Legal + Accounting - Industry News
02 September 2007
by Clayton Glenister, AssociateMcDonald Balanda & AssociatesGeneral CommentsAn experienced buyer of Management Rights when looking to buy off the ...
2012 Body Corporate Quickbites
23 January 2012
Some quick bites to start the yearAs we begin the slow lumber into 2012, with it no doubt building to a full sprint come mid to late February to conti...
A Fool for a Client
19 July 2012
Observe the eminent lawyer, I hesitate not to pronounce, that every man who is his own lawyer, has a fool for a client. Henry Kett 181...
A Great Win For Management Rights
05 January 2008
By Small Myers Hughes LawyersHave we finally seen the end of the delegation argument in New South Wales?For those long term readers of Resort News...
A request you cant reasonably refuse
04 February 2013
Just when can a Body Corporate refuse to consent to the transfer of management rights? Some Bodies Corporate give their consent without even receiving...
A seller fails to sign notice - proves fatal.
23 February 2011
The failure to sign a Disclosure Statement before giving it to a buyer proved fatal in a recent Queensland decision of Pazcuff Pty Ltd v Farmilo...
An important warning for Owners Corporations in NSW
11 March 2007
By Small Myers Hughes LawyersIn the recent case of Seiwa Pty Ltd v Owners Strata Plan 35042 1157, the NSW Supreme Court gave a judgment which could be...
Anatomy of an Assignment of Management Rights
09 July 2006
The decision of a body corporate in relation to a request for consent to the transfer of management rights (âassignmentâ?) is a very serious m...
Angry Owners, Shots Fired, Back To The Old Rules
15 March 2010
In February 2009 an angry lot owner fired a bullet at a Gold Coast penthouse amid a bitter body corporate fee feud that is dividing bodies corporate a...
Another resident managers option is saved
29 January 2009
It is extremely unusual to see instances of disputes between managers in the same complex, primarily because there are very rarely buildings with diff...
Appeal reinstates five year option for RUM
03 November 2008
Hynes Lawyers recently represented a resident manager who successfully appealed against an adjudicators decision.The case arose out of a general mee...
Are recovery costs a body corporate debt?
05 May 2014
This has been a question vexing the strata management industry for some time. Most owners pay their levies on time. Some don’t...
Are unit owners cries about insurance being heard?
20 March 2013
Finally the cries for help from North Queenslanders are being heard in Canberra and Julia Gillard in her recent pork-barelling trip to Ipswich announc...
Asbestos in the workplace, landlords take note!
21 October 2009
Owners of commercial and industrial properties built before 1 January 1990 which are used as workplaces must ensure that any asbestos containing mater...
Assignment Blocks Review
20 July 2011
On 23 May 2011 the decision in Emvalle Pty Ltd as Trustee for the Alkaz Discretionary Trust trading as Aqua Vista Apartments v Body Corporate for Aqua...
Associate contracts, you must know the rule
18 September 2009
We have recently been retained by a manager whose management rights were in grave danger of being terminated for entering into a contract with an Asso...
Authority Levels for Body Corporate Decision Making
16 February 2015
We get an enormous range of questions on how bodies corporate go about their daily business. One of the most broadly asked questions is how a body ...
Be cautious when renewing your Caretaking Agreements
22 September 2006
By Small Myers Hughes LawyersAs I have pointed out an numerous occasions in prior articles, there are two types of Caretaker Agreement in New South Wa...
Bodies corporate and major projects
20 March 2013
As buildings age (like most things), they need work.There comes a time in every buildings life cycle where that work is more than cosmetic...
Bodies Corporate Recovering Unpaid Levies
18 June 2012
Should You Get Judgment?Bodies Corporate should think twice about obtaining and enforcing their judgments forunpaid levies after the recent Adjudicati...
Body corporate regulated the length of a tenancy.
03 January 2010
With the annual schoolies festival there has been a lot of press and other comment about the ability of a body corporate to restrict schoolies sty...
Breach notices require urgent action
18 November 2009
We have seen a very sharp rise in the number of breach notices being issued to caretakers across the State.A committee should only issue a breach noti...
