Category: Uncategorised

Body Corporates are wise ranging and diverse. It is this diversity that has lead to schemes being classified as either a Building Format Plan or a Standard Format Plan. Both of which have differing maintenance responsibilities.

Standard Format Plan:

A Standard Format Place uses markers on the ground or structural building elements to define a land horizontally.

The Body Corporate is usually responsible for:

• Maintaining common use areas such as pools and tennis courts;
• Maintaining common roads, gardens and the like; and
• Utility infrastructure that is located on the Common Property;

Building Format Plan:

A Building Format Plan uses the structural elements of a building to define use of the land.

The Body Corporate is usually responsible for:

• External areas to the building;
• Structural Elements of the building like foundations and roofing;
• Gardens and Lawns on common property
• Roads on common property
• Shared Common Facilities such as a pool or tennis court
• Utility Infrastructure on common property or in boundary structure that services multiple lots.
• Doors and windows that border the Lot and Common Property.

Active Body Corp recently upgraded our systems and allocated Committee members can now sign off in invoices through

(by Paul Doevendans from FireServ)

When it comes to fire safety, the most important aspect is the ability to evacuate. Queensland Fire and Emergency Services refer to this as “Means of Escape”. There are many aspects to being able to evacuate a building. It is everyone’s responsibility to ensure that evacuation paths are clear, doors can be freely opened and report anything that may impede an evacuation path.

It is the responsibility of your fire service provider to ensure, your building is compliant with the current fire regulations when they perform the twice – yearly inspections. The services that come under “Means of Escape” include: Fire & Exit Door Inspections, Emergency & Exit Lighting Inspections, Paths of Egress, Evacuation Drill and Evacuation Signage & Diagram.

There are severe penalties for not maintaining the “Means of Escape” within a building you own and or occupy. To perform these services in Queensland, you must be appropriately licenced.

For any queries about “Means of Escape” or general fire maintenance questions, please do not hesitate to contact me: paul@fireserv.com.au

 

It may seem tempting to give your home a quick spray down before your guests arrive, but did you know that DIY pressure washing can often do more harm than good?

From risk of injury to accidentally damaging your home, here are five reasons why it is best to leave house washing to the professionals.

 

1. You need the correct equipment

Depending on the type of dirt and build-up on your home, you may use different chemicals and concentrations to clean the exterior effectively and efficiently. While CMBM prefer to use hot water to break down any contamination, we also use only environmentally and paint friendly Australian Made products for surfaces with requiring a stronger solution.

 

2. You may injure yourself

Pressure cleaning involves climbing ladders, walking on slippery surfaces, and using pressurised equipment.

Getting to those hard-to-reach spots can be dangerous, especially if you are wanting to remove tough build-up such as dust, insects, and cobwebs.

Pressure cleaning specialists have the correct safety equipment and processes in place to minimise risk of injuries. CMBM are ISO Certified in Safety Management, meaning our staff are trained to Work Safely at Heights (RIIWHS204D Certification)

 

3. The money you save may not be worth the time you spend

While pressure washers can be bought relatively cheaply at hardware stores, they operate at a much lower frequency than commercial grade equipment. This means it is likely to take you a lot longer than a professional to clean your home. Consider if the money you save by purchasing a home pressure washer is worth your time and health risk.

 

4. You could cause damage to your home

Incorrect levels of pressure results in oxidation streaks on your external walls. Similarly, using the inaccurate pressure or wrong chemicals can result in damaging paint and tiles, and damaging fly screens.

Damage caused by inexperienced pressure washing can end up costing more than the money saved by doing the work yourself.

Please consider the risks of damaging your home before you take on the task yourself.

 

5. You may not have the correct experience

From using the correct PSI, to preventing water damage, and washing at the appropriate angle and distance, pressure washing specialists have extensive skills that can only be obtained through years of experience.

When it comes to minimising risk of injury and damage, we recommend hiring a professional to pressure clean your home.

 

CMBM’s pressure cleaning specialists are experienced in washing homes, roofs, driveways, buildings, and more. For a brilliantly clean exterior, contact them on 1800 26 26 37 or at helpdesk@cmbm.com.au.

From today, 1 March 2021 new regulation modules will commence that affect the way your body corporate is governed.

There are a number of intricate changes and as your body corporate managers, we are communicating with you some of the more important changes that may affect how your body corporate operates.

Electronic voting
Electronic voting can now be used for:
1. committee elections (including those by secret ballot); and
2. general meeting motions (including those by secret ballot).
For these changes to take effect, the body corporate must pass an ordinary resolution.

Lot owner committee motions
Lot owners now have a statutory right to submit motions for the committee to consider up to a maximum of 6 motions in a 12 month period.
The committee must make a decision on the motion within 6 weeks (or an extended 6 week period if there is reason for the extension) otherwise it is deemed to have been voted against by the committee.

Committee meeting voting
Committee members are now ineligible to vote if they, or their nominating entity, owe a body corporate debt.

Committee member benefits
Committee members cannot receive benefits from service contractors unless the:
1. benefit is a permitted benefit (which includes the services the service contractor has been engaged for by the body corporate or a committee member at market price); or
2. body corporate has approved the benefit by ordinary resolution.

First annual general meeting owner motions
Lot owners now have the right to submit motions to be included in the first annual general meeting if the motion has been submitted with sufficient time for it to be practicable for inclusion.

Motions with alternatives and same issue motions
There are no longer motions with alternatives for general meetings.
A better way of dealing with these issues is now called “same issue motions” whereby:
1. motions dealing with the same issue are firstly identified and grouped together in the agenda – irrespective of the resolution type;
2. the motions are all voted on separately;
3. those that have not passed on their own resolution type are then excluded; and
4. of the remaining motions, the motion with the most votes in favour is then the motion decided upon by the body corporate. If there is a tie, it is the motion with the least amount of no votes. If it is still a tie, you flip a coin or draw straws.

Quorum
The body corporate can now reduce the required quorum for a general meeting to:
1. 10% of voters (as opposed to the default 25%); and
2. 1 personally present (as opposed to the default of 2),
For these changes to take effect, the body corporate must pass a special resolution.

Second annual general meeting defect assessments
The body corporate is required, at its second annual general meeting (and after each stage of development for schemes subject to staged development) to consider a motion to authorise a defect assessment being undertaken.

Information to be provided to the body corporate
Owners were obliged to give certain information to the body corporate within 2 months (for example, the sale of a lot or a long term lease being entered into). This period has now been shortened to 1 month.

Other changes
There are a number of other changes that apply, but we have sought to summarise the more important ones that may affect your scheme.