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Yeah it’s me … Boxie … your Body Corporate info guy from BCCM.
Today I want to talk to you about pet reforms under the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act and how they affect bodies corporate.
Firstly, the new rental reforms mean landlords cannot refuse an application from a tenant to house a pet without proper grounds. Unless landlords have a valid reason for refusing, pet applications will get the green light from landlords.
But before tenants in a body corporate can apply to their landlord to keep a pet, they should first check the body corporate by-laws won’t stop them from keeping a pet.
Each body corporate has its own set of by-laws. Nearly all will have specific wording relating to animals. Some bodies corporate have permissive by-laws regarding animals, but may have conditions attached such as not taking pets into certain common areas.
Tenants should have a copy of their body corporate by-laws as a part of their tenancy agreement. Otherwise, they can ask their landlord for a copy.
Avoiding disputes is easy. Ensure all application requests are in writing and remember that landlord approval to keep a pet is not enough. Approval should be sought from the body corporate as well as they are responsible for enforcing by-laws.
Any disputes arising from pet applications can be addressed by lodging a conciliation application with our office.
Search BCCM and renting in a body corporate to find more information on our website.
Keeping animals at the property is often the subject of a by-law. You need to ask permission from both your landlord and the body corporate before moving an animal into your unit.
Tenancy legislation supports tenants and landlords reaching an agreement about keeping an animal. However, even if your landlord agrees to your request for an animal, you must still ask the body corporate for permission if the by-law requires you to.
If you do not comply with a by-law, the body corporate can enforce it against you.
You can also ask the body corporate to enforce a by-law against someone else living in the property (or development) if they are not complying with the by-law. Read more about enforcing by-laws.
The owner of a lot is given a copy of their tenant’s by-law contravention notice at the same time as the tenant. It is up to the owner if they want to pursue any additional action against the tenant under the residential tenancies legislation.
Asking for body corporate approval
Under the legislation, tenants have the right to ask the body corporate to do things such as maintain the common property.
Depending on the by-laws, you may also have to ask for permission from the body corporate for things like:
parking on the common property
keeping a pet
making minor modifications to a lot.
In most situations the committee will make the decision to grant approval.
If you don’t know how to contact the body corporate, you can ask your landlord for the details of the body corporate manager or committee secretary.
Once you know who to contact, you must put any requests in writing.
You can also ask the owner of your lot to propose a motion on your behalf, but they are not obliged to do so.
There is no specific timeframe for committees to respond to a tenant’s request unless it is a request for an animal. If this is the case, the body corporate must respond to your request within 21 days. Read more about animal by-laws and approvals.
If the committee doesn’t agree to your request, or if they don’t respond to your request, you can lodge a dispute resolution application with our office.
You may want to follow up on your request with the committee if you don’t get a response within a reasonable timeframe.
Let’s talk minimum housing standards. New rental reforms are requiring greater compliance on housing standards.
It is important to know there are NO changes to body corporate legislation and the obligations of bodies corporate. Got that? There are NO changes to what bodies corporate are already doing.
But the reforms do mean there will be owners and landlords who will be required to do additional maintenance and improvements. And for owners and landlords whose property is in a body corporate, there may be work that overlaps and falls under body corporate maintenance obligations.
So, the key message here is everyone needs to be organised. A proactive approach to property maintenance avoids owner and landlord requests piling up because body corporate decisions take time. The faster you act before problems arise, the better chance you have of avoiding problems along the way.
The new minimum housing standards include ensuring properties –
are weatherproof and structurally sound,
are secure against unauthorised entry,
have no dampness or mould due to neglect of common property maintenance, and
have fully compliant utility infrastructure such as pipes and drains.
These can be tricky areas to deal with between bodies corporate and owners so please find out what you’re responsible for by checking maintenance obligations on our website.
Owners and bodies corporate need to work together to meet these new minimum housing standards, along with normal maintenance obligations. Working together can avoid disputes.
Search BCCM and maintenance to find more information on our website.
Lot owners
Landlords have maintenance obligations under the residential tenancies legislation. Sometimes these obligations overlap with the body corporate’s legal obligations for maintenance under the body corporate legislation.
The plan of subdivision a property is registered under determines what the body corporate is responsible for maintaining. To find out about your property, ask your body corporate or contact Titles Queensland.
Tenants can also ask the body corporate to maintain the common property. If you have asked your landlord to maintain something and they haven’t done so, check to see if the body corporate may be responsible for it.
If the body corporate is responsible for maintaining a part of the common property, you can write and ask them to fix it. Alternatively, you can ask your landlord to propose a motion on your behalf for the body corporate to maintain the common property.
Contacting the body corporate
Tenants can contact the body corporate directly if they want to ask them to do something. The best contacts are:
the body corporate manager
the onsite manager
a committee member.
To find this information, ask your landlord or letting agent.
Disputes with the body corporate
Tenants may be able to lodge a dispute application to resolve a dispute that arises with their body corporate.
Common disputes tenants have with bodies corporate include where the body corporate:
declines a request under a by-law (e.g. a request for approval to keep a pet)
does not agree to a maintenance request.
Which formal dispute resolution process you can apply for depends on whether the body corporate is registered as a community titles scheme (CTS). Your landlord or letting agent should be able to tell you this information, otherwise you can contact Titles Queensland.
The body corporate cannot evict you, regardless of your dispute.
Community titles schemes
If you are in a dispute with the body corporate of a community titles scheme, you need to try to resolve the issue yourself before seeking our input. If this is unsuccessful, you can consider lodging a conciliation application with us.
When the dispute is about asking the body corporate to enforce a by-law, a notice of contravention of a by-law (form 1) must be given to the body corporate before you lodge a conciliation application.
If you are in a dispute with the body corporate in a property that isn’t a community titles scheme, you need to try to resolve the issue yourself before seeking our input. If you are unable to resolve it yourself, you can consider applying for an order by a referee.
In a community titles scheme, tenants can access body corporate records upon submitting a written request and paying the required fee. They must satisfy the body corporate that they have a proper interest in the documents they want to access.
For example, a tenant may want to:
access the minutes of a meeting where a decision was made about something that affects them
get a copy of the body corporate roll to contact other owners or tenants.
There are no specific rules about tenants accessing records in bodies corporate that are not community titles schemes.
Lot owners
In all community titles schemes, and most other bodies corporate, a lot owner who has a lease or sublease on their lot for 6 months or longer must give the body corporate the:
name and address for service of the tenant
term of the lease.
They must also advise the body corporate if the lease or sublease is transferred or terminated.
Usually, the written notice must be given to the body corporate within one month of the lease or sublease starting, transferring or ending.
Disputes with the landlord or your letting agent
If you believe your landlord or letting agent is not complying with their obligations under residential tenancies legislation, you can contact the Residential Tenancies Authority.
