Gail is the chairperson of a Body Corporate seeking to change their Body Corporate rules due to the recent changes brought about by the Unit Titles Act 2010.

Her committee informed her that the Body Corporate can simply register rules similar to their old “Schedule 2 and 3” rules under the old law (the Unit Titles Act 1972).  She checked with her lawyer and discovered this was not the case.

The position regarding rules has changed under the new law.  It is as follows:

1. The new Act covers many aspects that were covered in the old “Schedule 2 and 3 rules” previously (eg: voting, quorum for meetings etc).  Those matters cannot now be covered in rules as they cannot be contracted out of.
2. There are some very basic default “operational rules” spelt out by the new Act regarding pets, parking etc which applied from 1 October this year.  These can be amended by Bodies Corporate if they wish to expand on them.
3. Any changes to operational rules need to be registered against the title to the complex.
4. You can only make rules relating to operational, management and administration related matters such as pets, aerials, visitors etc.

Bodies Corporate should always ensure they have legal advice before finalising any proposed rules to ensure their rules are legal.  We can help.