If you are considering a submission to QCAT to change your body corporate entitlements, this post is to provide a simple understanding of how to change your body corporate entitlements, what to expect and what to consider.
Two ways to change your body corporate entitlements:
- agreement between the owners, or
- QCAT decision that they are changed
In essence to achieve an agreed solution you need the owner of the large lot with low levies, to agree to increase their contributions. And bring down yours, and maybe the other owners. Most likely the other owner is against this as owners almost never agree to increase their levies, while other people’s levies go down.
Therefore this leaves you with the option of going to QCAT for them to make a decision.
Below are two links to QCAT decisions regarding entitlement changes from 2018 and 2019. As you can see in both of them, you must first prove that there has been a material change to the scheme since the CMS was last changed.
If there has been a material change you then need to prove how they are incorrect. The factors that they consider them under are below.
Factors include:
- how the scheme is structured
- the nature, features and characteristics of the lots
- what the lots are used for
- how each lot affects the costs of maintaining the common property
- the market value of each lot.
But when reading any of the court papers on entitlement changes the affect on maintaining common property appears to be given the most weight. This means you must consider; does a 300m2 3 bedroom apartments create any more body corporate costs that a 200m2 3 bedroom apartment.
How to submit your application to QCAT
Each owner has the right to submit an application to QCAT and seek an order, to change the body corporate’s entitlements.
QCAT form to change Body Corporate Entitlement Schedule
The application form is straight forward, but we recommend that any owner making a submission prepare for the question “has there been a material change to the scheme since the CMS was last changed”.
Interesting Resources
Qld Parliament Library Research paper onchanging Body Corprorate Entitlements