Question: If a renter breaches a by-law, our body corporate committee contacts the letting agent to advise them of the breach. Is it acceptable for the committee to also contact the owner to advise them of the tenant’s breach of the by-laws?
Answer: Enforcing by-laws against someone other than who you believe committed the contravention, will see the enforcement fail.
Respectfully, I don’t think you have got this process quite right.
When you allege a by-law has been contravened – and it is an allegation only at this stage – you also need to nominate the person you believe is committing the contravention.
That person is not the property manager or the owner. It is the tenant (or, ‘occupier’, as they are termed under Queensland strata legislation). In other words, enforcing by-laws against someone other than who you believe committed the contravention, will see the enforcement fail. Put another way: the body corporate ought to be enforcing the by-law directly against the occupier. The relationship is directly between the body corporate and the occupier in this instance, in other words.
There is absolutely benefit in ensuring both the property manager and owner are aware of the situation. Depending upon what by-law is at issue, those two parties may be motivated to take their own action against the occupier. To clarify though, by-law enforcement against an occupier is not dependent on those two parties. A reminder also that the body corporate ought to be informed of details of leases of more than 6 months, which includes details about the property manager, and that there is a monetary penalty for non-compliance with this requirement.
As always, it is a good idea to attempt to resolve this situation without having to resort to by-law enforcement. The by-law enforcement process is highly-prescriptive and if all steps are not followed, the process will fail. Moreover, it will take a long time – not to mention money and effort – to formally enforce by-laws.
This is general information only and not legal advice.
This post appears in Strata News #658.
Chris Irons
Strata Solve
E: chris@stratasolve.com.au
P: 0419 805 898
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