Question: My neighbour is in contravention of a bylaw by installing a clothesline. This affects my view. The BC has offered to extend the fence to solve the problem. Can the BC use their funds to pay for this?
I live in a body corporate. My neighbour has installed a clothesline that is visible from outside the lot and is in contravention of our by-law as set out in the CMS. The body corporate issued BCCM forms 11 & 10. The owner has not responded and the matter has been taken to the BCCM conciliator, and now the BCCM Adjudicator.
The Body Corporate has issued an agreement to be signed by the applicant and the affected party offering for the Body Corporate to pay for a dividing fence height extension to partially hide the clothesline from view.
Does the Body Corporate Committee have the authority to use Body Corporate money to rectify a contravention of the by-law or should this be the responsibility of the offending owner? The cost of the fence extension is $1500.
Answer: The body corporate only has the power to expend its funds for purposes that are permitted under the legislation.
The body corporate only has the power to expend its funds for purposes that are permitted under the legislation.
The adjudicator in Orchid Park [2013] QBCCMCmr 40 relevantly provided:
The body corporate has no authority to make improvements to any owner’s lot even if the majority view it as a good idea. If this is what Motion 10 proposed, then it was fatally flawed.
Accordingly, if the fence that is being extended is the responsibility of the adjoining owners, the body corporate is not permitted to expend its funds for that purpose.
However, if the fence is common property, it can authorise the fence works.
This post appears in Strata News #608.
Todd Garsden
Mahoneys
E: tgarsden@mahoneys.com.au
P: 07 3007 3753
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