Legislative Update NEW lot entitlement legislation effective now On Friday, Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie has introduced the Body Corporate and Community Management and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2012, which removes the lot entitlement reversion process introduced by the former Government. In April 2011 the law changed allowing any adjustments to lot entitlements won through a court order could be reversed at the request of just one owner. Many of these changes were due to unfair lot entitlement distribution. These contribution entitlements affect the percentage of costs paid by each unit owner. Of course when adjustments happen some pay less while others have to pay more. The interpretation of the legislation regarding calculation of lot entitlements had between 1997 and 2011 been based on the equality principle that the 'lot entitlements must be equal, except to the extent that it is just and equitable for them not to be equal.' Many owners sought to change for what they saw as unfair lot entitlements. There were those that some thought took advantage of the legislation by doing things like buying the unit next door to theirs and joining them together both physically and on title then seeking a lowering to their combined entitlements. They were usually successful and the result is that the other owners pay larger percentage of costs. The amendment bill means that no more reversions can happen and stops any currently under as well as reversing any reversion made since April 2011 effective from Friday 14th September 2012. For any buildings that have had a reversion this means a recalculation of the division of building costs half way through a financial quarter. This means that division of costs will have to be calculated on differing lot entitlements per lot up to and after the 14th September 2012. Solutions in Engineering are experts in lot entitlements calculations and have for many years provided recalculation of lot entitlement reports and would be happy to assist with advice to any owner and/or Body Corporate in this matter. Bleijie also said the Government was committed to reducing red tape and regulation for the real estate industry. "To ensure the certainty of contracts we will remove unnecessary disclosure requirements, which are causing problems for sellers," he said. "Also, sellers will no longer have to provide a copy of a community management statement (CMS) potentially saving hundreds of pages of red tape." If you have any queries in relation to the information contained, please do not hesitate to contact Solutions in Engineering on 1300 136 036 or email enquiry@solutionsinengineering.com | 
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