Many investors have been finding that the return from holiday letting their apartments does not match the return that they would achieve from long term rentals.
Whilst there are times when the returns for holiday rentals are high eg Christmas and holiday periods, the net return over a full year is often a disappointment to owners. Fees and charges associated with holiday letting are high and the upcoming hike in electricity charges will be the final straw for many investors.
Owners who use holiday letting pay for all electricity charges. However, if they rent their apartments out with a long term lease, the tenants pay for the electricity.
Electricity providers are writing to owners advising of the increases in charges. One such provider clearly blames "the impact of the Federal Government's carbon price" as one of the factors influencing the increases.
Astute owners will be doing their sums and many will be making the decision to take their units out of the holiday pool and rent them out on a long term basis. This will be a huge blow to Caretakers who rely on holiday lettings in Body Corporate Communities.
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The opinions expressed in this blog are personal and not intended in to be advice in any way. I have spent many years participating on a number of different Body Corporate Committees. I am the owner of http://www.moviemem.com/
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Access to BC records for all owners? Not necessarily.
As a general principle owners should be able to expect to have access to BC records after paying a prescribed fee. However, recent rulings by Adjudicators indicate that it is not that simple. If a BC believes that certain records are subject to "legal privilege" then they have the right to refuse access to any owner who may be involved in either actual or threatened legal action against the BC or presumably anyone who claims to be affected by the records.
There are times when it might be prudent to withhold certain documents from an owner on the basis of legal privilege but anyone with an ounce of imagination should be able to see how this ruling could be abused.
It would be very easy for a Committee to deny access to records based on "legal privilege". The owner would then have to decide whether to lodge a dispute. If the records were needed urgently, the process of waiting for the dispute to be heard could prove costly for the owner.
An Adjudicator recently ruled that a dispute with QCAT constitutes legal action. Presumably any dispute that has been initiated or implied also comes under the banner of "legal privilege".
There are other considerations that could lead to abuse of this process. Who decides whether records are subject to legal privilege or not? What if the person who is actually seeking the records is the Chairman, Secretary or another Committee member?
There have been disputes between the BC and the BC Manager in the past. The BC Manager is the custodian of the records. What would happen if the BC decided that the BC Manager could not access records because of legal privilege?
I feel that all BC records should be available for access by owners irrespective of any implied or actual legal privilege.
_______________________________________
The opinions expressed in this blog are personal and not intended in to be advice in any way. I have spent many years participating on a number of different Body Corporate Committees.
There are times when it might be prudent to withhold certain documents from an owner on the basis of legal privilege but anyone with an ounce of imagination should be able to see how this ruling could be abused.
It would be very easy for a Committee to deny access to records based on "legal privilege". The owner would then have to decide whether to lodge a dispute. If the records were needed urgently, the process of waiting for the dispute to be heard could prove costly for the owner.
An Adjudicator recently ruled that a dispute with QCAT constitutes legal action. Presumably any dispute that has been initiated or implied also comes under the banner of "legal privilege".
There are other considerations that could lead to abuse of this process. Who decides whether records are subject to legal privilege or not? What if the person who is actually seeking the records is the Chairman, Secretary or another Committee member?
There have been disputes between the BC and the BC Manager in the past. The BC Manager is the custodian of the records. What would happen if the BC decided that the BC Manager could not access records because of legal privilege?
I feel that all BC records should be available for access by owners irrespective of any implied or actual legal privilege.
_______________________________________
The opinions expressed in this blog are personal and not intended in to be advice in any way. I have spent many years participating on a number of different Body Corporate Committees.
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