This article discusses abandoned vehicle by-laws in QLD, focusing on whether caretakers must share former tenant details for enforcing towing rules.
Question: Can a building caretaker legally withhold contact information for a former tenant, especially when it’s necessary to enforce body corporate bylaws regarding abandoned vehicles?
The building caretaker refuses to provide the phone number and email address of a previous tenant who left their car on the body corporate premises. The bylaws clearly state that the car can be towed. The committee wants to contact the car owner to allow them to remove the vehicle before it’s towed. Can the building caretaker refuse to provide the information?
Answer: How did the caretaker come into the knowledge of the contact details?
I think it starts with how the caretaker came into the knowledge of the contact details. If it was acting as an agent for the owner with respect to the letting of the property, it probably is private information. If this was the case, the committee should ask the owner to direct the caretaker (as an agent) to provide it.
If the caretaker did not manage the lot, it is more likely the information came into the caretaker’s possession as caretaker for the body corporate, and it is more likely to be capable of being handed over. Still, it would depend on the factual background. A visit to the local police station to ask for the information might also assist.
This post appears in December 2024 edition of The QLD Strata Magazine.
Frank Higginson Redchip Strata Law E: FrankH@redchip.com.au P: 07 3193 0500