News
Straight from Hartley’s team, our partners and the Commissioner’s office.
7 Tips to Help You Save Money on Electricity During Summer
This month, we have partnered with LPE to share some helpful tips on how to...
Revisiting the Amendments
This month the Body Corporate Commissioner revisits a few of the key changes...
Who is Responsible for Fencing?
Do you know who is responsible for the fencing at your property? Is it the...
Who is Responsible for my Balcony, is it Common Property?
This month, we have partnered with Solutions in Engineering to answer one of...
Spontaneous Exploding Glass
This month we have partnered with Express Glass to explain the dangers of...
Getting To Know Your Community Management Statement
This month the Body Corporate Commissioner explains in detail, what a...
Improvement to Common Property
Can a lot owner make an improvement to common property that will only benefit...
Know Your Neighbours
This month, Draincare have outlined the benefits of knowing your neighbours...
Power to Enter a Lot
Can a lot owner refuse access to their lot to a contractor, engaged by the...
Building Format Plan Maintenance
The Body Corporate Commissioner defines the maintenance responsibilities for...
Standard Format Plan Maintenance
The Body Corporate Commissioner defines the maintenance responsibilities for...
Shared Solar For Apartments & Townhouses
This month we have partnered with LPE to help you better understand solar...
La Niña: Strata Risks and How to Minimise Them
It's no secret that storm season has begun, so this month we have partnered...
Safety and Fire Compliance
We have partnered with Solutions in Engineering to provide some insight and...
Paint Colours to Avoid When Preparing for Strata Building Paintwork
We have partnered with Higgins Coatings to provide some insight on what...
Smoking in Community Titles Schemes
The Body Corporate Commissioner explores one of the most common concerns...
Who Can Access the Body Corporate Roll?
Is the Body Corporate required to provide owners contact details when...
Construction at Neighbouring Properties
Suppose you are aware of construction in your neighbourhood. In that case,...
Declaratory Orders – Out of Time Annual General Meetings
The Body Corporate Commissioner explores the necessity of applying for a...
Changing the Appearance of the Lot
Changing the appearance of a lot – does changing tiles on a balcony need Body...
Water Isolation Valves
We have partnered with Draincare to provide some important information about...
The Importance of Maintaining Your Property
The recent catastrophic collapse of Champlain Towers in Miami, Florida should...
Accessing Body Corporate Records – FAQs
Read about some of the most frequently asked questions to come across the...
Rejecting General Meeting Votes
Can votes be rejected, by the Chairperson, after the close of the meeting? The...
Strata Tax Chat
Our sponsor's at Kelly + Partners have shared their exclusive conversation...
Non-Budgeted Sinking Fund Expenditure
If there is no “line item” in the Sinking Fund Budget for expenditure, can the...
Tips & Hints on How to Reduce Your Electricity Bills
We have partnered with LPE to provide you with some helpful tips & hints...
Maintenance Versus Improvements
Bodies corporate embarking on works to common property may assume that if...
Smoke Alarm Tips & FAQ’s
We have partnered with Fully Wired Electrical to provide you with some helpful...
Rectification of Property Damage
Section 281 of the Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997 allows for...
Body Corporate Committees
There are several other changes for body corporate committees to be aware of...
What To Do When Your Building Has Been Inundated With Water
Strata Community Insurance have created a simple 4 step process to help in...
Lot Owner Improvements
Renovating property seems to have become an increasingly popular trend over...
Maintenance to Vegetation Within A Lot
Section 160 of the Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997 –...
Regulation Changes to General Meetings
With the rollout of regulation changes this month, there have also been a...
Pets, pets, pets. What’s reasonable?
As a Strata Community Manager, one of the most regular application forms...
Should committee meetings be recorded?
Jason Carlson is a partner of Grace Lawyers. Here, he discusses whether...
Up to date with fire safety?
Under the Building Fire Safety Regulation 2008 all buildings have annual fire...
Electronic Voting and Attendance
Under the new regulations, from 1 March 2021, voting and non-voting body...
Emergency Expenditure Refresher
What constitutes as emergency expenditure? Under section 243a of the body...
