What can an owner do if the committee fails to plan for ongoing maintenance?

By admin,

In our Queensland body corporate of 23 units, the committee has not prepared a maintenance plan for more than four years and only arranges servicing or repairs when something breaks. Can I put a motion to an EGM requesting the committee to develop a maintenance plan, including regular servicing and common area repairs, and to distribute it to all owners quarterly? Or would this be considered directing the committee to do what they should already be doing?

Can a strata company approve a motion to provide an exemption to a by-law without changing the by-law?

By admin,

Our by-law identifies jarrah as the required building material. A request has been made for an exemption to jarrah, which is no longer readily available. Can a strata company approve a motion to provide an exemption to a by-law without changing the by-law?

What process should the committee follow when responding to an application for conciliation?

By admin,

We received two similar questions that have been combined into this one article.

Question 1:

At a recent BCC meeting the committee by a vote of 4 for and 1 against approved an application for installation of pavers and additional stormwater drainage to drain into the original stormwater drainage.

If an AGM is delayed, what happens to previously submitted motions, and can new motions still be lodged?

By admin,

On 14 April 2025, the strata manager called for owners to submit motions to their office by 31 May 2025 for the forthcoming AGM. They anticipated holding the AGM in August 2025.

After the owners corporation committee met on 11 June 2025, they decided to delay the AGM until October 2025. They made this decision because a VCAT hearing for a dispute involving the committee is scheduled over three days in mid August.

Since last year’s AGM took place in July, an October AGM still meets the required timeframe.

My questions are:

An owner made substantial unapproved changes before putting their Class B townhouse up for sale — what do we do?

By admin,

A townhouse in our Class B strata scheme is up for auction. Through the selling process, neighbours have discovered that the owner has made unapproved changes to the property, e.g. replaced a square window with a rectangular window, replaced a sliding door with a standard door and removed a pergola. Vegetation had obscured these changes, which we observed during an open-house inspection. We've notified the executive committee, but it is slow to act, and the strata manager is not always reliable.

+ Guide to Unit Titles Legislation Amendment Act 2020

By admin,

Can you please provide any guidance on whether there are specific guidelines for the preparation of maintenance plans and the undertaking of safety audits by strata managers?

Furthermore, is it necessary to engage professionals to undertake the work and preparation of the assessments? This matter relates to a small unit complex of 28 units, all at ground level.

COO meeting minutes omit dates and years — how can we determine the age and legitimacy of the recorded decisions?

By admin,

For several years, our council of owners conducted their meetings without a strata manager, and the chairperson took the minutes, which are very poorly written and difficult to understand, missing date details and the year the meeting took place. Owners have voiced concerns to the council of owners, particularly the chairperson. When we review the minutes, we cannot determine which year the meetings took place. The council of owners approved these minutes as a true record.

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