Strata News
Tower Body Corporate
July 2017 Edition

In our July edition, we cover the following:

We look at the need to organise your emergency lift phone lines - now. Frank Higginson answers a question about body corporate spending limits. How much sinking fund money is enough? We also have a look at the proposals being put forward in the Queensland Property Review. Don't forget to have your say - submissions due by October 2017.

This complimentary newsletter forms part of the comprehensive service provided to you - by keeping you informed and up to date with important news, including any changes that are happening in the Strata Industry. It contains news and articles relating to apartment living in the South East Queensland region.

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Kind Regards

The Team at Tower Body Corporate

Q&A Body Corporate Major Spending Limit

Todd Garsden, Hynes Legal
Question: I have questions around the decision making process for the replacement of our roof which was damaged by a recent hail storm. As the spending was above the body corporate major spending limit, was a second quote needed?

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The last BCCM Act review recommendations paper is out

Frank Higginson, Hynes Legal
Remember – these are not law. They are what the QUT professors have recommended to the government about what could or should become law. What happens now depends on the government.

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Better organise your lift emergency phone lines now!

Rex Henning,
Equity Elevator Management
No one wants to be trapped in a pitch-dark lift with no light or emergency phone. The chances of this happening are not as remote as you may think. More than 20% of lifts we inspect have no emergency light and/or phone that works when the mains power goes down despite it being legally required and a critical safety feature too!

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Is there enough money in our sinking fund?

Blake Rooney, Leary & Partners
We regularly receive this query. Most owners are aware of the importance of the Sinking Fund Forecast (now called Maintenance Plans or Capital Works Plans in some states) but how much sinking fund is enough?

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Latest News

Faulty Glass a Major Danger to the Australian Public

Andrew Heaton, Sourceable
27 July

On July 2, pedestrians on a street in the inner northern Melbourne suburb of Carlton were shocked when glass shattered and fell only metres from them after an apartment balcony exploded without warning – the second such collapse which had happened at the complex in a matter of weeks.

Costs Charged by Resident Manager Upheld by Court of Appeal – Body Corporate Management Rights Update

Robert Lyons, Broadley Rees Hogan

The Queensland Court of Appeal recently ended a long-running saga in which a resident manager of a Gold Coast apartment Complex had been prosecuted through the QCAT. The decision is a major win for management rights operators in Queensland. For apartment owners, the case demonstrates that consumer protection legislation only goes so far.