Question: Due to safety concerns, I have requested trees on our site be removed or trimmed. We regularly experience high winds and are close to the coast. Is the body corporate in breach of their duty of care?
Due to safety concerns, I have requested trees on our site be removed or trimmed. If the trees fall, they would fall directly onto my first floor unit roof and balcony.
We are situated just 600 metres from the beach and regularly experience high winds and cyclones. The onsite manager and the previous Chairperson have indicated that the trees have been an ongoing concern, yet nothing is done.
Is the body corporate in breach of their duty of care as per Qld legislation?
Answer: The danger posed by a tree should really be assessed by an arborist. You could write to the committee to request this.
In terms of the legislation, the basic requirement in the standard and accommodation modules for maintaining the common property is stated as:
The body corporate must maintain common property in good condition, including, to the extent that common property is structural in nature, in a structurally sound condition.
Maintaining a safe site is part of keeping a property in good condition, and that includes ensuring that trees don’t pose a danger either from falling branches or falling down completely.
Assessing the danger posed by a tree should really be done by an arborist. If you have a number of trees at the site that may be of concern, it would seem to make sense to engage someone to do that.
As a start point, you could write to the committee to request this. If they don’t agree you could table a formal motion at either the next committee meeting or general meeting to have the matter voted on.
If you really think it is dangerous, you could make an application to the commissioner’s office to force the body corporate to carry the work out. You might need to get your own report done to facilitate this. If you felt the issue was serious enough, you might engage a strata solicitor to help your applications. If you have a report and there is a risk, you might also let the scheme’s insurer know.
In terms of whether the body corporate is in breach of its duty of care, it might depend on the level of risk and what activity is being taken to mitigate this. From the question, it seems like you only have the opinion of non-experts. The trees are listed as a ‘concern’, but that word can cover a wide range of possibilities. If there is an obvious, active risk that is not being resolved that could be really problematic? Council might help if you contacted them about an issue like that. Otherwise, it is hard to make a case for this kind of thing unless substantiated evidence of a risk is being ignored.
William Marquand
Tower Body Corporate
E: willmarquand@towerbodycorporate.com.au
P: 07 5609 4924
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