Breaches of Codes of Conduct
26 April 2010
There are two codes of conduct for resident managers under the BCCM Act...
Building Management Statements 101
05 August 2014
We first wrote about building management statements (‘BMS’) nearly three years agohere. That newsletter predicted that we were going to g...
Buying Management Rights in NSW - part II
18 August 2008
I know that this sounds basic but it is really important to understand what you are buying when you decide on purchasing management rights in New Sout...
Can a resident manager lobby owners to vote?
20 July 2011
There is a common misconception that resident managers cannot lobby their owners to vote in a certain fashion...
Can the Corporations Act apply to your MR Business?
19 July 2012
This article deals with the closest management rights ever comes to theCorporations Act.It has been prompted by what has been a spate of matters we h...
Car Parking - Management Rights Complex
17 January 2008
By Frank Higginson of Hynes Lawyers One type of problem arises where owners have been parking their cars in accordance with numbers which are painted ...
Changes to the Body Corporate and Community Management Act
17 May 2011
Changes to the Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997 (Act) which have a significant effect on contracts of sale for strata titled lots ...
Changes to the Retirement Villages Act 1999
09 July 2006
This fact sheet explains major changes to the Retirement Villages Act 1999 (the Act) that will affect retirement village operators and residents in Qu...
Claytons committee meetings
10 January 2011
Although I am not officially senior enough to have ever partaken of a Claytons, the more senior amongst our readership probably remember the advertisi...
Committee recommends changes to Lot Entitlements Bill
03 January 2013
Following a review of the Body Corporate and Community Management and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2012 (Qld) by the Queensland Parliament Legal A...
Continuing the theme of who is responsible for what...
04 February 2013
Happy new year to all of our readers.We regularly have clients who get caught up in confusion about what their responsibilities extend to in a managem...
Costs orders in the commissioners office
17 February 2012
The commissioners office is designed as a no cost jurisdiction...
Deposit Bond in Lieu of Deposit Leads to Termination
07 April 2009
The Supreme Court of Victoria has found that payment to a Vendor under a deposit bond for security of deposit money in a contract for the sale of land...
Did you know?
10 March 2007
As an on-site property manager, under Section 13 of the Property Agents and Motor Dealers Act 2001 (PAMD) you must display your licence description in...
Disclosure Cures All Evil
20 February 2012
Do you have an interest in a lot in your letting pool? If so, then read on Your role in acting for your owners as letting agent creates a relatio...
Do not forget your option
17 June 2010
The actual length of the term of a management rights agreement can be expressed in two very different ways.Some agreements are simply for a set term (...
Do not forget your option
19 July 2010
The actual length of the term of a management rights agreement can be expressed in two very different ways.Some agreements are simply for a set term (...
Do you inadvertently accept unlawful voting papers?
02 September 2013
This newsletter is based on a piece of decided litigation from the year 2000, but as we bounce around the body corporate management industry, it seems...
Does a body corporate have to include all submitted motions?
26 May 2013
We get this question at least once a month. The answer has always been 'Yes'. And why wouldn't it be? The Modules requires that if a motion is...
Dont forget to exercise your option
07 January 2008
By Small Myers Hughes LawyersScenario (Qld or NSW)You have recently purchased management rights in a building and paid a high multiplier, partly becau...
Effect of termination of a tenancy under s.151
09 July 2006
When a tenancy is terminated as provided in the legislation, the parties to the agreement are no longer bound by that agreement, but the parties may s...
Employment Agreements For On-Site Staff
13 January 2015
Written by Tony OConnor, Short Punch & Greatorix Introduction The landscape of industrial law can be a minefield...
End of financial year tips - Getting ready for selling
15 July 2008
As the management rights market catches its breath, along with most things property related, it is time for everyone to make sure their business affai...
End of Year Approaches
09 July 2006
With the oncoming end of financial year there are a few things management rights owners need to consider to assist both themselves, their accountants ...
Examin All Options
09 July 2006
Leading up to the end of each financial year, there are many Managers who wish to sell their management rights, however for tax and other reasons do n...
