The subject of easements, particularly statutory easements, can be a significant issue for bodies corporate. So what do we mean by a ‘statutory easement’, exactly? Well, an easement can be thought of as the right to enter or use a section of land for a particular purpose by someone who is not the land owner…
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Law can be a very dry occupation. As long as you are not on the receiving end of them, some of the lines in legal judgments can be somewhat amusing. The background One of the best judgments in recent times was the striking out of the bulk of Mark Latham’s defamation defence, but the judgment…
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Mutuality principle – what does it mean? The mutuality principle is a legal principle established by case law. It is based on the proposition that an organisation cannot derive income from itself. The principle provides that where a number of persons contribute to a common fund created and controlled by them for a common purpose,…
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Ever get a feeling of abandonment? It might not seem like an obvious body corporate issue, but abandoned vehicles are – judging from enquiries my office receives – a topic of increasing interest for bodies corporate as well as other owners. It’s easy to understand why: a car abandoned on common property for a prolonged…
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While my Office provides dispute resolution services to Queensland’s community titles sector, we are not a compliance agency and what this also means is that we don’t undertake enforcement activities. In practical terms, this means that my Office is not the “body corporate police”. We don’t have inspectors going out and conducting audits, checking for…
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Vegetation Management Plans – Resolving Tree Risks A significant value-add for both visual amenity and landscape character, trees are also generally protected by local government law to enhance sustainable urban design. This broad objective has undoubtedly important community benefit, but at what challenge to the manager of outdoor spaces containing those features? Public safety, damage…
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Legal Action Limitation Periods Explained – Are you running out of time to sue your neighbour? Whether it is taking on a developer for imposing an unfair caretaking agreement on the community or suing your neighbour for something terrible they said about you in that email sent at 10.47pm on a Saturday night – there…
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The Indecisive Committee We’ve all been there. Wading through hours of Committee meetings where decisions that need to be made just don’t get made. Important and often surprisingly unimportant items tabled for weeks, months… Sometimes years! Pretty soon the Business Arising section of the agenda has a list of 25 items! Ugh! Why is that?…
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Strata Titles – Australia’s Least Known Export Product! Strata titles was first introduced in NSW in 1961 to replace a range of apartment ‘ownership’ schemes which arose during the post-war housing crisis in the 1950-60’s, the main one being the ‘company title’ scheme. The NSW strata titles system spread rapidly throughout Australia. Queensland enacted the…
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Electrical Safety Compliance – Switchboard Inspections and Safety Switch Testing The inspection of main switchboards and testing of communal safety switches is something that we too often see has been overlooked by strata building owners. Not only can lack of inspection and testing be a compliance breach, it can also contribute to major safety hazards…
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