Body corporate legislation definitions

This content is a list of terms used in the Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997, and definitions of their meanings. This is not meant to be a list of all body corporate related terms.

For more body corporate definitions see the dictionary section of Schedule 6 of the Act.

Adjustment order

For contribution schedule lot entitlements, an adjustment order is an order of a court, tribunal or specialist adjudicator, made before 14 April 2011, providing for an adjustment of the contribution schedule for an existing scheme.

An adjustment order does not include an order of a court or tribunal giving effect to a decision that is not made by the court or tribunal or another court or tribunal (including a decision that is not, but is taken to have been, made by a court or tribunal).

For example:

• An order giving effect to the terms of the settlement of a dispute between a lot owner in an existing scheme and the body corporate, if the terms provide for the adjustment of the contribution schedule for the scheme.
• A written agreement between a lot owner in an existing scheme and the body corporate which provides for the adjustment of the contribution schedule for the scheme, is filed in the registry of a court or tribunal, and is enforceable as an order of the court or tribunal.

Body corporate asset

Any real or personal property acquired by the body corporate, other than property that is incorporated into and becomes part of the common property. Body corporate assets may be any property an individual is capable of acquiring.

For example:

• an air-conditioning unit may be a body corporate asset when bought by a body corporate, but it will become part of common property when it is installed as a fixture
• a lot in the scheme acquired by the body corporate for the use of the letting agent freehold land
• a lease
• a licence to use land for a particular purpose
• a billiard table
• gardening equipment.

Common property

Freehold land forming part of the community titles scheme land but not forming part of a lot included in the scheme.

Complex dispute

A complex dispute is a dispute that can only be decided by a specialist adjudicator or the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal in its original jurisdiction—or the appeal of a decision of a specialist adjudicator or the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

Complex disputes include:

• An application by an owner about whether a body corporate decision to change the contribution schedule lot entitlements was not consistent with the relevant deciding principle (section 47AA(3)(a) of the Act).
• An application by an owner seeking to adjust the contribution schedule lot entitlement because of a material change to the scheme (section 47B(3)(a) of the Act).
• An application by an owner seeking to adjust the interest schedule lot entitlements (section 48(1)(a) of the Act).
• An application by an owner to relating to the reversion of contribution schedule lot entitlements (sections 385(8)(a), 387(6)(a), 405(2)(a), or 412(2)(a) of the Act).
• A dispute about a review of the terms of a service contract (section 133 of the Act).
• A dispute about the transfer of letting agent’s management rights (section 149A of the Act).
• A dispute about a contractual matter about the engagement of a body corporate manager’s caretaking service contractor or the authorisation of a letting agent (section 149B of the Act).
• An application by a body corporate to review of an exclusive use by law of a former body corporate manager, service contractor or letting agent (section 178 of the Act).

Community management statement

A community management statement is a document registered with Titles Queensland that sets out the identification of a community titles scheme.

The community management statement identifies matters such as the:

• scheme land
• regulation module applying to the scheme
• lot entitlement schedules
• by-laws applying to the scheme .

Community titles scheme

A community titles scheme is scheme land and the single community management statement registered with Titles Queensland identifying that scheme land.

A community titles scheme comprises:

• at least 2 lots
• common property
• a single body corporate
• a single community management statement.

Contractors

Body corporate manager

A body corporate manager is a person or entity engaged by a body corporate (other than as an employee of the body corporate) to supply administrative services to the body corporate. A body corporate manager may or may not be engaged to carry out the functions of a committee, and the executive members of a committee, for a body corporate.

Caretaking service contractor

A caretaking service contractor is a service contractor for a scheme who is also a letting agent for the scheme, or an associate of the letting agent.

Service contractor

A service contractor is a person or entity engaged by the body corporate (other than as an employee of the body corporate) for a term of at least 1 year to supply services (other than administrative services) to the body corporate for the benefit of the common property or lots included in the scheme.

Services that a service contractor might provide include:

• caretaking services
• pool cleaning services.

Debt disputes

Debt dispute

A debt dispute is a dispute between a body corporate and a lot owner in the scheme about the recovery, by the body corporate from the owner, of a debt under this Act.

Related debt dispute

A dispute is a related dispute to a debt dispute if:

• the subject matter of the dispute is related to the subject matter of the debt dispute
• there are proceedings in a court or before QCAT about the debt dispute
• the commissioner considers the disputes are connected in a way that makes it inappropriate for the dispute to be dealt with by one of our dispute resolution processes.

General meeting resolutions

Majority resolution

A motion is passed by majority resolution if the votes counted for the motion are more than 50% of the lots for which persons are entitled to vote on the motion.

For a motion to be decided by majority resolution, only 1 vote may be exercised for each lot in the scheme. The vote must be written and cannot be exercised by proxy.

Ordinary resolution if no poll requested

A motion is passed by ordinary resolution, if no poll is requested, if the votes counted for the motion are more than the votes counted against the motion.

Only 1 vote may be exercised for each lot included in the scheme, whether personally, by proxy or in writing.

Ordinary resolution if poll requested

A motion is passed, if the total of the contribution schedule lot entitlements for the lots—for which votes are counted for the motion— is more than the total of the contribution schedule lot entitlements for the lots—for which votes are counted against the motion.

