Question: A committee member shared an owner’s title search with our body corporate group. The information was shared to show that a married couple don’t both own an inherited property. Can they do this?
Answer: Maybe the focus should be resolving a dispute and what underpins it, rather than whether the circulation should have happened.
There is nothing prohibiting this under strata legislation. The type of information you describe is likely available as part of the records your body corporate keeps and thus, is available to be searched by a range of interested persons, including owners, tenants, prospective owners and tenants and search agents. Even if that wasn’t part of the records, it would be available through the Titles Office for payment of a fee and subject to whatever requirements that Office might impose.
Perhaps you are really asking not so much if they can do it, but should they do it? Good question. We are speculating here a bit: we suspect that the sending of the information was designed to prove a point or perhaps was sent as part of an ongoing dispute. Maybe sending the information either clarified something or made a situation more challenging. If so, the focus should be on resolving that dispute and what underpins it rather than on whether the circulation should have happened.
This is general information only and not legal advice.
Chris Irons Strata Solve E: chris@stratasolve.com.au P: 0419 805 898