Question: If a lot owner agrees to and receives a service, then subsequently fails to pay the body corporate for it, is this recoverable similar to an unpaid levy? Can the owner still vote?
Section 200 of Body Corporate and Community Management (Accommodation Module) Regulation 2020 permits a body corporate to supply, or engage another person to supply, certain services for the benefit of owners and occupiers of lots e.g. cleaning, painting, and mowing.
If a lot owner agrees to and receives a service, then subsequently fails to pay for it, is this just a simple debt, or is it recoverable as a body corporate debt similar to unpaid levies? Does the debt preclude the owner from voting etc., until paid?
Answer: A debt owed through a service agreement is treated slightly differently than an unpaid levy.
A debt owed through a service agreement is treated slightly differently than an unpaid levy. A service agreement debt does not attach to the lot in the same way as an unpaid levy, and the body corporate does not have the same rights to charge interest or reasonable recovery costs.
However, the service agreement debt is still a debt associated with the ownership of a lot, and so the owner (if the agreement was with the owner). Accordingly, the owner would be unable to vote at general meetings or nominate for the committee.
Todd Garsden
Mahoneys
E: tgarsden@mahoneys.com.au
P: 07 3007 3753
Leave a Reply