The Unit Titles Act 2001 as amended

This may be the most boring topic on earth for most of my readers (except those who actually live in this town).

None the less, I will risk the wrath of my reading public and explore this issue anyway!

At present there is a piece of legislation entitled the Unit Titles Act 2001. In Canberra much of the housing stock seems to comprise of "units" that do not necessarily have to be flats, but can in fact be free standing homes with both a front and a back yard which nevertheless require a form of self government - generally these bodies are called Owners Corporations. This form of self management is in line with the notions under which Torrens Title operates and which in the past people have known as Strata Title. In any event I will not digress to describe the Act or what it contains except to say that included in the wording are quite a few references to the penalties that people face if they do the wrong things. They are called PENALTY POINTS and different offences carry different penalties that are expressed in a multiple of penalty points where if someone from an Owners Corporation commits the offence then they face a fine of $100 per penalty point and if an Agent commits the offence then the cost of the fine is $500 per penalty point.

I was at an Annual General meeting of an Owners Corporation the other day and the meeting ended with a resolution that all of the owners would constitute the Executive Committee - ie the body that manages the affairs of the Owners Corporation in between meetings. This body can and usually does appoint an 'Agent' who is generally described as a Body Corporate Manager.

There are a whole host of rules and requirements as to how these Agents are appointed and ostensibly controlled by the Executive Committee and there are also loads of requirements that ought to govern their behaviour.

Interestingly, these agents do NOT have to be licensed, they do not have to have any qualifications and indeed do not seem to be accountable to anyone.

Which brings me to my point.

I contacted the Department of the ACT Government that is supposedly responsible the Act ACTPLA and asked whether anyone could actually show me how I could register a complaint about the actions of an Agent or indeed a member of an Executive Committee?

I was told that there was (at least to the knowledge of TWO of the officers in that Department that I talked with) no actual process that they were aware of and they could not identify HOW (if at all) their Department administered the Act or indeed was able to apply its requirements.

They have of course said that they will consult with their superiors and get back to me and if they do and we get no further with this inquiry then I am afraid that the Minister is going to get a call to please advise how the Act for which he is responsible is actually administered and enforced when necessary.

If HE does not know - then I think we seriously need to start a process where the "consumers" who pay a small fortune to Agents to manage properties that are worth in many cases many millions of dollars actually can be held accountable or for that matter owners who make up the so called Executive Committees can be held accountable.

One suggestion from a young public servant was that perhaps I should contact the Strata Managers Institute. I am afraid that I had to point out to this young woman that this Institute had at its head four of the most major principals of the leading companies that actually offer their services to managed properties, that it was only formed last year, barely has a constitution still has no Code of Ethics or processes to self regulate within the industry.

In any event it would be grossly inappropriate to complain to a self regulating body about a breach of legislation.

So watch this space folks because this writer is determined to get to the bottom of this question and find out what DOES exist and if nothing to start the clamour to get something in place that protects the rights of property owners in this Territory.