Frequently Asked Questions

A.         A body corporate is a legal entity in its own right, established at the time that the property was registered with the Land Transfer Office. It represents all of the commonly owned property held within the body corporate, including the entire exterior of all of the buildings.  The members of a body corporate alter from time to time as properties sell. While you are an owner of a property which has been registered under the Unit Titles Act (UTA) 2010 you are subject to the rules that govern the particular body corporate of which you are a member.

A.         By purchasing a property which has been registered under the UTA you are automatically part of a body corporate.

A.         A body corporate is made up of the owners of the property within it. Each year, the owners elect a chairperson and, if there are 10 or more owners, they elect an owners’ committee. A body corporate with 9 or less owners do not have to have a committee. The owners’ committee then elects its own chairperson. This can be the overall chairperson or another owner. The body corporate appoints a manager, in your case SHAY Solutions. The role of the Body Corporate Manager is to act on the instructions of the Chairperson and the Owners’ Committee to carry out all the administration tasks required to manage the financials, carry out maintenance of the common property, act on complaints, to support the efficient running of Body Corporate matters.

A.         SHAY as the BC Manager provides all of the administration services required and works with the Owners’ Committee in maintaining the common property.

A.         It is a requirement of all owners to adhere to the body corporate rules, and if they rent their unit the owner is obliged to ensure that the tenant also adheres to the rules.  Owners must pay the BC Levy on or before the due date. Each year at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) Body Corporate owners will approve a budget for the next fiscal year. Soon after the AGM each owner will receive an invoice with the new levy amount.

A.         Your levy is paid according to the instructions from your Body Corporate. This can be annually, bi-annually, quarterly or monthly. The payment schedule for your Body Corporate is distributed on the proposed budget which is circulated with the AGM papers each year. If you pay monthly, you will be issued with a perpetual invoice. This is an invoice which is issued once a year once the budget is approved at the AGM and provides the information for you to set up your monthly payments. When you receive this perpetual invoice, you should set up a monthly automatic payment to pay your levy. It is a good idea to file the perpetual invoice in case you need to refer to it.

A.         At each AGM all owners come together to establish how the body corporate is going to operate for the next 12 months. This involves forming a new Owners' Committee (if more than 9 owners), confirming insurance, adopting the financial accounts for the previous year and authorising the budget for the coming year. It is important to attend this annual meeting and have your say to ensure your investment is being managed wisely.

 Q.       Who is an eligible voter?

A.         An eligible voter is an owner of a principal unit. However, a vote cast by an eligible voter who is not financial will not be counted.

A.         You can approach your Body Corporate Chairperson or members of the Owners’ Committee. You can also talk to a SHAY staff member who will be only too happy to help you with any enquiries or concerns you may have.

A.         The body corporate operational rules help the body corporate govern the unit title development and provide guidelines for all owners and occupiers. All unit owners, occupiers, tenants and the body corporate must follow the body corporate operational rules that apply to their development. It is important you make sure you see these before you buy into the development to ensure you are happy to abide by them. Default operational rules are set out in the Schedule 1 of the Unit Title Regulations 2011. The default body corporate operational rules apply to all unit title developments, but bodies corporate are able to revoke, amend or add to the default rules to recognise special situations in their body corporate.

Q.       What happens if I change any of my contact details?

A.         The Body Corporate Manager or Secretary who is SHAY  for your body corporate, is obliged under the Unit Titles Act 2010 to keep an up-to-date register of all owners and tenants in each body corporate. You are required to let SHAY  know if your email, phone number or address changes so we have the correct contact details for you. If you want SHAY to make changes, you should email or write with the changes so we have a record of this. At regular intervals, SHAY will send out a form called a VOC – Verification of Contacts to help you provide any information that needs changing.

If you have a commercial unit and have a tenant in your unit, you are required to inform SHAY of the activity that the tenant is carrying out, the amount of the rent, rates values and their contact details. This is important as your insurance policy usually has a loss of rents cover and this information is required in the event of something happening and you’re needing to make a claim.

If the tenancy changes, it is important to let SHAY know as SHAY must keep the insurance company informed of all commercial activity which may also impact on the insurance conditions.