Support grows for residents of Couran Cove Island Resort without power

As dozens of residents in a Gold Coast island community enter their tenth day without electricity, another voice has demanded urgent action to fix the crisis.

The desperate situation unfolding at Couran Cove, with residents caught up in the body corporate legal war, has highlighted the need for urgent property law reform.

This is the view of Peak property body Strata Community Association Qld, after dozens of residents on island community off the Gold Coast, including the sick and elderly, had their electricity cut amidst the legal dramas.

They have been without electricity for the past 10 days and it is feared dozens of other residents will soon face the same situation.

Strata Community Association Qld boss Laura Bos said the crisis showed urgent changes were needed to “restore equity for lot owners in body corporate schemes across the state”.

It’s understood the power was cut to residents over claims of money owed by one of the body corporates within Couran Cove’s complex body corporate structure.

Strata Community Association (Qld) general manager Laura Bos. Picture: supplied

There are five body corporates involved on the island, with complex court proceedings playing out over millions of dollars in unpaid levies.

“I am incredibly distressed by reports of elderly residents having their power cut off at Couran Cove. I hope they are able to remain safe and cared for and these issues are resolved quickly and fairly,” SCA Qld general manager Ms Bos said.

The strata peak body welcomed a new bill recently introduced to parliament to improve protections for residents and owners in the legislation that applies to developments like Couran Cove.

Couran Cove residents without power. Left to right: DJ, Janne Pitt and Karen Angel.

But Ms Bos said wider action was needed.

“There are 50,000 more schemes that need urgent protections for their lot owners against service contracts imposed upon them with little or no recourse,” she said.

“With cost of living pressures being extremely acute across the economy, the time has come to provide empowerment to lot owners and help them relieve themselves of burdensome and inescapable contracts signed by developers.

“This can happen in things like waste provision or caretaking, which is perhaps the single biggest issue facing the strata sector.”

The Bulletin sent a list of five questions to the Department of Justice, including one which asked if any further action was being taken to address body corporate schemes.

Couran Cove Island Resort

The department was also questioned about whether any assistance was being provided to Couran Cove residents without power.

A department spokesman referred the Bulletin to a media statement issued last week about the bill that is currently before the Queensland Parliament.

Last week Broadwater MP David Crisafulli, whose electorate takes in South Stradbroke Island, urged Queensland’s Attorney-General Shannon Fentiman to take immediate action to help affected residents.