QLD: Q&A Tenancy Agreements & the Body Corporate

This article is about tenancy agreements & the Body Corporate.

Table of Contents:

• QUESTION: An owner-occupier in our community title scheme rents out 3 rooms in the house. One renter parks on common property. Can the Committee compel the property owner to provide the name of the renters and so we can issue a notice of breach?
• QUESTION: As a tenant, am I able to use common property power to vacuum my car? My lot owner neighbour doesn’t think so.
• QUESTION: I am a management rights owner. There are bed bugs in one of the rooms I manage. Who is responsible for this cost?
• QUESTION: A simple way of getting rid of a tenant is to advise them when the lease agreement is due that the rent will be increased to an amount that they will not pay. Would this be legal?
• QUESTION: Should we have a register of occupants which includes renting tenants? If this is correct, is there a template I could use?
• QUESTION: Does my property management agent have any right to withhold a full copy of a tenancy contract relating to my unit property?

Question: An owner-occupier in our community title scheme rents out 3 rooms in the house. One renter parks on common property. Can the Committee compel the property owner to provide the name of the renters and so we can issue a notice of breach?

One household in our community title scheme has an owner-occupier who rents out 3 other rooms in the house.

One of the renters persists in parking on the grassed verges which are common property, despite being asked to stop. We know who it is but do not know their name and they are not forthcoming. Our BC Committee has issued general letters to the household covering the bylaw and asking for the behaviour to stop.

Can the Committee compel the property owner to provide the name details of the renters and so we can issue a notice of breach to the offender?

Answer: Where there is a lease of 6 months or more, tenancy details must be provided to the body corporate and within 1 month of the event occurring.

Where there is a lease of 6 months or more, those details must be provided to the body corporate and within 1 month of the event occurring (e.g., the lease coming to fruition). A penalty of more than $2,000 can apply if the details are not provided.

In an ideal world, the details would be provided by the lot owner as they happen. If not, and the body corporate has a reasonable basis for assuming that there are indeed leases of 6 months or more – and I’m not sure from your email that is the case, ‘renting rooms’ might not mean leases of that duration – they can make that request of the owner, then consider further action leading to the penalty noted above.

If you don’t have the details from the owner and you don’t know who the alleged offenders are when it comes to parking, you can potentially commence action against ‘The Occupier’ (‘occupier’ is the term used to describe a tenant in a body corporate scheme). Adjudicators have made orders against ‘The Occupier’. You will need to tread carefully here though: you will need to demonstrate you have exhausted all your efforts to find out the name of that occupier. That might include letterbox drops, verbal and written requests, or trying to match the car registration to the owner’s name.

Remember this: it might take 12 months for an order about the parking. In that time, the occupier might have moved on. So you might need to give thought to longer term solutions, rather than focusing on this specific situation.

Chris Irons
Strata Solve
E: chris@stratasolve.com.au
P: 0419 805 898

This post appears in Strata News #600

Question: As a tenant, am I able to use common property power to vacuum my car? My lot owner neighbour doesn’t think so.

I rent an apartment. My neighbour owns their apartment. Once a month I use an outdoor Powerpoint on the common property to vacuum my car. My neighbour says I am not allowed to use the common property power to vacuum my car as I only rent and do not pay the body corporate fees. Does my tenancy agreement with my landlord cover me for this considering it enables me to use other common property facilities such as the onsite laundry and swimming pool?

Answer: It is the right of any resident to use common property.

When living in a Body Corporate, disputes can occasionally occur. How the issue is approached and resolved is crucial to the relationships between the parties going forward.

It is the right of any resident to use common property. This is covered in section 35 and section 180 of the BCCM Act 1997:

Section 35 Ownership of common property

4. If the occupier of a lot is not the lot’s owner, a right the owner has under this Act to the occupation or use of common property is enjoyed by the occupier.

S180 Limitations for by-laws

5. A by-law must not discriminate between types of occupiers.

Example— A by-law cannot prevent a tenant from using a pool on the common property.

Perhaps you can invite your neighbour over for a cup of tea and have a chat about how under the BCCM Act Section 35 (4), a tenant enjoys the same rights as an owner-occupier of the common property. However, if diffusing the situation using this approach doesn’t work the resident can contact their landlord and/ or write to the body corporate committee. The property manager or committee may then provide advice in writing to the resident of their entitlement to use the common property.

The owner-occupier could be referred to the available literature on the web that deals with this e.g. Common Ground issue 23 from October 2019 from the Office of the Commissioner for Body Corporate and Community Management, that specifically deals with renting in a body corporate. The owner-occupier may also be provided with the Commissioner’s helpline number 1800 060 119. It is important to remember that creating respect between yourself, neighbours and other parties maximises your enjoyment of the strata living experience.