Validity of Motions
More and more, when reviewing Adjudicators orders, we are seeing a trend of...
Concealed Water Leaks – The Hidden Cost
Concealed water leaks to properties consist of a burst water supply pipe...
COVID-19 Arrangements Extended
The Government has announced the COVID-19 emergency arrangements for bodies...
Quotes & General Meetings
If maintenance work is above the Committee Spending Limit, set at $200.00 x...
CHU Establishes a National Restoration Panel
Helping strata owners get back on their feet after a claim. After flooding or...
Commissioner’s Desk: Adjudication Part 1
What is the role of the Office of the Commissioner for Body Corporate and...
Are owners required to act reasonably?
In many of the adjudicator’s orders that we have reviewed outcomes from Annual...
After Disaster Strikes, What Happens?
40% of the waste Australia generates each year is from the demolition and...
CCTV Surveillance in a Body Corporate
Either a body corporate or an owner may wish to install CCTV in a community...
Commencement of Proceedings
Section 312(1) of the Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997...
Water Efficiency in a Body Corporate
With spring in full swing and many areas of Queensland suffering from drought,...
Approval at General Meetings – Resolution Type
It is important that when a Body Corporate is proposing a motion for work to...
Do you know your gym, pool and sauna requirements?
The Queensland government has issued a comprehensive plan for the reopening of...
Enforcement of By Laws – Body Corporate Obligation
If a Body Corporate believes that an owner or occupant is breaching the by...
Paint colours to avoid when preparing for strata building paintwork
When it comes to painting large properties, colour choice is a crucial part of...
Commissioner’s Desk: Keys, fobs, swipe cards, security access and issues.
The Information and Community Education Unit gets many queries about keys,...
Commissioner’s Desk: COVID-19 in Bodies Corporate
We have a number of owners in our body corporate who have lost their jobs due...
Imposing a Financial Penalty
The case that we are reviewing this month is whether the Body Corporate,...
How to Manage Burst Pipes by Strata Community Insurance
Water Damage: The No. 1 cause of strata claims.At Strata Community Insurance,...
LED Lighting – the facts, features and benefits
It is no secret our energy bills are high. In fact, a recent study published...
From the Commissioner’s Desk: Self Resolution
What is the role of the Office of the Commissioner for Body Corporate and...
Rectification of Termite Damage to a Lot
In this edition of Strata Today, we have included an article from the...
Servicing of Hot Water Systems
For this article we have visited Hot Water Systems again, as coming into the...
Temporary New Laws for Bodies Corporate during Covid-19
COVID-19 Communication update 18 March 2020 from the Office of the...
Commissioner’s Desk: Pest Control in a Community Titles Scheme
A common enquiry for our Office is about the responsibility for pest control,...
Commissioner’s Desk: Federal Government Stimulus Packages – Are they available for Bodies Corporate?
In conjunction with the SCA, Kelly + Partners have put together a guide for...
Commissioner’s Desk: Renting in a Body Corporate
Do tenants have the same rights as the owners in a body corporate and what are...
By Laws – Cannot be Oppressive or Unreasonable
Section 180(7) of the Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997 (the...
Commissioner’s Desk: Debt Recovery
It’s no surprise, given we’re talking about dollars and cents, that issues...
Ensuring Balcony Safety and Compliant Glass
The primary function of a balustrade is to act as a fence or guardrail often...
The Meaning of Reasonable
I know that this is a topic that we have covered previously, however it is a...
Commissioner’s Desk: Important information for Body Corporate Owners
COVID-19 Communication update 18 March 2020 from the Office of the...
Commissioner’s Desk: Engaging a BCM in a place of a Committee
COVID-19 Communication update 18 March 2020 from the Office of the...
News: Chris Irons to head mediation service at Hynes Legal
Before we look at this months Adjudicators Order, lets take a step back and go...
Are you really protected?
Strata, also known as strata title, allows for individual ownership of part of...
Commissioner’s Desk: What about water damage?
Taking into account the number of calls we receive on the issue, water damage...
Lot Owners Obligations to Maintain Their Lot
As most owners would be aware, the Body Corporate has an obligation under the...