Support for unit sale call
THE Property Council of Australia has backed a call by Gold Coast City Council planning committee boss Cameron Caldwell for body corporates to be able to be dissolved, even if all unit owners do not agree.
Earlier this week Cr Caldwell told a planning committee he would like to see the threshold drop from 100 per cent agreement to 80 per cent, to help encourage development, particularly of ageing highrises.
Property Council Queensland executive director Chris Mountford said legislation was costing owners and the broader community.
“As Cr Caldwell rightly points out, the current law in Queensland means that no matter how dilapidated the building, or how advantageous a developer’s offer, a single op- ponent within a body corporate can prevent a redevelopment from going ahead,” Mr Mountford said.
Mr Mountford said owners were often tied to buildings which were beyond restoration because of lone objectors.
“As the local government area with the highest number of community title schemes in Queensland, the Gold Coast is particularly at risk, as these assets succumb to age and structural issues like concrete cancer,” he said.
He said that at a time when every bit of land and infrastructure needed to be used to full potential, body corporate laws were a huge roadblock to getting more out of under-utilised sites.
The Queensland University of Technology is reviewing property laws for the State Government, with a report expected to be completed within a few months.