There are two groups of people in a strata scheme: lot owners and body corporate residents.
When I use the term “body corporate residents” I mean everyone who lives in the scheme, owners or tenants and their various visitors.
How body corporate residents treat each other is a key measure of the success of a scheme.
Consideration is the lubricant that lets unrelated groups of people rub along together without incident. Lack of consideration is like sawdust in a performance machine: its not going to end well!
Body Corporate Residents Need Consideration and Communication
A wise friend pointed out to me that “common sense” is often confused with “common knowledge”. And the thing about “common knowledge”: It’s often not as common as you think.
People with different backgrounds have different ideas of what constitutes consideration. Consideration then needs to go hand and hand with the other “C” word most of us struggle with: Communication.
In the interests of communication here is a list of 16 things respectful body corporate residents do to promote harmony and good feelings at home:
- Put their car in its designated space or leave it outside. It doesn’t matter if you’re only going to be five minutes that five minutes could make a world of difference to another person. Don’t block anyone, or anything with your vehicle.
- Treat shared spaces with respect. Keep off the lawns and respect the gardens. If you make a mess clean up after yourself. Leave any common property you’ve used in the condition it was when you go there. And if it’s not up to standard that isn’t an invitation to treat it poorly. Either report it or clean it up yourself.
- Keep the exterior of their lot tidy. Buying a lot in a body corporate is a shared investment. A failure of one person will have a detrimental impact for the value of the entire scheme. Appearance is one of the key responsibilities all body corporate residents share. Keep of the exterior of your lot clean, tidy and uncluttered.
- Keep the noise down. Shared spaces means there’s going to be some noise, there’s no way to avoid it. Please, do try and be quiet. Especially be quiet after 11pm and in the early morning, those times when local council by-laws prohibit loud noise. Especially be quiet on balconies at night.
- Apologise to neighbours when they screw up. Yes, OK you were noisy. The game was on, it was your kid’s birthday or, you just got carried away. Whatever the reason apologise to your neighbours. Acknowledging that you screwed up and letting them know it won’t be a regular occurrence will heal wounds and promote harmony.
- Don’t hold grudges. Yes OK, your neighbour did that one thing that was truly annoying and inconsiderate. Please don’t glare at them every day for the next two years and especially don’t pounce on anything else they do wrong. You don’t have to like them or even have anything to do with them but snarling at them every time you see them is mean.
- Discuss problems with your neighbours. If you neighbour has lived next door for a year and done the same thing every single day all that time, but its driving you wild, don’t assume they’re only doing it to annoy you. It’s far more probable they have no idea it bothers you. If you’d like someone to change a particular behaviour the best place to start is to discuss it with them.
- Approach confrontation calmly and rationally. Screaming at someone because they’ve done this one thing every day for a year is not rational. Being confronted is hard to take even when things are done calmly. You’re not trying to start a war here, just get a behaviour modified. Calmly and rationally is your best way forward. If you’re not feeling calm and rational wait until you have some perspective.
- Calmly listen when confronted with issues. If you’re calmly and rationally asked to turn the volume down, or whatever, please don’t lose all sense of proportion and start acting like they threatened your dear old Mum. Yes, it is quite probable the person who complained does annoying things to. Bringing them up right now is deflective behaviour and makes you look immature. Calmly listen to people’s complaints. Better yet, when you’ve had a chance to calm down, take action.
- Be the bigger person. OK you’ve had words with a neighbour. They’ve asked you to turn the volume down. Going inside and turning the volume up is petty. Doing the annoying things back is petty. Spreading nasty rumours about them is petty. Pettiness is pointless and has a habit of escalating. All that’s going to happen is that everyone involved ends up feeling uncomfortable in their own home. Skip it by letting things go.
