This article discusses how committees can respond to caretaker unauthorised common property changes.
Question: Our caretaker has been a thorn in the side of many committees over the years. He has been allowed to run his own race and make changes to common property without committee approval. How do we turn this into a better relationship?
Our caretaker has been a thorn in the side of many committees over the years. He has been allowed to run his own race and do as he pleases without any committee approval. He threatens committee members with lawsuits If they challenge him.
He has erected fences on the common property to segregate his space, has built a deck on his assumed property and has installed 5 air conditioning units sitting on common property.
He is aware he is required to ask committee approval for any changes but ignores this and goes ahead anyway.
We have been advised to never stop paying him and that serving him with breaches is simply a waste of time as the BCCM rarely rules against Management Rights holders vs Body Corporates. What can we do about this situation?
Answer: An avenue for action may be the unapproved alterations as the body corporate can and should act to rectify any issues that affect the common property.
As you indicate, most caretaker issues are extremely difficult to negotiate as their contracts give them a great deal of protection. It’s a long road following the steps of breaches and legal action, but that is the main path that is available and is still preferable to giving up. One way of looking at it is that instigating legal action is a prelude to an improved negotiating position with the caretaker. The ultimate end game of terminating a contract may not be achievable, but If you can make their life more difficult they may be prepared to raise the service level they offer to ease that pressure. If you have that in mind as your goal from the beginning it may be possible to create a win-win scenario for both parties as opposed to just viewing the legal process as a punitive action.
From the description, it seems like the caretaker is engaging in behaviour that is also causing an issue around their activity as a lot owner or on how the common property is being managed. That may provide a greater avenue for action as the body corporate can and should act to rectify any issues that affect the common property. Is it possible, for instance, to remove the fences or air conditioning units? We can’t tell from the information here, but a bit of careful strategising could give you some of the leverage you are looking for.
his post appears in the April 2022 edition of The QLD Strata Magazine.
William Marquand
Tower Body Corporate
E: willmarquand@towerbodycorporate.com.au
P: 07 5609 4924
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