The History of Body Corporate Series – Part 1.

Here at Archers the Strata Professionals we entered 2022 with an immense amount of pride as we celebrate 40 years of business. This massive milestone has now prompted us to reflect on the history of not only our business but also the Body Corporate Industry in QLD since its inception. To commemorate this milestone, we will be delivering a series on each distinctly different era of the strata industry including the evolution of the governing legislation.
Our series commences with the 1930 to 1960 era when community living first emerged in QLD. In part 1 we aslo cover 1960-1970 when multi-story dwellings and cluster housing were given direction through 2 new laws.

Archers has served the Queensland Strata Industry for since establishment in 1982, we are owned and operated in Queensland for Queenslanders. We are proud of our history, not only where we started but also how far we have come. You can read more about it here. We pride ourselves on our experienced staff and expert knowledge of the strata legislation in Queensland. For our 40th birthday, we look back over the changing landscape of Queensland legislation since it began.

1930 to 1960 |The emergence of community living
In Queensland and Brisbane specifically the demand for community living arose from the housing shortage in the 1930s. At that time, community living was facilitated either under tenancies in common, supplemented by agreements, or Company title, whereby the building is recognised as a company and is governed by its constitution. The company title did not allow for freehold ownership over a unit. This caused many flow-on issues such as obtaining finance and the ability to readily buy and sell.

1960-1970 | Multistory dwellings and cluster housing were given direction through two new laws.
The demand for housing increased following the end of the second world war and high-density dwellings were in full swing. To address the issues for community living under the present systems, the Building Units Titles Act 1965 (QLD) [BUTA] was legislated. Once the building was habitable, a building units plan and a body corporate was created to insure the building, maintain common property and operate an administrative fund. It also provided owners’ rights to services and unit entitlements, which dictates the proportion they contribute to the fund. In the 1970s there was a shift to townhouses or cluster housing as an alternative to multi-story living.

In response, the Group Titles Act 1973 (QLD) [GTA] was introduced to allow land to be subdivided into lots by registering a group titles plan which identifies lots, common areas, and lot entitlements.

In our next instalment, we will focus on the 1970- 1990 era where unregulated management rights and the Building Units and Group Titles Act were born. Our final installment will then move to 1995-2021 when the industry welcomed modernisation of strata regulations. This will include what issues are currently being reviewed in 2022 and what the future holds.

This article was contributed by Nicky Lonergan, Managing Director – Archers the Strata Professionals.