A body corporate can authorise a person to enter a lot or exclusive use area of common property in some circumstances.
Read more about entering a lot or exclusive use area in bodies corporate with a CMS registered at Titles Queensland.
This information is not relevant to work being performed under statutory easements, or automatically granted rights of entry.
Subsidiary body corporate
When a subsidiary body corporate can authorise entry
A body corporate can only authorise a person to enter a lot or an exclusive use area to do work it is required or authorised to do.
This includes works that:
- are required to maintain areas of common property (such as lawns, gardens, fixtures and fittings)
- are needed when a lot owner or occupier has interfered with services provided through the lot (such as water, sewerage, drainage, gas, electricity, garbage and other services)
- the body corporate has been told it needs to do by a public authority, local government, or by order of a referee.
- a lot owner has failed to do after being told to by a public authority or local government
- a lot owner or occupier hasn’t done, which they must do under an exclusive use or special rights by-law.
Giving notice
The body corporate’s agents, servants or contractors must give notice of the time they will enter to the occupier (unless it is an emergency). The entry must be at a reasonable time.
The time between giving the notice and entering the area must be reasonable. The legislation does not specify what a reasonable time would be.
The Building Units and Group Titles Act 1980 (BUGT Act) does not specify what other information must be included when giving notice.
Emergencies
In an emergency, an authorised person may enter a lot or exclusive use area at any time, with or without notice. The BUGT Act does not specify what situations are considered an emergency.
Higher-level bodies corporate
Community and precinct bodies corporate
A community or precinct body corporate under the Mixed Use Development Act 1993 (MUD Act) may only allow a person to enter a lot to do work it is required or authorised to do.
Required or authorised work includes:
- maintaining common property owned by the higher-level body corporate
- anything the body corporate has been told it needs to do by
- local, state or federal government
- a provider of a public utility service.
Before entering the lot or exclusive use area, the higher-level body corporate must give 7 days’ notice to the occupier of a lot who will likely be affected by the work (unless it is an emergency).
The MUD Act does not say what information must be included when giving notice.
Principal and primary thoroughfare bodies corporate
A principal or primary thoroughfare body corporate under the Sanctuary Cove Resort Act 1985 and Integrated Resort Development Act 1987 may only allow a person to enter a part of the thoroughfare to carry out work it is required or authorised to do.
Required or authorised work includes:
- maintaining or improving the thoroughfare
- improving any personal property vested in the thoroughfare
- anything the body corporate has been told it needs to undertake by a public authority or local government.
Entry can occur at any reasonable time after giving notice to any occupier of a lot who will likely be affected by the work (unless it is an emergency).
If notice must be given to a lot owner in a subsidiary body corporate, it is taken to be given when the higher body-corporate gives notice to the subsidiary body corporate their lot is part of.
