Having just arrived back from a week in Surfers Paradise with family it’s nice to be sitting in a stable seat (rather than one attached to a very flimsy looking roller-coaster being powered by Superman). However, it was impressive to see the level of highrise development happening on the Gold Coast. There were cranes and workers all over the place. The $850m Soul Surfers residential complex was at about level 55 (it’s destined to have another 22 levels). The Hilton Surfers Paradise has recently reached its top level and is due for completion later this year, and there was plenty of other stuff going on too.
It wasn’t really a week for thinking about legal issues. To be frank most of the legal stuff I dealt with last week was about not running around the pool and not throwing stuff off the balcony.  There were plenty of those sorts of rules though and it struck me that there is a balance to be reached in a  residential complex between useful rules that ensure people are respectful of each other and making sure absolutely nobody ever gets offended. My kids thought it a  bit tough not being allowed to jump, dive, throw a ball, splash or wear suntan lotion in the pool. 

So what rules are you bound by as a unit owner? Body corporate rules must be passed by a resolution of the owners. Some rules can be changed by majority, some need a unanimous decision. They are not effective until they have been registered at LINZ. The unit titles act doesn’t bind you to any other rules. 

 As an owner you are bound by rules that have been properly made, and so is anyone in occupation of the unit. So if you (or a majority of your co-owners) agreed that there should be no splashing in the pool, then those are the rules. 

Debra Dorrington

Don’t forget, it’s a blog, it’s not legal advice.  See your lawyer for that.

How about some insight into some of the legal issues that arise with apartments, apartment buying, selling and management. There is plenty to talk about, especially with the massive change in unit titles law that is on the horizon.
If you want any comments made on particular legal issues, just send in your questions.
I thought I’d start with some of the fundamental stuff, the language. Words like stratum estate, unit title, common property, body corporate, unit entitlement; what do they actually mean?
Although “unit title” is a commonly used description of ownership of an apartment it isn’t a phrase that’s used in the legislation. The legal description is a “stratum estate”. That is ownership of the unit, but it includes more than that. It includes shared ownership of the common property and recognition of the notion that if the legal set up for the unit development is ever cancelled, a right to co-own the property remains.
Unit entitlements are calculated based on the value of your unit compared to the other units. They are only assessed once, when the development is first done, and then remain the basis on which your share of costs is calculated for the life of the building.
The “body corporate” is simply everyone who owns property in the development. When the titles first issue a legal entity is created and given a number, but all it is is the owners. The owners might in turn appoint a body corporate secretary or manager to help run the development.
Common property means any property in the development that is not a principal, accessory or future development unit. The definition gets a little more complicated in the new act, and the concept of “base land” is introduced, but more about that on another day.
Debra Dorrington