Only 1 vote may be exercised for each lot included in the scheme, whether personally, by proxy or in writing.

Requesting a poll vote

A person entitled to vote at a general meeting may ask for a poll on a motion to be decided by ordinary resolution, other than an ordinary resolution conducted by secret ballot.

The person must ask for the poll before the meeting decides the next motion on the agenda or, for the last motion on the agenda, before the end of the meeting. The person must ask for the poll either:

• in person at the meeting
• on the voting paper on which the person votes in respect of the motion—whether or not the person is personally present at the meeting.

The request for a poll may be:

• made whether or not the meeting has already voted on the motion without a poll
• withdrawn by the person who made it at any time before the poll is completed.

Resolution without dissent

A motion is passed by resolution without dissent if no vote is counted against the motion.

Only 1 vote may be exercised for each lot included in the scheme, whether personally, by proxy or in writing.

Special resolution

Only 1 vote may be exercised for each lot included in the scheme, whether personally, by proxy or in writing.

A motion is passed by special resolution if:

• at least two-thirds of the votes cast are in favour of the motion
• the number of votes counted against the motion are not more than 25% of the number of lots included in the scheme
• the total of the contribution schedule lot entitlements for the lots for which votes are counted against the motion is not more than 25% of the total of the contribution schedule lot entitlements for all lots included in the scheme.

However, for a meeting for which notice was given before 4 March 2003, the votes counted for the motion need only be more than the votes counted against the motion, instead of two-thirds in favour of the motion.

Improvements

For the purposes of improvements to common property, an improvement includes:

• the erection of a building
• a structural change
• a non-structural change, including, for example, the installation of air conditioning.

A change can include a change by addition, exception, omission or substitution (Acts Interpretation Act 1954).

Interested persons

Access to body corporate records

An interested person means:

• the owner, or a mortgagee, of a lot included in the scheme
• the buyer of a lot included in the scheme
• another person who satisfies the body corporate of a proper interest in the information sought
• the agent of a person above.

Inspections of applications and submissions

An interested person, for an application, means:

• the applicant, the respondent or an affected person
• the body corporate or a member of its committee
• a person who has made a submission on the application.

Layered schemes

Layered arrangement of community titles schemes

A layered arrangement is a grouping of community titles schemes in which there is 1 scheme (principal scheme) which is not a lot in another community titles scheme and which is made up of:

• the scheme land of all the community titles schemes in the grouping
• its own common property
• each lot (if any) that is not a community titles scheme, but is included in the scheme.

A layered arrangement must include at least 1 basic scheme, and there may or may not be 1 or more community titles schemes located between the principal scheme and each basic scheme.

Principal scheme

A community titles scheme which has 1 or more lots which are a community titles scheme, and which is not a lot within another community titles scheme.

Subsidiary scheme

A community titles scheme which is a lot in another community titles scheme (the principal scheme).

A subsidiary scheme may be a lot included in the principal scheme or may be a subsidiary scheme for another community titles scheme that forms part of the layered arrangement.

Basic scheme

A community titles scheme which has no lots which are a community titles scheme.

Number of layered lots

For a principal scheme in a layered arrangement of community titles schemes, the number of layered lots is the total of the:

• number of lots (if any) in the principal scheme that are not a community titles scheme, and
• number of lots in the community titles scheme (for each lot in the principal scheme that is a community titles scheme).

Lot entitlements

Contribution schedule lot entitlements

The contribution schedule is a schedule recorded in the community management statement that lists each lot’s contribution schedule lot entitlement.

The contribution schedule lot entitlement for a lot is the basis for calculating the:

• lot owner’s share of amounts levied by the body corporate, unless the legislation provides another way for sharing body corporate expenses (such as some insurance premiums)
• value of the lot owner’s vote for voting on an ordinary resolution if a poll is conducted for voting on the resolution (except in a scheme regulated by the Specified Two-lot Scheme Module).

Interest schedule lot entitlements

The interest schedule is a schedule recorded in the community management statement that lists each lot’s interest schedule lot entitlement.

The interest schedule lot entitlement for a lot is the basis for calculating the:

• lot owner’s share of common property
• lot owner’s interest on the termination of the scheme, including the lot owner’s share in body corporate assets
• value of the lot, for the purpose of calculating local government rates and charges and other costs that are calculated on the basis of value.

Plans of subdivision

Building format plan

A building format plan of survey defines land using the structural elements of a building.

For example:

• floors
• walls
• ceilings.

The structural elements, of a building, includes projections of, and references to, structural elements of the building (see section 48C of the Land Title Act 1994)

Standard format plan

A standard format plan of survey defines land using a horizontal plane and references to marks (such as posts) on the ground (see section 48B of the Land Title Act 1994).

Specified two-lot schemes

The following terms apply only in a scheme regulated under the Specified Two-lot Schemes Module.

Contributing owner

The owner of a lot who pays a contribution payable for their lot by the date for payment.

Defaulting owner

An owner of a lot who does not pay a contribution payable for their lot by the date for payment

Lot owner agreement

An agreement between the owners of the lots, or their representatives.