Owner's Responsibilities in the UTA 2010

Rights of owners of principal units

An owner of a principal unit—

  1. has all the rights derived from being registered as the owner of the stratum estate in a unit under this Act:
  2. holds a share in the common property in accordance with section 54(2):
  3. is entitled as a body corporate member to exercise a vote in respect of his or her unit, subject to section 96 and any other requirements in the regulations:
  4. is entitled to have quiet enjoyment of his or her unit without interruption by other unit owners or occupiers, or the body corporate or its agents, except as authorised by this Act or the regulations:
  5. subject to section 80(1)(h) and (i), may make any alterations, additions, or improvements to his or her unit so long as these are within the unit boundary and do not materially affect any other unit or common property:
  6. has the right to have any dispute resolved in the manner set out in subpart 1 of Part 4:
  7. has the right to enforce the body corporate operational rules:
  8. has the right to attend the general meetings of the body corporate.

Responsibilities of owners of principal units

An owner of a principal unit—

  1. must permit the body corporate (or its agents) to enter the unit at any time in an emergency and at all reasonable hours, and after giving reasonable notice, for any of the following purposes:
    1. to view the condition of the unit for the purpose of ascertaining compliance with the principal unit owners’ or occupiers’ obligations under this Act:
    2. to maintain, repair, or renew any infrastructure for services and utilities that serve more than 1 unit and any building elements that affect more than 1 unit or the common property, or both:
    3. to maintain, repair, or renew any common property:
    4. to ensure the body corporate operational rules are being complied with:
  2. must do all things necessary to give effect to decisions of the body corporate:
  3. must consult with his or her mortgagee, if required to do so, before exercising a vote under section 97 or 98:
  4. must comply with all laws and legal requirements relating to the use, occupation, or enjoyment of the unit:
  5. must carry out, without delay, all work that may be ordered by a territorial authority or public body in respect of the unit to the satisfaction of that authority or body:
  6. must pay all rates, taxes, charges, body corporate levies, and other outgoings that are from time to time payable in respect of the unit:
  7. must repair and maintain the unit and keep it in good order to ensure that no damage or harm, whether physical, economic, or otherwise, is, or has the potential to be, caused to the common property, any building element, any infrastructure, or any other unit in the building:
  8. must notify the body corporate of his or her intention to carry out any additions or structural alterations before the commencement of any work:
  9. must not make any additions or structural alterations to the unit that materially affect any other unit or the common property without the written consent of the body corporate:
  10. must comply with the body corporate operational rules:
  11. must not do anything that breaches or in any way undermines any policy of insurance in the name of the body corporate.

Register of unit owners

A body corporate must keep and maintain a register of all owners of principal units and accessory units on the unit plan in accordance with the regulations.

  1. The owner of a principal unit must notify the body corporate in writing of any changes to the information held in the register that relates to his or her unit.
  2. Despite anything in this Act, where the owner of a principal unit transfers his or her unit to any other person until the body corporate is notified in writing of the transfer,—
  3. that owner of the principal unit remains liable to the body corporate for all contributions levied by the body corporate under section 121 for his or her unit.
  4. the transferee is only entitled to exercise the voting rights for the unit at a general meeting with the consent of the other owners of principal units who are present at the meeting.

Read more on the Unit Titles Act 2010