Do short-term stays impact the insurance of a building under an owners corporation, stratum title, or company share structure? If Airbnb or similar short-term rentals are known to be happening, does the building manager or committee have a duty to inform the insurer?
Our body corporate needs to take out a large loan of around $500,000 to cover unexpected maintenance costs, with repayments to be made through a loan levy. The treasurer introduced the loan to the financial institution and intends to take a rolling commission from the loan over the 20-year term, regardless of whether they remain on the committee.
Under the standard module, is a committee allowed to delegate responsibilities to a caretaking service contractor, such as authorising them to seek legal advice, if that task isn’t specified in the caretaker’s agreement?
If such delegation is allowed, does it need to be approved by a formal committee resolution, and would that resolution continue to apply to future committees?
I live in a complex of eight units and want to install ceiling fans in my apartment. The electrician advised that I need to upgrade my switchboard to include a safety switch and single pole circuit breaker before he can install fans. Are electrical upgrades my responsibility as the lot owner, or are they covered by the body corporate?
I live in Brisbane and installed a fold-out clothesline on my level 4 balcony about five years ago. It’s colour-matched to the building and not visible from the street, obscured by trees and the façade. The clothesline only became an issue when it appeared in a photo on a real estate listing. At a recent committee meeting, the main concern the committee raised was that others might follow my example, even though many units already have portable clotheslines clearly visible from the street. The strata manager seemed unsure if anything could ultimately be done.
At a recent committee meeting, a unit owner who is also a committee member was asked to leave for 20 minutes while other members discussed a matter. When allowed back into the meeting, the committee did not explain the discussion's content and said the excluded member would find out from the meeting minutes. Is it permissible for a committee to exclude a member in this way and withhold information discussed during that time?
In July 2024, my strata manager approved a work order to replace the exhaust fans in my unit, advising that the fans were common property. A new strata manager has now contacted me to say this was an error and that, as the lot owner, the fans are my responsibility. They're asking me to reimburse the cost of the work.
I didn't see the quote or the cost, nor did I authorise the work. If I knew I was responsible, I would have used my own contractor. Do they have any grounds to recover the cost from me now?
At our recent AGM, all owners except us voted to approve a major renovation above our lot, allowing work to commence before the renovation by-law is registered. The strata manager said this was permitted because the building’s lawyer had prepared a deed poll authorising early commencement, though we later learned they had signed it after the meeting.
Our building has several elderly owners who don't use email or computers and can't scan documents. They receive their voting papers by post, but with ongoing mail delivery issues, they've asked to hand-deliver a hard copy instead. The secretary lives off-site, so owners can't hand-deliver the papers, and we hold all meetings electronically. Can these owners complete their papers and place them in the secretary's or body corporate mailbox? If the secretary can't collect them, can they authorise the chairperson to retrieve, scan, and forward them to the strata manager for inclusion?
My back external door has a cardboard centre. It has deteriorated in bad weather, and I believe it is a serious fire hazard and a security risk. The door could be easily broken into. I don’t feel safe in my own home.
The strata committee want to patch the door rather than replace it with something more suitable for an external door. Is this acceptable, or are they required to install a proper external door that meets fire and safety standards?