Question: A contractor maintains our body corporate’s common property lawns. One owner insists on maintaining the lawn outside their unit. What risk does this place on the body corporate?
We reside in a standard format plan body corporate that has lawned common property serviced by a body corporate-appointed lawn mowing contractor.
One lot owner has instructed the contractor to not maintain the lawn area in front of their unit. They mow/edge the common property lawn themself up to three times per week using a noisy mower, edger and blower.
The by-laws do not address this issue, and I’m concerned about the outcome if an accident occurred. Our building insurance does not appear to address this. Is this workplace health and safety issue? Should the body corporate insist the owner stop this practice?
Answer: The by-laws should be updated so the committee is empowered to take appropriate action to mitigate its risk.
In addition to building insurance, a body corporate is required to obtain a separate policy for public risk insurance over the common property.
Otherwise, if the by-laws do not provide a right for the committee to regulate this conduct, the by-laws should be updated so the committee is empowered to take appropriate action to mitigate its risk. This should extend to both the mowing over the common property and instructing contractors of the body corporate.
In the meantime, the committee may wish to seek to rely on Section 167 of the BCCMA which prevents owners and occupiers using the common property in a way that creates a hazard.
This post appears in the February 2025 edition of The QLD Strata Magazine.
Todd Garsden Mahoneys E: tgarsden@mahoneys.com.au P: 07 3007 3753