Fairs Fair
05 August 2014
FAIRS FAIR There are two issues relating to Management Rights sales, which are at the moment causing concern to Buyers and Sellers of Managem...
Fit Out Incentives, The Tax Benefits
15 March 2010
Commercial Tenants are enjoying attractive lease proposals from landlords desperate to have their premises occupied during these tough economic times....
Forcing the hard decision
21 December 2008
One of the main aims of the BCCM Act is to have bodies corporate self govern...
Foreign Investment Approval Process
03 March 2009
Recent Changes To The Foreign Investment Review Board Approval Process For Purchase Of Residential Property By ForeignersNew changes to the Foreign In...
Forms 20a or 6 - When is a new form needed?
19 May 2015
By John Punch of Short Punch & Greatorix Lawyers Chameleons are very unusual creatures...
Fully featured management rights software to manage
09 July 2006
While youâve been carefully developing your property, weâve been busy developing superior, fully featured management rights software to mana...
Garden Maintenance
17 January 2008
By Frank Higginson of Hynes Lawyers It is common for managers in permanent let management rights complexes to have arrangements in place for the mowin...
Good Bye Sustainability Declarations
21 August 2012
The amount of paperwork you are required to complete when selling your home is hefty to say the least...
Good News!
18 September 2015
Here at Short Punch & Greatorix Lawyers we do keep a watch out for what we call rogue activity conducted by Body Corporate committees and ...
Hang On a Minute
26 April 2010
If you are a Resident Unit Manager then you are also a non-voting member of the Body Corporate committee...
How to waste a body corporates money
17 August 2015
If you have even a passing interest in federal politics, you will have seen the furore over Bronwyn Bishop’s recent taxpayer funded chopper fl...
Including all submitted motions on a general meeting agenda
22 April 2013
We get this question at least once a month. The answer has always been Yes.And why wouldnt it be? The Modules requires that if a motion is s...
Injury Victim Cleans Up In Court
26 May 2013
On the 2nd April this year the Court of Appeal in Queensland delivered a Judgment against the operators of serviced apartments in Brisbane, which shou...
Introducing the new Qantas American Express Card
09 July 2006
American Express asked us if we would be interested in promoting their new QANTAS American Express Cards to our members and we said sure in return for...
Introduction to New Zealand Management Rights
15 March 2007
By AlexanderDorrington LawyersThe creation and sale of management rights in a multi-site development is an increasingly common practice in New Zealand...
Justification for an Interim Order
16 August 2010
Many applications are made to the Office of the Commissioner for Body Corporate and Community Management for an interim order. The fact that a matte...
Knowing your management rights agreement
11 February 2010
Welcome to the new decade!A recent supreme court decision in New South Wales has cast more legal light on the issues surrounding options in management...
Land Tax Grab
15 March 2010
Proposed changes to the Valuation of Land ActThe Queensland Government has delayed the implementation of amendments to the Valuation of Land Act 1944 ...
Lease Assignments: Corporate Tenants - Dont Be Caught Out
18 September 2009
When a tenant enters into an agreement with a landlord to lease commercial or retail premises, the lease will usually contain a requirement that durin...
Legal Specialist in Qld + NSW
07 September 2006
Whilst Small Myers Hughes (SMH) is a Gold Coast based law firm, its clients scattered throughout all areas of Queensland and New South Wales.TWO STATE...
Levy recovery proceedings and insolvency - a warning
28 May 2012
Levy arrears can be the bane of a committees existence if not handled properly...
Losing a letting appointment on short notice
17 June 2011
This article is primarily for those that have short term lettings, but it can apply to permanent lettings as well.Both a resident manager and an owne...
Lot entitlement disputes
24 June 2009
Lot entitlement disputes have been attracting substantial press recently, and a large number of our clients have asked us about the background to the ...
Lot entitlement reversals bill passed
20 March 2013
Late last year we wrote about the proposal of the LNP government to allow the reinstatement of lot entitlements that had been changed back to what the...
Lot entitlements - the issues paper has been released
17 February 2014
As promised by the LNP government, lot entitlements is at the top of the list for the statewide property law review and the issues paper on lot entitl...
