This article discusses whether a body corporate can lawfully remove and dispose of belongings and the rights of tenants when body corporate removed tenant property without notice or compensation.
Question: Without any notice, the Body Corporate used bolt cutters to remove bikes etc we had stored under the building. Can we be compensated for these items?
I had some items (bikes etc) chained up under the building where I rent a unit. The Body Corporate used bolt cutters to remove our items without any notice. They claim the items were taken to the dump.
What rights do we have as tenants? Are we within our rights to be compensated for our forcibly removed or stolen equipment?
Answer: If items are left on common property in contravention of the Scheme’s by-laws, there is a process to follow.
The correct process for the Body Corporate to follow, if items are being left on common property in contravention of the Scheme’s by-laws, is for the Body Corporate to:
- issue a by-law contravention notice to the relevant occupier requesting that they remove the item from the common property;
- if the item is not removed from the common property by the occupier, to file a conciliation application with the Commissioner’s Office regarding the contravention; and
- if the matter is not resolved at conciliation, file an adjudication application with the Commissioner’s Office seeking orders that the item be removed from the common property.
While the Commissioner’s Office has exclusive jurisdiction regarding disputes between a Body Corporate and an occupier, it arguably does not have the power to order the Body Corporate to compensate you for the cost of the lost equipment. Accordingly, any legal action in that regard may need to be pursued separately through QCAT or court (depending on the amount sought).
This post appears in Strata News #470.
Jessica Stanley Mathews Hunt Legal E: jessica.stanley@mathewshuntlegal.com.au P: 07 5555 8000