The Commercial and Property Law Research Centre at QUT is conducting a Property Law Review looking at a range of body corporate governance issues relating to how Queenslanders buy, sell and manage property.
The review is being conducted on behalf of the Queensland Department of Justice and Attorney-General.
QUT property law expert Professor Bill Duncan said an Options Paper was currently available for public comment.
Professor Duncan said the Centre members had face-to-face meetings with a broad range of strata industry groups and other relevant stakeholders to identify problems or concerns with the current Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997 (BCCM) and to consider practical ways of addressing these matters.
He said the review was considering body corporate governance issues such as debt recovery from defaulting owners and scheme termination.
"Scheme termination is of increasing concern in Queensland as buildings age and the cost of maintenance and repair becomes uneconomic," Professor Duncan said.
Professor Duncan said the paper also provides options for improving the ability of bodies corporate to self-regulate to provide quick and effective ways of addressing a range of issues including disputes relating to parking, pets and smoking.
He said the law has increasingly recognised a need to protect non-smokers from the harmful effects of second hand smoke in public areas and workplaces. He said strong arguments had been put forward in favour of restricting the rights of people to smoke on their premises when the smoke drifts and impacts on other people within the unit or townhouse complex.
The BCCM Act would have to be amended to give the body corporate an express ability to adopt a no smoking by-law and make the by-law enforceable, Professor Duncan said.
He said members of the public were encouraged to provide comment by 30 January 2015 on the Options Paper which is available from the Department of Justice and Attorney-General at http://ow.ly/HhHCK
Media contact: Rose Trapnell, QUT media team leader, 07 3138 2361 or 0407 585 901 rose.trapnell@qut.edu.au
