Janet owned an apartment in a complex of 4 unit titled apartments.  Janet and the other owners in her complex thought because of the size of their complex they didn’t really have a “Body Corporate” so they shouldn’t need rules, a maintenance plan, or any of the other things that Bodies Corporate normally needed.

That’s not correct.  All unit titled properties, no matter how small or large the development is, are governed by the Unit Titles Act 2010.  All unit owners in a unit titled development make up the Body Corporate, so there is no such thing as having ‘no Body Corporate’.

The only thing that a smaller Body Corporate is exempt from under the Act is the requirement to have a Body Corporate committee.  This is different to having a Body Corporate.  A committee is a smaller group of owners which the Body Corporate has delegated certain responsibilities to.

Any Body Corporate with 9 or fewer units does not need to have a Body Corporate committee.

If there is no committee, or no nominated chairperson of the Body Corporate, then all owners need to sign all documents on behalf of a Body Corporate.

Smaller Bodies Corporate should at least:

1. Have one insurance policy covering all units;
2. Split the insurance premiums across all owners based on ownership interests;
3. Have a Long Term Maintenance Plan (which can be very basic);
4. Provide disclosure statements (pre-contract and pre-settlement disclosure statements) when a property in the development is sold; and
5. If they don’t want the default Body Corporate rules under the Act to apply, create and register a new set of rules.

Smaller Bodies Corporate should take professional advice as needed if they are unsure about any of their obligations.