but it was treated as a house rule and passed as an ordinary resolution.

• Read more about Body corporate liability for shopping trolleys causing damage in car parks
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Residents in our apartment complex have been bringing shopping trolleys home from local supermarket. They use the shopping trolleys to transport shopping in the lift from their cars up to their apartments. They often leave empty trolleys in the car parking area. This could lead to accidental damage to other resident's cars.

Could the body corporate be held liable for this damage? Should the body corporate committee take action to make sure trolleys are either returned collected or at least make sure that trolleys are stored where they won't damage private property?

• Read more about Do owners have to provide access for car park cleaning in strata schemes?
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Our strata scheme arranged a car park sweep, but the strata council excluded some owners’ garages because they were lockable.

The strata council requested that owners with lockable garages leave their garage door open for several hours so it could be cleaned. We consider this a security risk. Owners were told that it would not be done next time unless garage doors were left open.

• Read more about Body Corporate Liability for Slip and Trip Hazards from Resident Activities on Common Property
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When residents wash their car in the car park, the area stays wet and they use their vacuum cleaner on the wet surfaces. Should the committee be managing these situations. I feel residents are left to their own devices.

We also have some residents who water plants and the footpaths stay wet. There is no approved voluntary work.

Who is responsible if any injury occurs on the common property due to these unsafe practices?

• Read more about Who is responsible for garage gate safety risks in apartment car parks
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My new apartment building has a sliding gate for entry and exit into the resident's car park. The gate slides open beside one of my car parks alongside my vehicle. From that parking space, I'm unable to see when a vehicle is entering or exiting the garage and, therefore, we do not know when the gate is about to open. This presents a risk when exiting the vehicle. A thin mesh wall may present a solution.

• Read more about Does a queensland body corporate need workers compensation insurance without employees?
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At a recent general meeting of our QLD body corporate, I queried an ongoing Workers Compensation insurance policy. Why do we have it and who is it for? We have no employees or volunteers. Our body corporate manager admitted they didn't know why we required the Workers Compensation insurance policy. Why is this required? Is it in case a contractor doesn't have insurance and we get sued?

• Read more about Why approved pots on common property can later be removed by the committee
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We live in a complex of 25 units/townhouses. There are pots and plants and other items in common areas across the site. We have been forced to remove a few pots and plants next to our entrance by the committee. Now the area is bare and unsightly.

We had a safety report undertaken for the area which showed no access or safety issues were caused by the plants and pots. There were no interferences with services.

• Read more about When is a body corporate considered a PCBU under the WHS Act
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Our body corporate engages a service provider who lives in his own lot of the complex to provide onsite caretaking and letting business and does not employ anyone else. Is a body corporate a PCBU under the WHS Act?

I have come across two different answers to this question that contradict each other. I read that a body corporate will be a PCBU if any of the lots or common property are used for non-residential purposes, including letting businesses conducted by owners under management rights business agreements.

• Read more about Tenant rights and body corporate duties for safety lighting on common property
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My daughter has rented in a small unit complex in Townsville. The security lighting in the common areas on the external stairways and car park areas is not working. The complex is very dark in these areas, with no natural, street, or security lighting. My daughter does not feel safe after dark, especially walking from the garage to the door of her unit.

• Read more about Dealing with unapproved maintenance on common property by a resident
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We have one resident in our scheme who continually undertakes unapproved maintenance on common property. They’ve exposed us to unacceptable risk by climbing onto the roof. We are under a building format plan, and our by-laws are schedule 4 by-laws. What by-laws (if any) is the resident breaching with these actions? If he is not breaching any by-law, what action can the body corporate or committee take?