Lot Entitlements  To Change or Not To Change
19 July 2010
In February 2010, redchip lawyers in this blog flagged proposed changes to body corporate contribution lot entitlements by Gold Coast MP, Mr Peter Law...
Major body corporate projects
16 August 2010
No matter what you do, it is almost impossible to have a management rights agreement (or in fact any agreement) that covers every single contingency o...
Management Rights and Enforcing Bylaws
18 April 2011
Most management contracts for management rights managers contain a phrase that instructs the manager to enforce the community title schemes bylaws t...
Management rights and termites
18 June 2012
We are quite often asked to advise on where a resident managers role starts and finishes...
Mirvac v Wilson - material prejudice under the BCCMA
04 February 2013
IntroductionThe recent decision of the Queensland Court of Appeal in Mirvac Queensland Pty Ltd v Wilson provides important guidance to developers of ?...
Mortgagee and co-owner disputes
18 October 2011
It must be a sign of the continuing tough economic times, but in the last few weeks we have been relatively inundated with queries from clients about ...
Multiple v Return on Investment
18 May 2011
Its pretty much accepted wisdom in the management rights industry that the value of the business is assessed on the basis of a multiple on net profi...
Multiplying the multiplier
22 July 2008
Recently one of our leading accounting firms hosted a tax planning and management rights industry seminar and they asked if I could include a presenta...
Never Ever Give Up
17 May 2010
The position a committee takes on a matter can hold a fair degree of sway with owners...
New Pool Regulations
25 October 2010
The Building Act 1975 (Act) was recently amended in relation to pool safety. The Act is expected to commence 1 December 2010.The Act represents ...
New transfer provisions finally arrive
22 August 2008
After months of speculation, the State Governments amendments to the Regulation Modules that will govern bodies corporate and the management rights ...
Off Plan Purchases
09 July 2006
With the growth of population and inbound tourism in Queensland continuing there is a strong development market for holiday and permanent unit complex...
Office hours, are they really necessary?
02 September 2013
When I first started my articles of clerkship at a venerated management rights firm in 1992 mobile phones didnt exist. I used to have a beeper. ...
Oppressive or unreasonable
08 November 2013
If you are in the strata management industry, expect to see a lot more of this phrase in coming years.Section 180 of the Body Corporate and Community ...
Options - Very Important Provisions
20 December 2013
A valid and current Caretaking Agreement and Letting Agreement (Agreement) with a healthy term remaining is one of the most valuable assets in a m...
Ownership of security footage.
22 February 2011
Many complexes include some form of CCTV which the resident manager is required (usually by agreement) to monitor...
Partnership agreements, is it just fee creation
15 July 2008
Partnerships within management rights businesses are becoming more popular...
Partnerships in Management Rights, Do They Really Work ?
21 August 2011
Over the years Ive worked with various partnership vehicles in financing the purchase of management rights businesses...
Pets in Body Corporate Schemes
02 September 2014
The issue of pets in Body Corporate schemes is one which has been attracting much attention from Body Corporates, Body Corporate managers and ...
Picking the fights you need to
21 November 2011
Frequent readers of our newsletters have probably seen some repetitive themes in recent times...
Predominance Revisited
17 June 2010
The Adjudicators decision in Seapoint CTS 8504 (0955-2009) adds two important new factors for consideration when Bodies Corporate change from the St...
Predominance Revisited
16 August 2010
The Adjudicators decision in Seapoint CTS 8504 (0955-2009) adds two important new factors for consideration when Bodies Corporate change from the St...
Pricing Legal Risks
.gravatar{display: none;}Alan Greenspan (the then Federal Reserve Chairman in the USA) coined the famous phrase irrational exuberance in relation ...
Pro-actively negotiate disputes over caretaking duties
20 August 2009
When it comes to situations of conflict in management rights situations, one of the major causes is the difference of interpretation over the nature o...
Protection of Forward Bookings - Some Practical Advice
31 March 2014
This article deals with a subject which regularly crops up at ARAMA Forums A Manager in a holiday letting complex can be in a difficult situation i...
QLD Asbestos Management Compliance
22 November 2012
An Asbestos Free AustraliaHigh level government plans to make Australia asbestos free and reduce the burden of asbestos related disease has resulted i...
