Question: Our body corporate has racked up unauthorised legal costs. Owners can’t vote because they’ve refused to pay. What options do we have?
We have four owners, one treasurer and one secretary. Special levies for a legal matter far exceeded our lawyers’ original estimate, and further legal work had been carried out without authorisation. We sent a formal letter requesting copies of the invoices, but none were provided, and the timeline has expired.
Another owner and I refused to pay the unauthorised amounts, citing lack of authority and an exceeded breif. The treasurer has since advised that this means we cannot vote.
- Do we need to approach the lawyers directly for copies of the invoices, and will this incur additional costs?
- What options do we have regarding exceeding authority? Would a vote of no confidence at an EGM be appropriate?
- The other owner and I together hold the majority of the poll vote. I have proposed moving to professional body corporate management, but have had no response. The treasurer lives off-site. Where do we go from here?
Answer: Being prevented from voting complicates your options, but there are still steps you can take.
We couldn’t comment on whether an approach to the lawyer is appropriate. You might like to make enquiries of the Queensland Law Society in the first instance to see what you might be entitled to request, as an owner in this situation.
Beyond that, the issue is now whether you are considered financial and whether you do indeed owe a body corporate debt. It’s something that has been discussed, often, by adjudicators. Determining what is or isn’t a body corporate debt is not always straightforward. Complicating matters is that if there is a dispute about a debt, then typically that matter cannot be determined by the Commissioner’s Office.
You mention a vote of no confidence. There’s no such thing as that under strata legislation. You might be referring to the possibility of removing a committee member or members from their role. That requires an ordinary resolution at a general meeting, which, it seems, will be unhelpful to you, as you will be prevented from voting at such a forum anyway.
Regarding body corporate management, you can obtain quotes from a body corporate management firm and have them considered at a general meeting. Again, though, see our comments above about voting at a general meeting.
It’s not clear whether a formal decision has been taken on your financial status, or whether it is simply a piece of advice from the treasurer. If it’s the latter, we’d suggest initiating a further conversation once you’ve spoken to the agencies noted above to try to clarify. If it’s the former, that is, a meeting was held, and your financial status was declared at the start, then you may need to pursue formal dispute resolution proceedings.
You could pay the disputed amount to improve your financial position, then dispute it thereafter. That’s risky, though: once you pay money, there’s no guarantee you’ll get it back, even if it seems clear you should. You can also opt to seek your own legal advice in this matter.
It seems your community titles scheme is experiencing some issues at present. Our experience tells us that the smaller the scheme, the more problematic things can become. Perhaps once you get through this specific set of circumstances, and assuming tensions remain, a form of mediation or alternative dispute resolution might be useful moving forward. You’re going to need to deal with each other again, so it might be good to try to work out some consensus, no matter how uneasy it is.
This is general information only and not legal advice.This post appears in the July 2026 edition of The QLD Strata Magazine.
Chris Irons Strata Solve E: chris@stratasolve.com.au P: 0419 805 898
