What records does a body corporate or strata need to keep in QLD?

Records a Body Corporate is Required to Maintain

Body corporates are obligated to maintain current information relating to lots through a roll system and various registers. These registers capture details such as:

• Use of common property

• Appointments of service contractors

• Committee voting activity

This applies to schemes operating under the Standard, Accommodation, Small Schemes, and Commercial Modules. (Refer separately to the Specified Two-lot Schemes Module.)

The Lot Roll and Entitlements

The roll is a comprehensive record containing details about every lot within a community titles scheme, including information about the original owner (typically the developer).

Required roll entries include:

• Full name, residential or business address, and service address (where different) for each current owner or co-owner

• Details of any mortgagee in possession — that is, a lender who has assumed control of a lot following an owner's failure to meet repayments

• Name, address, and lease term for any tenant occupying a lot under a lease of six months or longer

• Name and business address of any letting agent appointed by an owner

• The name of the person entitled to vote on behalf of a lot, including representatives or nominees of corporate owners

• Contribution and interest schedule lot entitlements for each lot

• Original owner details, including name, addresses, and any relevant ACN or ABN

Notices and Responsibilities

Owner obligations: Lot owners must notify the body corporate of any changes to their roll information within one month of that change occurring. For instance, a new owner must provide their address and details of how ownership was acquired within one month of settlement.

Body corporate obligations: The body corporate must update the roll within 14 days of receiving the relevant information.

Forms: A body corporate roll information guide outlines what details owners must supply. Where an owner has not provided complete information, the body corporate may issue a formal request using an "information required" form.

Address for Service

Lot owners and relevant persons must provide an Australian postal address as their nominated "address for service" — the address to which the body corporate will direct all official notices and correspondence. Where no address is provided, correspondence will be sent to the last known address on file.

Owners may include an email address as part of their address for service. Doing so constitutes consent to receive all body corporate documents electronically. Any previously supplied email address will be treated as the current address for service.

Where two or more co-owners share a lot, a single address for service must apply to all of them. Any change to this address must be communicated to the body corporate in writing.

Note: Schemes under the Standard Module must use an Australian address for service. This requirement does not apply under other regulation modules.

Register of Assets

Body corporate assets are items of real or personal property acquired or received by the body corporate, excluding anything that becomes part of the common property upon installation. For example, a rainwater tank is classified as a body corporate asset prior to installation, after which it becomes part of the common property.

Any asset valued above $1,000 must be recorded in the assets register, which must include:

• A brief description of the asset

• If purchased: the cost, purchase location, and date

• If received as a gift: the estimated value and the donor's details

Register of Engagements and Authorisations

A register must be maintained for all engagements of body corporate managers and service contractors, as well as authorisations granted to letting agents. Required entries include:

• Name and address of the manager, contractor, or letting agent

• Description of their duties

• Remuneration details (e.g. wages or allowances)

• Duration of the engagement or authorisation

• Any delegated powers granted to a body corporate manager

• An original copy of the relevant contract

Register of Common Property Authorisations

Where a service contractor, letting agent, or lot owner is granted permission to use or improve common property, this must be recorded. The register must capture:

• The date the authorising resolution was passed

• A description of the affected common property area

• Any conditions attached to the authorisation

Register of Exclusive Use Allocations

Any by-laws granting a lot exclusive use of common property or body corporate assets must be recorded in a dedicated register, including:

• The relevant exclusive use by-law

• The affected common property area

• The lot that holds the benefit

Register of Reserved Issues

The body corporate may resolve to prevent its committee from deciding on certain matters, designating them as "reserved issues" that can only be determined by ordinary resolution at a general meeting.

A register of reserved issues must record:

• A description of each reserved issue

• The date on which the reservation was decided

A copy of this register must be distributed to all lot owners alongside the notice for each annual general meeting.