Building managers say life working within a body corporate can be ‘living hell’

An experienced Gold Coast building manager says when residents and body corporate committees go to war the role can become a “living hell”, even escalating to far more serious incidents.

EXPERIENCED Gold Coast building manager Keiren Henderson has revealed the “living hell” the role can become when residents and body corporate committees go to war.

Ms Henderson who has worked as a manager for more than a decade said she knew of situations where arguments escalated to assault, and even an attempted drowning.

While she gets on well with residents at her current Southport complex, Ms Henderson it was often a fragile balance between residents, body corporate committees and managers.

Keiren Henderson is a building manager on the Gold Coast who works with her husband. She believes not everyone on the business should be tarred with the same brush. Pic Tim Marsden

“I have heard of committee members bashing a caretaker up and throwing him into the pool and almost drowning him — it was a build up of a whole heap of arguments, some heated words were said and he was thrown into the pool.

RELATED NEWS:

Major stoush at Gold Coast super towers Chevron Renaissance

Residents refuse to share lifts as body corp biff lashes The Palmerston

Power tower row at exclusive Grand Mariner

Malibu at Mermaid Waters body corporate put into administration over bitter split

“Word about incidents like that get out,” Ms Henderson said. “Fights break out over pets, washing hanging up and even smoking on the property. People forget we are residents too.”

Management rights contracts are at the centre of disputes at some of the city’s largest residential towers, including Chevron Renaissance, Palmerston Tower and the Grand Mariner.

BODY CORPORATE DISPUTES: BOUNCERS BROUGHT IN AS AGMS GET UGLY

Grand Mariner 12 Commodore Dr, Surfers Paradise. Picture: Lawrence Pinder

Lucrative building management contracts, which can be purchased for millions of dollars, can span 10-25 years.

OTHER NEWS:

Mum accused of faking kid’s cancer story

Bouncers brought in to body corp AGMs

How Coast cane toad broke records

The rights holders undertake maintenance on common property with the work either subcontracted or undertaken by those building management rights owners themselves while they collect an annual fee.

The value of the asset can however deplete as the contract comes close to the end of its term — and the option of a contract ‘top-up’, or extension, is left to a vote of residents.

These negotiations can lead to conflict if owners are unhappy with the services or are seeking an alternative — some owners claim there is a power imbalance in these negotiations.

UNIT OWNERS ASSOCIATIONS WANT REVIEW OF MANAGEMENT RIGHTS

A body corporate fight broke out at Chervon Renaissance, one of the Gold Coast's biggest residential towers. Picture Glenn Hampson

Ms Henderson said: “The only people that win are the lawyers.

“Each management rights business is hardly lucrative, when the operator has to buy a business and a residence in the same community — and then finds one or two owners who detest their existence,” Ms Henderson said.

“The managers live and work in these circumstances under an expectation they should be on call 24/7.”

Ms Henderson said she would like to see residents educated about body corporates and the responsibilities of care takers.

Australian Resident Accommodation Managers Association CEO Trevor Rawnsley said of disputes among those living in community title schemes: “These disputes tend to be amplified to the power of ten because of the proximity and shared common ground.”

Mr Rawnsley said there were 50,000 body corporate schemes Australia-wide but only 3000 have management rights.

Major disputes could be sparked by just a handful of residents: “Every village has its idiot. Some people are just not suited to living in strata and it is easy to pick on management because they have a high profile in the complex.

“Those performing the manager’s role can function very well and provide enormous benefits to the community,” Mr Rawnsley said.