Body Corporate disputes Gold Coast: Bouncers brought in as AGMS get ugly

Infighting has gotten bad at Gold Coast apartment buildings that solicitors and bouncers are being paid to attend annual meetings.

STRATA managers say the infighting has gotten so bad at Gold Coast apartment buildings that solicitors and bouncers are being paid to attend annual meetings.

Michael Young has worked with hundreds of Glitter Strip body corporates as the general manager of AM Strata and said he knew of the outbursts.

“I know of cases (but was not personally present) when residents have become aggressive and physically engaged and am aware of situations where a security guard and solicitors are present at AGM,” he said.

BODY CORP BATTLE AT ELITE GOLD COAST TOWER

Wayne Stevens at his Atlantis West apartment, in Paradise Waters.

Mr Young said it was his role to guide owners on the Body Corporate and Community Management Act and legislative requirements, and he had seen disputes erupt over petty problems.

“People are quick to point a finger and pull out a camera. I think too often there are unreasonable people making unrealistic requests,” he said.

The State Government is conducting a reivew into the Act. However, industry figures said attempts to fix the problem were a “token effort”.

The Grand Mariner. Picture: Lawrence Pinder

The Government has recommended 64 changes and has for submissions, which close in October.

Unit Owners Association boss Wayne Stevens said the recommendations of the review did not address concerns about toxic communities and complex managers’ lengthy contracts.

He also raised issue with the length of the review, which began in 2013.

“The Government has taken over six years to do a token review of issues they consider need addressing and ignore the complaints of distressed owners caught up in the mess created by management rights, the dominant issue driving this debacle,” Mr Stevens said.

Member for Surfers Paradise John Paul Langbroek said his office had been inundated with similar complaints and slammed the State Government’s review as “window dressing”.

“Disagreements like that at the Grand Mariner are typical of the types of issues that are happening in body corporates, of which there are more in Surfers and Southport than anywhere else in the state.

“The issue of management rights and conflict are not dealt with by this review,” he said.

Mr Langbroek also argued that funding for the commissioner responsible for resolving the disputes had not increased while the number of strata communities had skyrocketed.

“When you have a review you are always going to upset someone, and this government would rather not offend anyone that do anything,” he said.

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MP John-Paul Langbroek. (AAP Image/Jono Searle)

Attorney General Yvette D’Ath yesterday did not address why the review had taken so long and instead blamed the lack of focus on management rights on the Newman Government, which was in power when the review began in 2013.

“Unfortunately when the former LNP Government commissioned the review it didn’t include management rights,” she said.

“Management rights will be considered when the Palaszczuk Government weighs up future reforms of the industry.”