Question: Can I bring along a friend or fellow lot owners to help me inspect body corporate records? Is there a time limit?
I propose to inspect certain body corporate records and pay the prescribed inspection fee. The body corporate records are voluminous and I expect that inspection will take more than one day.
Is there anything preventing me from having a friend or fellow owners assist me?
Other than conducting the inspection during business hours, is there any limit on the length of time which could be imposed to conduct the inspection?
Answer: Your right to inspect records is based upon you being what is called an ‘interested person’.
Your right to inspect records is based upon you being what is called an ‘interested person’. Refer to section 205 of the BCCM Act for further details. In short, an interested person can be a lot owner, mortgagee, the buyer of a lot and it can also be another person who satisfies the body corporate of a proper interest in the information sought (which might usually capture a tenant, for example), or the agent of any of these.
A friend of yours who isn’t an owner may struggle to meet the above definition and I think you’d be hard pressed to argue how someone who has nothing to do with your body corporate has any proper interest. That said, a fellow owner would and feasibly you could bring them to assist you. You’d want to be sure you notified the body corporate of this, as a courtesy if nothing else. In the instance where you’d want to bring someone who wasn’t an interested person, you can always ask, but don’t be surprised if you get a refusal.
There is no time limit on inspection.
Let me ask you: are you sure there is nothing you can do beforehand to narrow down the focus of your inspection? That will save you time and also ultimately save you some money. If you are proposing to inspect at the body corporate manager’s offices, then be aware the body corporate manager may have as part of their agreement certain disbursements for which the body corporate would be liable for the time the body corporate management firm spends attending to your inspection. You’d ultimately be meeting some of those costs through your levies.
Chris Irons Strata Solve E: chris@stratasolve.com.au P: 0419 805 898