In September of last year the Queensland government introduced a Bill to parliament to once again amend the Body Corporate and Community Management Act. Two of these amendments we believe are of particular relevance.
The Bill amends the disclosure requirements when selling a unit in a Community Title Scheme. In 2011 the Act was amended to require the inclusion of a Community Management Statement as part of the body corporate disclosure contained in a proposed contract. The 2011 amended act further required that the seller provide information disclosing the extent to which the annual contributions are based on the contributions schedule lot entitlements and interest schedule lot entitlements included in the scheme. This new Bill amends the legislation with the effect being that this disclosure is no longer required and neither is the inclusion of the Community Management Statement in a proposed contract.
The other important issue that the Bill addresses is Body Corporate Lot Entitlement adjustments. The 2011 amendments to the Act allowed anybody that had been affected by a change to their lot entitlements to force the body corporate to revert back to the original lot entitlements prior to the change. These amendments opened the floodgates and many people commenced proceedings to force the body corporate to revert back to the original lot entitlements. The Bill which has been introduced to parliament in September 2012 will undo the changes from the 2011 amendments. If owners have had an adjustment order contribution entitlement reversed they will be able to apply to have the previous entitlements reinstated. Contribution entitlements in a Community Title Scheme can once again be reviewed and adjusted to ensure they are equitable as opposed to being locked into the original entitlements at the time of development. If there are any incomplete applications before QCAT to reverse adjusted entitlements they were terminated immediately on the introduction of the Bill.
Interestingly, as of February 2013 the Bill has not yet passed.
Based on the Sunshine Coast Miller Sockhill Lawyers are able to assist with any issue relating to body corporate law.
