Question: As a tenant, can my daughter expect to feel safe on the common property of her apartment building? The body corporate is aware the lighting is not working but refuses to carry out repairs due to the cost.
My daughter has rented in a small unit complex in Townsville. The security lighting in the common areas on the external stairways and car park areas is not working. The complex is very dark in these areas, with no natural, street, or security lighting. My daughter does not feel safe after dark, especially walking from the garage to the door of her unit.
She has notified the real estate in writing. They have passed her concerns onto the body corporate. The body corporate has responded that they are aware the lighting is not working, and they have decided not to rectify it due to the expense.
Is the body corporate required to maintain/install working security lighting? If they choose not to, are they liable if my daughter sustains an injury (or worse) due to inadequate lighting?
Answer: Occupiers have direct rights with the body corporate.
Under Queensland body corporate legislation, a tenant is known as an ‘occupier’. Occupiers have direct rights with the body corporate. In other words, if the body corporate has a responsibility to maintain common property for the benefit of all residents – including occupiers – then the body corporate must meet those obligations, regardless of whether it appears too costly or they would prefer not to. It is not up to the real estate agent to initiate this. Your daughter can do that directly.
If the body corporate maintains its position and does not want to address the issue, then your daughter can pursue dispute resolution proceedings against the body corporate through the Commissioner’s Office. Your daughter may also have options to pursue this matter through the Residential Tenancies Authority. Recent tenancy reforms in Qld require minimum housing standards, and your daughter may have rights to pursue this issue as a result of those standards.
This is general information only and not legal advice.
This post appears in the July 2023 edition of The QLD Strata Magazine.
Chris Irons Strata Solve E: chris@stratasolve.com.au P: 0419 805 898