Regulation of Management Rights in Victoria
21 December 2008
The use of on-site managers is commonplace in the serviced and holiday apartment industry throughout Australia...
Resident managers enforcing by-laws
18 May 2011
One of the most annoying parts of every resident managers life must be that knock on the door after hours with a whinge from an owner or a tenan...
Residential Premises for GST
19 May 2009
Only Shelter and Basic Living Facilities Required: South SteyneAn e-Alert from the Tax and Property & Construction GroupThe Federal Court has foun...
Restraints of trade
07 September 2008
Most owners of management rights businesses would be aware that, with the right licensing, they can sell lots in their (and others) buildings...
Restraints of trade
03 October 2013
Most owners of management rights businesses would be aware that, with the right licensing, they can sell lots in their (and others) buildings...
Retail Leases - Restrictive Agreements and Trade Practices
03 January 2010
The ACCC has recently signalled increased focus on retail leasing and the behaviour of both landlords and tenants...
Reviewing Your Letting Appointments
21 October 2009
It has been a while since we have sent a newsletter about letting appointments, so we thought it timely to give everyone a reminder about the current ...
Save For Retirement and Manage Your Tax Position
09 July 2006
The Federal Governmentâs recent Budget announcements confirm that its intention is to simplify the confusing superannuation rules and reduce tax ...
Simple Ways To Protect Your MR Business
18 April 2011
Intellectual property forms part of the intangible assets (along with goodwill) that is your management rights business...
SUMMARY OF THE MERRIMAC DECISION
21 November 2011
Henderson and Anor v The Body Corporate for Merrimac Heights [2011] QSC336On 11 November 2011 the Supreme Court of Queensland delivered its decisi...
Summer Time Changes To Pool Safety Laws
17 November 2010
To coincide with the commencement of summer, on 1 December 2010 the Queensland Government will introduce new pool safety laws following the Government...
Sustainability and By-Laws Part II
19 July 2010
Since our article in March 2010 titled Sustainability and By-laws The Nitty Gritty which covered the Building and Other Legislation Act 2009 an...
Tackling Electricity Price Hikes with Auditing
02 September 2013
With electricity prices soaring, Queensland unit owners have been seeing hikes of up to 22.6 per cent on their bills - leaving more Queenslanders figh...
Take Care to Maintain
17 May 2010
It is important to note that statutory maintenance obligations imposed on Bodies Corporate give rise to a duty of care...
Tenant and Land Lord rights in times of disaster
01 February 2011
The recent floods have caused great hardship to many individuals and businesses throughout Brisbane...
Termination of Caretaking Agreements
03 December 2006
By Small Myers Hughes LawyersWhat to look out forAn Owners Corporation can take steps to terminate a Caretaking Agreement in New South Wales in one of...
The Building Energy Efficiency Disclosure Bill 2010
17 May 2010
Just as commercial real estate agents thought that all things environmental relating to property were only issues for residential real estate agen...
The Carmel by the Sea decision - what it means.
20 September 2012
The management rights and body corporate industries have been waiting with anticipation for the first formal legal decision in the dispute between the...
The commerciality of strata litigation
19 December 2011
The commerciality of strata litigationThe decision to engage in litigation is a very serious one...
The difference between an extension and a variation
22 September 2011
We are quite often asked by clients to top up their management rights agreements...
The different body corporate committee roles
30 March 2015
Everyone (probably) knows that there are a maximum of seven voting committee positions for a committee formed under the Body Corporate and Community ...
The different definitions of a community
15 March 2010
One of the joys of the management rights industry is that there are no two identical management rights businesses...
The different styles of management rights businesses
03 January 2013
A vanilla management rights business is one that comes with a standalone unit (with an office component of some type forming part of it) and the b...
The Future at Law of Strata Titled Buildings
17 October 2014
I would like to share with your readers some of my thoughts and the details of an interesting matter I recently handled which covers the legalities of...
The future of caretaking remuneration
24 June 2013
Historically there was no real methodology for calculating caretaking remuneration. Caretaking remuneration is often referenced back to a dollar val...
