This article discusses how Queensland body corporate committees must make decisions collectively and through proper meetings, addressing risks and remedies where a body corporate committee making decisions outside meetings in QLD affects owners’ rights.
Question: Our committee makes ad hoc committee decisions without meetings. How can we make sure the committee follows proper decision-making processes?
I am on the committee, but the other committee members make ad hoc decisions without holding formal meetings. They recently decided to restrict resident access to our bin room. There was no formal meeting, no agenda, and no minuted decision.
When questioned after resident complaints, they said it was for “safety”, even though some committee members still have access.
Is this usual committee decision-making? How can residents regain access to the bin room? Do we need to escalate this to the Commissioner? What can we do to ensure the committee makes decisions through proper meetings and follows due process in the future?
Answer: The committee has a group decision-making responsibility.
A committee should not be making arbitrary decisions, and nor should individuals on the committee make decisions on behalf of the committee – it’s a group decision-making responsibility.
Nor do committees have an automatic right to change access to common property, even if it is based on safety considerations. While it is true – and indeed, preferable – that a committee makes many day-to-day decisions, they are restricted in the types of decisions they can make. This is what is known (surprisingly enough) as a ‘restricted issue’. Section 52 of the Standard Module (equivalent provisions of others) provides for what are restricted issues. Section 52(1)(b), reproduced below, is likely most relevant for your situation:
changing rights, privileges or obligations of the owners of lots included in the community titles scheme
While we can’t comment on the specifics of your case or be definitive about what is/isn’t a restricted issue, we have seen several cases in which the changing or removing of access to common property has been found to be a restricted issue. So, in other words, if something is a restricted issue, it should be considered by all owners at a general meeting.
As for what to do, you should exhaust all options to resolve this with the committee. You could perhaps alert them to the legislative provision above. If all that fails, then yes, your next step is to make an application to the Commissioner’s Office to dispute their apparent ‘decision’. That’s the short-term issue. The long-term issue is that if this is how your committee is doing things and they are unwilling to change (and this is probably a good reminder to all that there are plenty of great resources out there to help and guide committees in doing their job appropriately), then you – and other owners – may want to consider replacing those committee members. The bottom line is that while this specific instance might not be die-in-a-ditch stuff, it does seem to point to a systemic problem with the committee decision-making, which could have significant implications for other issues in the future.
This is general information only and not legal advice.
Chris Irons
Strata Solve
E: chris@stratasolve.com.au
P: 0419 805 898
This post appears in Strata News #776.
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Read next:
- QLD: Ratifying unauthorised committee decisions
- QLD: Improving understanding of body corporate duties to reduce conflict
- QLD: Q&A Understanding lot owners’ rights to speak at committee meetings
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