Question: Who is responsible for keeping the trees trimmed inside the fence line of the ground unit? The lot owner or the body corporate?
Our complex is fenced. We have 1 ground unit and the fence line also surrounds this unit but is separated from the other units by another small fence. Inside the fence line of the ground unit are trees and shrubs. Who is responsible for keeping the trees trimmed inside the fence line of the ground unit? Is it the lot owner or the body corporate?
Answer: There could be a number of factors determining responsibility
There could be a number of factors determining responsibility and it’s not possible to say definitely from the information provided. You would need to consider the building plan format, the CMS and any presiding by-laws. You may need to refer to: Neighbourhood Disputes Dividing Fences and Trees Act 2011
The best place to start is with your body corporate manager. They should be able to provide the required documents and help determine responsibility on that basis.
For further information the Queensland government has a good guide for how to resolve tree and fence issues: QLD Government – What to do if a neighbour’s tree is affecting you
This post appears in Strata News #488.
William Marquand
Tower Body Corporate
E: willmarquand@towerbodycorporate.com.au
P: 07 5609 4924
I live in a townhouse in a complex and the front garden on a photo of the qld registered lot plan is not marked as private property. My courtyard is marked private property and I maintain this. Does this mean the caretaker is to maintain the front garden? The caretaker used to tend to the front garden but they have regularly skipped it and now I have the on-site manager advising that it is mine to maintain according to by-laws. This tells me that the registered lot plan and by-laws are contradicting. What are my next steps? We have regular emails trailing about this issue and I continuously remind them that it’s not private property. The front garden is now overgrown.