- Accept that they’re going to have to share. Bodies corporate are about sharing: investment, responsibility and space. Yes your upstairs neighbour might be noisy and finding a car space is a boss-level challenge. Keeping the noise down, parking in designated areas, obeying by-laws, generally keeping your lot clean and tidy all promote harmony and are all necessary tasks for body corporate residents. Your rights are not being infringed because you need to be considerate. That’s simply life in shared spaces.
- Let the committee know if you spot an issue. If you see something broken or suspect a problem around the scheme report the matter to your committee. Strata schemes are large and we all tend to stick to certain areas. If a problem hasn’t been addressed for a long period of time it could be because the committee don’t know about it.
- Committee members do not have extra rights. Being on the committee is all about service and representation. Yes you’ll be able to get some projects done, likely the ones that affect your unit. It does not grant you additional privileges. Yes other owners should be grateful to you for your service but there should be no difference in treatment of committee members and other body corporate residents. By-laws and legislation apply to everyone equally.
- Keep complaints to a minimum, unless you’re engaged. If you’ve reported the same issue to committee several times, but have never kept up with the response (refer to committee minutes) please don’t keep bringing it up. There may be priorities that need to be addressed first. It may be un-fixable. Unless you’re engaged with what’s happening you’re just abdicating responsibility. Instead consider joining the committee and getting involved.
- Observe the by-laws; even if others don’t. “Everyone’s doing it” is about the lamest excuse possible. It’s both very unlikely and completely beside the point. Other people’s bad behaviour is not permission for you to behave badly as well. Set an example and do the right thing.
- Refrain from bullying, or worse, helping others bully. Mob justice is disrespectful and flat out nasty. Forming clicks to alienate people and try and control their lives is ugly and repellent. Disagreements happen in shared environments; it’s going to be a fact of life. Argue on the facts. Robust discussion on issues will help everyone. Never resort to bullying, discrimination, intimidation and threats to get your way. More importantly, don’t support those who engage in those behaviours. This is everyone’s home and all have a right to feel safe and supported in this environment.
Conclusion
If you can pull all these things off you, sir or madam, are a paragon among people. Most of us are going to be able to manage some of them for some of the time. My message here is sharing your home is challenging, even when there’s an existing relationship. Sharing with strangers, which is essentially what a body corporate is, can be frustrating, irritating and even frightening.
Respectful, considerate and mature body corporate residents make the best neighbours. For everyone else patience and forgiveness is what we should aim for.
Unless stated otherwise all the information on this website relates to Queensland legislation.
Very interesting and helpful advice for all strata unit residents.
Thanks Albert.
Couldn’t agree with you more. Unfortunately my neighbour was very politely asked to turn music down which he did for half an hour, then came to me, wouldn’t let me speak and I was told “I was NEVER to ask him that again and he will continue to play his music as loudly as he wants”. So disappointing.
Hi Bee
That’s awful. And so nonsensical. How are you meant to live together if you can’t say, “oh hey, blah, blah, blah”. Makes it so uncomfortable. I think some people must like it that way.
We purchased a property over 14 months ago in a Body Corporate Scheme of about 150 townhouses and single dwellings. Our neighbours on one side started off being really friendly, which was nice and welcoming. Then started coming into the property through the side gate, unannounced and asking for eggs or milk so I obliged. Then started asking us to look after their house whilst they were away for a week, so we obliged. Not asking for anything in return. Then the requests became more and more which we said No to. After that, they became really quite nasty and started making very loud banging noises of a night, which I asked them politely to keep it down. This was the beginning of very long drawnout daily taunts from our next door neighours. Wishing us harm. We have reported them to the Caretaker who looks after the rentals and the Body Corporate several times and it seems to fall on deaf ears. We have tried several times to talk to them in a reasonable manner but they close the door and call us names. I’m at my wits end as to know what to do next. They rent the property next door. What steps do I need to do next in order to have peace and quiet?
Hi Jude
Its tremendously difficult to regulate the behaviour of people. Some people are going to do what they want to do regardless of whether its right or wrong. Resolving this issue, at least enough to live with some peace and quiet is going to be a matter of picking your battles.