The Information Gap
17 February 2012
Disclosure of Body Corporate Information to prospective Buyers of units in Community Title Schemes was expanded last year by the Queensland Government...
The legal risks in your management rights business
23 June 2015
We don’t like being negative nellies, but sometimes we do need to talk about the things that go wrong in these newsletters. Alan Greenspan (the...
THE NEW TENANCY TRIBUNAL
07 April 2009
As many of you may be aware we are due to start our new Queensland Civil & Administrative Tribunal Bill (QCAT) in the second half this year....
The State of the Market
02 September 2014
In a word busy. There seems to be more activity in the management rights market than we have seen since before the GFC. Pre GFC the activity w...
The Work Health and Safety Act
17 April 2012
The new Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (the WHSA) commenced on 1 January 2012. It is without doubt that every resident manager is a person ...
Tips to ensure a smoother management rights sale
21 August 2012
If you are going to list your management rights business for sale, you need to make sure that it is in as healthy a position as possible.To ensure...
Topping Up Management Rights, The Contest Continues
13 January 2015
Admiralty Towers is a very well presented building. Consisting of 28 stories on the Brisbane River, it has some breathtaking views. H...
Understanding strata insurance: when are you covered?
15 July 2015
Wednesday June 17th, 2015 Body corporate insurance is arguably the most important aspect of building management, but when it comes to using it, it ca...
Understanding Your Trust Account
05 May 2014
Your trust account and the way you operate it is your lifeline...
Unfair Body Corporate By-Laws - What to do
03 January 2010
Sometimes its just plain not fair you have bought a lot within a community titles scheme or as a current owner your circumstances change and sudden...
Unit owners and Guests not in your Rental Pool
25 March 2007
By Small Myers Hughes LawyersI frequently receive calls from clients wanting to know what obligations they have as on-site letting agents to provide ?...
Unsold Developer Stock in Letting Pool
19 May 2009
One of the issues confronting people buying management rights businesses off the plan in a slowing property market is unsold developer stock.Back in t...
Varying agreements without an EGM
03 March 2009
After having reviewed literally hundreds of management agreements over the years, we think it is safe to say that there is very rarely an agreement th...
We are from the government and we are here to help.
20 January 2014
The Queensland government, having conducted a major review of the PAMDA legislation has now introduced a Bill (Property Occupations Bill 2013) that wi...
What does NRAS Mean for Management Rights
29 October 2012
Many resident managers would recall the times when housing affordability was a real (and political) issue...
What else can you use the Property Occupations Act for?
13 June 2014
The Property Occupations Bill was passed by State Parliament yesterday...
What is a Nominee?
21 August 2011
We are quite often asked about the rights of resident managers to appoint others to act to represent them in their dealings with a body corporate...
When can a resident manager vote?
20 July 2011
One of the reasons we produce these newsletters is that they can be used to debunk what we regard as myths in the management rights industry.One of ou...
When to tell your body corporate you are selling
19 July 2010
Conventional wisdom in the management industry is not to tell your body corporate you are selling until your contract is unconditional...
Who is to blame if tenants break the by-laws
25 July 2013
Social media has recently been abuzz with complaints and posts about tenants who break strata by-laws, whether it's with noisy pets, car spaces or an...
Who owns your domain name?
20 March 2012
The content of this e-newsletter might actually surprise a few people. We all know that the internet is causing rapid change in many business sector...
Who should attend small-claims hearing
09 July 2006
The Small Claims Tribunal Act 1973 provides that the hearings of claims in the tribunal shall be held in private and not open to the general public...
Withholding consent to transfer MRs
16 July 2009
Happy new financial year!We often act for resident managers that are confronted by a body corporate that wants to renegotiate the management rights ag...
Working from Heights in Management Rights
16 April 2015
Under the Work Health and Safety Act there are a range of codes of practice that have been issued by Safe Work Australia. As you would expect, t...
Workplace inspectors put accommodation industry in hot-seat
24 March 2009
Federal and State workplace inspectors converged on Wollongong last month for a two-day blitz on the accommodation industry.They randomly targeted 20 ...