Charlotte Divall
SSKB
E: cdivall@sskb.com.au
P: 07 5504 2000

This post appears in the October 2021 edition of The QLD Strata Magazine.

Question: I am a management rights owner. There are bed bugs in one of the rooms I manage. Who is responsible for this cost?

I have a problem with bed bugs in one of the rooms that I am managing as the management rights owner. 

I have informed the owner about this issue and the owner says that it is my problem to fix this and at my cost. This is an urgent matter and needs to be acted on quickly as the bugs may move into another apartment.

I need to know who is responsible for this cost as well as how to fix this problem.

Answer: A lessor must provide a home that’s fit to occupy and if we assume it was bed bug free at the commencement of the tenancy any dispute would look at how the pest problem started.

This isn’t a cut and dry question as the Queensland legislation is not entirely clear on pest control requirements.

A lessor must provide a home that’s fit to occupy and if we assume it was bed bug free at the commencement of the tenancy any dispute would look at how the pest problem started.

Does the furniture belong to the tenant? Have the bugs being ‘imported’ on furniture or from the tenants’ (or sub-tenants) belongings? Is this apartment alone experiencing the problem or are other lots impacted? A tenant is responsible for looking after the property and keeping it clean and free from damage and considering these questions it may be difficult to establish the landlords’ responsibility.

Rob Honeycombe
Bees Nees City Realty
E: md@beesnees.com.au
P: 07 5609 4924

This post appears in the March 2021 edition of The QLD Strata Magazine.

Question: A simple way of getting rid of a tenant is to advise them when the lease agreement is due that the rent will be increased to an amount that they will not pay. Would this be legal?

I am Secretary/Treasurer of the unit complex where I live.

In reference to QLD Rental Reforms Bad News for Tenants a Disaster for Landlords in respect to “effectively granting them an option to stay in the property indefinitely.”

I showed this to one of our owners who leases their unit – his comment was a simple way of getting rid of a tenant is to advise them when the lease agreement is due that the rent will be increased to an amount that they will not pay.

Would this be legal?

Answer: Once the state elections are over (and unpopular changes can be made with less scrutiny) we’d expect QLD tenancy law reforms will be back on the agenda pretty quickly.

Once the state elections are over (and unpopular changes can be made with less scrutiny) we’d expect QLD tenancy law reforms will be back on the agenda pretty quickly.

Under current laws a landlord can’t propose an “excessive rent increase” for a current tenant and an increase can be challenged at tribunal. Comparable property rents, the difference between current and proposed rent, and the state of repair of the property are all taken into consideration by QCAT.

We don’t really know what either party will do in their reforms but we’d expect this provision is likely to remain.

Rob Honeycombe
Bees Nees City Realty
E: md@beesnees.com.au
P: 07 5609 4924

This post appears in Strata News #414.

Question: Should we have a register of occupants which includes renting tenants? If this is correct, is there a template I could use?

Answer: The only requirement a body corporate has in relation to occupiers (tenants) and taking their details is where there is a lease of 6 months or more.

The only requirement a body corporate has in relation to occupiers (tenants) and taking their details is where there is a lease of 6 months or more. In that case, the tenant’s details must be given to the body corporate to be entered on the roll.

Outside of this circumstance, you can certainly ask for details but there is no obligation they be provided.

Is there a reason you think you may need a register?

Chris Irons
Hynes Legal
E: chris.irons@hyneslegal.com.au
P: 07 3193 0500

This post appears in Strata News #400

Question: Does my property management agent have any right to withhold a full copy of a tenancy contract relating to my unit property?

I own a strata title unit which is a rented investment property. I have a property management agent contracted to manage the tenancy arrangements.

Does my property management agent have any right to with-hold a full copy of a tenancy contract relating to my unit property? For example – they provide only a redacted copy of a tenancy lease contract.

Answer: In most cases, the lessor is entitled to see a full copy of the agreement.

The tenancy is between the lessor/property owner and the tenant so in most cases, the lessor is entitled to see a full copy of the agreement. Providing a copy with redacted phone numbers/emails sometimes happens when agents are reluctant to have one party contact the other. This is not just for fear they will self-manage – agents are trained in the legislation and usually have a far more complete understanding of a tenant’s rights. Many of us have seen lessors enter a property without correct notices being provided for example.

Rob Honeycombe
Bees Nees City Realty
E: md@beesnees.com.au
P: 07 5609 4924

This post appears in Strata News #392

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Read next:

• QLD: What Obligations do Tenants have in a Body Corporate Scheme?

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