What is it you think the body corporate will do? The options they have are quite limited. If you make a complaint about noise then the body corporate may issue a breach notice to the tenant. If the matter is ongoing then you will need to follow up with further complaints. It might also be a good idea to have a conversation with the committee about what’s happening here. In your position I’d focus on the noise: Record instances, your response and so on. You can make a complaint to committee, seeking a breach notice be issued. If they do not issue a breach notice you can yourself issue a breach notice to committee, indicating the problem and the lot/resident implicated. This should force the committee to take action.
Threats should be reported to the police.
Thank you Lisa. I have issued a Form 1. to the Body Corporate Management which in turn have sent it off to the Caretaker of the renters. However I doubt whether he will act on it as he is not a very good manager. And has had many complaints from other residents about the renters he allows in. It’s like the BC couldn’t give a damn and brush everything under the carpet. Police are called on a regular basis and that is very disturbing as nothing more is done about it.
Things you don’t know before purchasing a property 😏
I am not on the committee and maybe I should be. It might make a difference.
Hi Judy
That sounds frustrating. Joining the committee might be the way to go.
Thanks Lisa. Very helpful. I think I’ll print it for our four residents in our small body corporate. Basic reoccurring!
That last sentence should have read: basic respect. Auto text sometimes misbehaves. Didn’t proof it before sending.
Hi Jo
You’re quite right: Its all about respect. Its like covering your nose when you sneeze. Everyday if you do, gross if you don’t.
Yes, Ive tried being nice, considerate, cooked meals for some residents, driving residents, & helping out others, but when I needed a Assistance Dog I became a pariah. The Committee, on site Manager and some residents were openly hostile. After paying for QLD Conciliation, I was still refused entry to all common areas, forced to pay for things no other owner had to. I’ve moved out, I’m living in a old motorhome & have a tenant in. Can’t wait to sell.
Hi Gypsy
That sounds terrible. Sometimes there’s no getting along with the people you’re sharing with. Selling is usually the best idea. Its such a shame though.
As resident managers of 2 complexes which consist of mostly respectful, considerate residents, we nevertheless found the article very interesting with regard to those residents who aren’t as aware as they should be. May we use the article in a newsletter to be circulated to our body corporate residents, please?
Many thanks for all your excellent articles. We have found them to be enormously interesting, helpful and informative.
Hi Jill and Mike
I do know Seven Oaks North and South. A friend of mine used to be on the committee.
Please feel free to use the article in the newsletter. I hope it proves helpful.
Hi Lisa,
New at this. Just need to know what owner of I holiday unit has to pay apart from the obvious levis?
Hi Lile
The body corporate will charge contributions. All schemes should charge administrative costs, most will also charge for sinking fund levies. Otherwise there might be special levies, insurance reimbursement or monetary liability under an exclusive use by-law (eg a marina berth. Only those with a marina berth pay to upkeep the marina berth). Sometimes schemes might split up their costs into other levies, like a gardening levy, but its an administrative cost and should be included in the administrative fund.
That’s all in relation to the body corporate unless you buy something, like an additional key swipe, or damage common property or otherwise cause financial loss. A good example of that is false fire alarm call outs – so you burn the toast and set off the alarm. If there is no cause QFRS charge the body corporate who will charge the lot.
Your letting fees are a separate issue between you and whomever does the letting, even if that person in the Letting Agent appointed by the body corporate. You’ll have contacts that should itemise that stuff.
As an Owner of a Unit. Why should I Pay 1/4 of the Water Account when the Other Units have 2 Occupants in the other 3 . My Usage is Far Less.
Hi Vicki
You pay by contribution lot entitlement instead of usage because individual water meters are not installed. To pay by usage you’d need water meters which, depending on your set up, could be expensive to install.
