If you have a dispute with the body corporate, the committee or another owner or occupier, you must try to resolve it with the other party first, before taking any other dispute resolution steps.
We call this self resolution or internal dispute resolution.
The self resolution process may be different depending on the type of body corporate you are in.
Self resolution includes any reasonable steps taken by you to resolve the issue within the body corporate before making a formal dispute resolution application with the Office of the Commissioner for Body Corporate and Community Management (the BCCM office).
Attempts at self resolution can involve you:
communicating with the other person (preferably in writing, as this may be needed as evidence of self resolution later)
presenting a motion to the committee
presenting a motion to a general meeting.
You may need to try all of these, depending on who your dispute is with, what it is about and how hard it is to resolve.
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Hey it's Boxy here and I'm going to talk to you about resolving disputes.
Sometimes when living in a body corporate, community life does not always go smoothly. Rules don’t get followed, people don’t get along or there are differences of opinion. The Office of the Commissioner for Body Corporate is here to help you resolve these issues. However, before you lodge an application for us to help, you must try and fix it yourself first.
If you can’t show us you have tried to fix the problem before lodging a dispute application your application may be rejected. You need to include your evidence when you submit the application.
I’ll give you some tips on how to help you make sure your application meets the requirements.
My first tip is to ask for what you want. It doesn’t matter if it is the body corporate or another owner – you need to tell them what the issue is and what needs to happen to fix it otherwise how are they to know there is a problem.
So if you want a dog, ask for a dog. If you want a pipe to be fixed ask for the pipe to be fixed. If what you want done costs money you should always include quotes.
My second tip is put it is writing. A friendly letter is a good start. You should politely ask for something to happen or stop happening. Try to stick to the facts.
If you are asking the body corporate for something you should propose it as a motion. A motion is a more formal way of asking for something. We have more information on our website so google BCCM and drafting motions for more tips.
If you don’t get what you ask for and as a result there is a breach of the legislation you can THEN lodge a dispute application with us. The things you have asked for are called outcomes and if you want more than one you need to show us you have asked for everything you are seeking an outcome on.
Sometimes the body corporate may decide on a motion that you didn’t propose you can also dispute these outcomes but there must be a breach of the legislation and you must let the body corporate know that you have a problem with the result.
Make sure you give us your evidence showing you have tried, such as the minutes of a meeting or a copy of a letter. It is a good idea to reference each piece of evidence to each outcome sought to make it easier for us to review.
Always remember lodging a dispute application is the last resort when dealing with issues within your body corporate and should never be the first option.
Trying to resolve issues about breaches of bylaws is a bit different so check out our video about this on our website.
You can always call our information service to find out more about how to resolve the issues you are having or Google BCCM and self resolution to find out more.
Get the body corporate committee involved
If the committee can decide about your issue, the first step may be to write to them outlining the matter and your request (this is called a motion).
Sometimes the committee may not be able to make a decision on the matter—for example, under the BCCM Act where an owner wants to make an improvement to the common property for the benefit of their own lot and the work is valued at more than $3,000.
You may have to submit a motion to the next general meeting if the committee cannot decide.
Whenever you contact the committee (or the body corporate manager), you should do so in writing. It is good practice to state a brief description of each issue and state the specific motion that you want the committee to vote on about that issue.
Under the BCCM Act, an owner may submit a motion to the committee personally or by post, fax, or email. Find out more about drafting motions and submitting motions.
Under the other Acts, an owner can submit a motion to the committee personally or by post to the registered address for service.
Timeframes for the committee to make a decision
Timeframes under the BCCM Act
The committee must vote on the motion within 6 weeks, unless they have notified the owner that they need up to an additional 6 weeks (and no longer).
They do not have to vote on the motion if the owner has:
already put in a motion about the same issue
submitted 6 or more motions within the last 12 months.
Timeframes under other Acts
For a subsidiary body corporate under the Building Units and Group Titles Act 1980 (BUGT Act):
the committee has no time frame to make a decision
the secretary must respond to correspondence given to the body corporate.
You can request that the committee vote within a specified timeframe if required—for example, if there is a safety issue or an urgent matter.
Benefits of self resolution
If you can resolve a dispute among yourselves, it will:
stop the issue from getting more serious
be faster and cheaper
lead to better relationships
stop further disputes (or make them easier to resolve).
A successful result
Here is an example of how a dispute can be resolved successfully.
A lot owner (J) often let water run off her balcony after watering her plants with a timing device. The lot owner below (M) complained that water poured from rainwater spouts into his courtyard and onto his BBQ and furniture.
The body corporate committee, responding to a letter with a written motion from M, asked J to either stop watering or remove the plants. J refused, saying that it was her right to maintain plants in her own home and that the spouts were there to drain water from her balcony.
The argument got worse. J and M were yelling at one another whenever they were outside.
J said she was proud of her plants and didn’t want them removed because they provided screening and a good environment for her unit.
M said he had recently bought the BBQ and furniture and enjoyed entertaining. He felt that the overflow from the watering was at its worst when he had guests.
The committee helped J and M discuss the issues and reach an agreement. M agreed to move his furniture. J agreed to buy trays to put under each plant, to put in water-retaining soil, and to water less. J also agreed to change the timing device so plants weren’t watered when M was likely to be entertaining.
If self resolution fails
Dispute resolution under the BCCM Act
You can apply for dispute resolution with us if self resolution has failed. In most cases you must attempt conciliation as the compulsory first step in dispute resolution.
In conciliation, an impartial person (a conciliator) with knowledge of the BCCM Act helps those involved in a dispute to negotiate their own resolution.
Conciliation normally involves either a face-to-face meeting or a teleconference between you, the other parties and the conciliator.
You will be asked to show that you have tried self resolution before you can apply for dispute resolution.
You can apply for an order of a referee with us if self resolution has failed. We will usually ask you to show that you have tried to resolve the dispute yourself before you can apply.
In the referee process, an impartial person (a referee) with knowledge of these Acts will assess the information provided and make a binding order:
