When buying a property that is part of a community titles scheme each owner becomes a member of the body corporate.
The Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997 (BCCM Act) is the relevant legislation that regulates the operation of a body corporate in Queensland.
This legislation sets out rules including those relating to property management and financial management. As part of the requirements, each body corporate has an obligation to ensure and properly maintain the common property and shared services on the body corporate scheme land.
All owners must contribute to the running costs of the body corporate through payment of their levies.
A body corporate must maintain both a sinking fund and an administration fund and is required to approve a budget each year for both funds. These annual budgets will detail what income is required for the financial year and how the money is to be used.
The portion each owner must pay towards the administration and sinking funds is calculated as per the contribution lot entitlements listed in the Community Management Statement (CMS) registered for their body corporate. Where the contribution lot entitlement is different to the interest lot entitlement, there will be a separate budget for the insurance costs each year based on the interest lot entitlements listed in the Community Management Statement.