Hi Lisa,
Thank you for your articles on this blog, especially this article about being respectful to one another when we live in a complex. I recently joined the committee which for the first time in about ten years where a few others owners have joined. One of the key reasons was the poor performance of the general maintenance/gardening on-site, where we see fees going up but the conditions of common property went the other way and claims for reimbursement for general gardening that we thought was already included in our admin fees.
I’m very new at this. It seems we have a challenge on our hands in regards to what the manager believes to be his duties as per the contract but not being carried out historically and there seems to be tension between the committee and the manager.
I am also interested in your view in regards to small kids with scooters and bikes in a complex and residential roads – we do not have a designated play area in the townhouse complex, so common area is used as their playground and drivers have to be vigilant about not running into little kids. We do have a council park next door which no one seems to be using.
Hi Jenny
Oh dear. What you’re discussing is very common. There are often ongoing problems with enforcing the terms of the Caretaking contract are the most challenging. The situation is always going to be better if negotiation between parties can solve the matter, but, as you’ve noted, if there are already tensions, then reaching a compromise may be a challenge. There are companies that can help with assessment of things like what tasks should be done and when.
As to the children in the roadways: its dangerous and presumably the body corporate has by-laws stopping this sort of behaviour. Those by-laws need to be enforced.
If the by-laws haven’t been enforced in the past then a softly, slowly process might be a good way to start. Send a couple of circulars to all residents first. Discuss how dangerous and that by-laws don’t permit (check first of course). Then maybe issue some specific letters to the worst offenders.
The same process applies with the Caretaker. Softly, slowly. Pick your battles and be consistent and persistent.
Hi Lisa,
We are having problems with a visitor to one of our lots using abusive language and swearing at other residents on the common property, the tenant will not do anything about her visitor so dose the Body Corp have the right to refuse this visitor access to our common property and have her removed if she dose not comply. Many thanks for your excellent articles our committee reads them all with interest.
Hi Kevin
Unfortunately body corporate legislation is clear about the processes bodies corporate have to enforce by-laws – the dispute resolution process including breach notice, conciliation and then adjudication. The appropriate action here is to issue a breach notice to the lot owner, following the offence of course. The owner will then need to discuss with the tenant.
The body corporate does not have the power to ban someone from common property. Though, as a lot owner, the committee or any owner is capable of calling the Police. They are the people to deal with behaviour issues as they happen.
I walk dogs and as a consequence have had an altercation with a dog owner whose dog has vicious tendencies and attacks other dogs. Because I am vocal about her pet who is walked on an extendable lead, giving her dog more range to attack others, when I visit her complex to pick up a dog, I am confronted with rude behaviour and refusal to use lift when she is in it. As a consequence I am being told by the owner who has been advised by the Body Corporate that they will ban me from visiting high rise if I continue to defend myself. I am being harassed and bullied, but complaints to the Body Corporate from offender who fabricates stories are causing stress and inconvenience to others lifestyles. How can the truth prevail. I have never had an opportunity to present my side of the story and yet eviction looms.
Hi Karen
If you’re not a member of the body corporate then the area is private property and the body corporate has the right to stop you from visiting. There is no requirement for them from be fair about it either. Its literally private property and the body corporate must respond to the owner who lives there. Its unfortunate, but it is what it is.
A new owner has used loud foul language in the common areas and in his unit. These profanities can be heard by nearby lot owners and tenants. He has been approached on a few occasions to refrain but continues to offend. There are indications of mental instability and contravention of some bylaws on a regular basis. Other than involve the police is there any other way to address this problem?
Hi Frank
Oh dear. This is an ongoing struggle for a lot of different bodies corporate. The body corporate legislation is clear about the remedies you have, which is contravention of by-laws and from there legal action via Office Commissioner Body Corporate and Magistrates Court. And, as you say, Police.
It would be best for your committee to seek legal advice if there are other legislations that may give you some leverage. Good behaviour bonds is something some schemes have had to resort to, but I’m afraid I don’t know much about that. Hence speak with a Solicitor.