G’day … Boxy here. Not to blow my own trumpet, but I know a whole lot about bodies corporate, especially by-laws.
By-laws are the set of specific rules that each body corporate makes to help regulate what owners and occupiers can or can’t do with their home or on the common property.
Keeping pets, noise levels, colour schemes and parking are some of the things that are often covered in by-laws.
By-laws registered with Titles Queensland must be enforced by the body corporate. When you have evidence that someone is breaching the by-laws, you can ask the body corporate to get involved.
Here at BCCM, we have a number of forms designed to help you with the process. These forms are available to help owners, occupiers or bodies corporate formally advise someone that they have contravened a by-law and to immediately stop or to not continue doing the wrong thing in the future. You can find these forms on our website.
If you want the body corporate to take action, you must give the committee a BCCM Form 1 – that’s the mandatory Notice to the body corporate that a by-law has been contravened.
If you’re an owner or occupier and your body corporate doesn’t take action within 14 days after you have given the notice, or if they refuse your request, you can choose to lodge a conciliation application with us. You can either—
Lodge against the body corporate for not enforcing the by-laws
or
Lodge against the person who is breaching the by-laws, but only if you have written to the person first advising them that they are in breach.
If you do come to us here at BCCM, we will help try and resolve the issue through conciliation. You will need to include a copy of your BCCM Form 1 with your application and any letter you write to the person who is in breach if the application is against them.
Alternatively, an application could be made to the Magistrates Court where a penalty maybe imposed.
By-laws work well if everyone follows the rules. But if they don’t, you now know what to do.
For more information, Google BCCM and enforcing by-laws or lodge an online enquiry at www.qld.gov.au/bodycorporate
Body corporate enforcing by-laws
If a body corporate believes that an owner or occupier is breaching the by-laws, the body corporate can speak to the owner or occupier informally to try to fix the issue.
If that doesn't work, the first formal step under the Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997 is for the body corporate to give a by-law contravention notice to the person it believes is breaching the by-laws.
The decision to give a by-law contravention notice can be made by the committee, or the body corporate at a general meeting.
The body corporate usually cannot take action to enforce the by-laws until it has sent a by-law contravention notice.
Types of contravention notices
Continuing contravention notice
The body corporate can give a continuing contravention notice (BCCM form 10) to an owner or occupier if it believes that they are breaching a by-law, and it is likely that this will continue.
An example of this type of breach is where an owner has made a change to the outside look of their lot without the approval required in the by-law.
The purpose of the notice is to ask the person to fix the problem within a certain time.
The notice must:
say that the body corporate believes the person is breaching a by-law
detail the by-law that the body corporate believes is being breached
explain how the by-law is being breached
set a time period for the person to fix the problem
explain that if the person does not comply the body corporate may
The body corporate can give a future contravention notice (BCCM form 11) to an owner or occupier if it believes the person has breached a by-law and it is likely that the contravention will be repeated.
This notice would apply if, for example, an occupier often had parties which breached a noise by-law.
The purpose of the notice is to ask the person not to repeat the breach.
The notice must
say that the body corporate believes the person is breaching a by-law
detail the by-law that the body corporate believes is being breached
explain how the by-law is being breached
tell the person not to repeat the breach
explain that if the person does not comply with the notice the body corporate may
The body corporate must send the contravention notice to the person they believe has breached the by law.
If the body corporate believes an occupier, who is not the owner, has breached the by-laws, the contravention notice must name the occupier and not the owner or property manager.
However, the body corporate must also give a copy of the notice to the owner. The body corporate must give a copy to the owner as soon as possible after giving the notice to the occupier.
If the body corporate believes a lot owner or occupier in another body corporate in the same layered scheme has breached the by-laws, it can give a contravention notice to the person. It must also give a copy of the contravention notice to the body corporate where the lot is located as soon as possible after giving the notice to the occupier.
Not complying with a contravention notice
If a person does not comply with a by-law contravention notice, the body corporate can either decide to:
start proceedings in the Magistrates Court for the offence of failing to comply with the notice
A fine of more than $3,226 (current from 1 July 2024) can be imposed by the Magistrates Court for failure to comply with the notice.
Owner or occupier enforcing by-laws
An owner or occupier can take steps to enforce the by-laws if they reasonably believe that:
another owner or occupier has breached the by-laws
and
it is likely the breach will continue or be repeated.
The owner or occupier can send a notice to the body corporate (BCCM form 1) to their body corporate asking that the body corporate send a contravention notice to the person they believe is breaching the by-laws. The BCCM form 1 is an approved form. This means you must give a copy to the body corporate as the first step.
Taking it further
Upon receipt of the form, the committee has 14 days to tell the owner or occupier who is making the complaint (the complainant) that a contravention notice has been issued.
After this time, if the body corporate does not respond or chooses to not issue a contravention notice, the complainant can apply for conciliation against the person they believe is breaching the by-laws, however, they must try to fix the issue with the other person before they apply for conciliation.
If the body corporate advises that it has issued a contravention notice, but the complainant is not satisfied with their action to enforce it, the complainant can apply for conciliation against the body corporate.
A complainant usually cannot apply for conciliation about a by-law breach unless they have given their body corporate an approved notice (BCCM form 1) about the breach.
As an owner or occupier, you cannot start Magistrates Court proceedings to enforce the by-law unless you have already obtained the order of an adjudicator in your favour.
In special circumstances, where the applicant can show that it needs to be resolved urgently, they can make a dispute resolution application without:
the body corporate issuing a contravention notice
the owner or occupier giving the body corporate a notice (BCCM form 1) about the breach.
'Special circumstances' would apply if the alleged by-law breach is:
likely to cause injury to people or serious damage to property
a risk to people's health or safety
causing a serious nuisance to people
an emergency for another reason.
Either of the following would also need to apply:
the by-law breach relates to an application for an order to repair damage or reimburse the cost of repairs arising from a breach of the by-laws (under section 281 of the Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997)
or
the application is for the interim order of an adjudicator.
