Question: Why do we have to pay our body corporate a $200 admin fee for all applications and submissions?
As new body corporate owners, we are confused about how body corporate works. When asked about how we apply for a general lot alteration approval oor body corporate has stated that we need to lodge the application via their website and pay a $200 admin fee each time.
According to their website, this fee also applies to almost all other applications. Why can’t we find out who is on the committee of our 8 townhouse body corporate and simply send them the application instead?
Answer: It doesn’t seem unreasonable that they may charge for an application to be processed.
The body corporate will have engaged a managing agency to assist with the administration of the site. Presumably, the managing agency is acting within the boundaries of its agreement and owners will have been aware of the conditions of the company when appointing them as managers.
It doesn’t seem unreasonable that they may charge for an application to be processed. Handling such proposals is unlikely to be part of a standard service in the contract agreement and it will take the managing agency some time to process the application, receive committee votes or comments and provide you with a written response. The records of this and the final response will become part of the formal records of the body corporate and would be used by all parties in the event of a dispute. I can see how some owners may think this is not that important at the time they are making the application as they just want to get it done, but the clear documentation of applications is a key part of body corporate management and if it is done well contributes to the efficient running of the site.
It is also reasonable that such fees are passed on to individual owners. After all, you will be the person benefitting from the process of the application and other owners wouldn’t want to pay for this. Equally, you won’t be paying for other owners requests when they are looking to get a new pet, bathroom, by-law and so on.
In most cases, you should be able to access general information about your site without cost. Your managing agency may be happy to provide this – just contact your manager and ask – or you may be able to access the information via an online portal. You can send the committee an email via your manager and ask them to pass it on – they will. If you really need to, you could do an inspection of the books and records and gain access that way. If you try to circumvent the established procedures you may get a mixed response – committee members are volunteers who rely on body corporate managers to help run the scheme and that seems to be what is happening here.
This post appears in the October 2021 edition of The QLD Strata Magazine.
William Marquand Tower Body Corporate E: willmarquand@towerbodycorporate.com.au P: 07 5609 4924