For six years I have been in a protracted argument with the Body Corporate Management (BCM) of my townhouse on The Gold Coast QLD. My townhouse is located in Sailfish Cove, where there are over two hundred units in the complex. (I purchased my townhouse in 2003 with the idea that this property would ultimately make up the bulk of my superannuation and provide me with an income in my retirement). The BCM through their legal firm/s first wrote to me in 2013, claiming there were outstanding levies and charges overdue and owing to them. At the time I was quickly able to access my records and have concrete evidence by way of the current (at the time) statement of account that my levy invoices were up to date and in fact in credit. I also have documentation from other sources showing that my levies were not in arrears to the extent they were/are claiming.

Despite responding specifically to their allegations of where alleged overdue levies and charges owing, had arisen from, I received no response to the questions I had put to them. In November 2013 I engaged a lawyer to respond to their allegations. Again there was no response in regard to my direct questioning of their claims.

In July 2014 The Body Corporate Management, through their lawyers, filed a statement of claim in The Southport Court formally making a claim against me for alleged outstanding levies and charges. The amount that was alleged to be owing before the claim was lodged against me was $9,728.07. I was subsequently served by a sheriff with papers on 8 August 2014 on the Far South Coast of NSW where I was and still do reside. Before that, I was a resident of the Gold Coast from February 2004 until August 2011.

Following contact with Southport Court both via telephone and their website I filed a defence claim. This defence application on behalf of myself, disputing the veracity of the claim made against me, was duly stamped and filed by the court and a hard copy was sent to me. At that stage I put together the relevant papers and financial records to use in my defence. I was fully expecting to receive a hearing date from the court. I was also expecting that the possibility of mediation at the time may have been instigated before a hearing date had been set as a logical step in trying to resolve this matter. This did not occur.

In the interim five years since the initial claim was filed against me, the BCM through their lawyers, have inundated me with constant threats of seeking a summary judgement (something that would be sought through the court), have attempted to have my defence claim dismissed outside of the court, quoted body corporate law ad nauseum to me (included hiring a barrister to do so), accused me of being vexatious, accused me of being derelict in my responsibilities in regard to payment of levy invoices, altered statements of account on at least three (3) occasions and attacked my integrity and character. As well as that they have accused me of being frivolous and abusing the process of the court, being scandalous and delaying the fair trial of the proceeding. These accusations have been made against me because I have acted more often than not through self representation. At times though I have sought legal counsel and have had letters drafted and sent by my lawyer in an attempt to resolve this matter. That has been to no avail. Whilst all this has been occurring, the BCM itself has continued to ignore me, sent me levy invoices which actually breach body corporate law, withheld levy invoices from me and have named me personally on body corporate minutes of meetings, which again is in breach of the law. At no time over the years have I ever received one response in regard to where their claimed outstanding levies and charges have originated from.

In September 2017 the BCM lodged an amended statement of claim. I duly lodged a second defence claim. Shorty after this the BCM also chose to change the law firm who was acting for them. One of the reasons given by the BCM at the time was that the new law firm that was hired, had a better track record of prosecuting claims according to them. This was despite the fact that one of the lawyers working for the newly hired law firm had previously worked for the first law firm and was well aware of the claim against me.

At the time of writing and publishing this petition, the figure allegedly now owed to the body corporate is now almost $100,000.00. The most recent levy invoice issued to me shows this. Much of this alleged levy invoice, however, includes legal fees, which are illegal to issue on a levy invoice. This is not the first time that legal fees have been added to my levy invoices. Body corporate levies and any legal fees an owner may owe in regard to legal action against them are two separate issues. To add legal fees to a levy invoice is not only illegal, it also means that the BCM can and does add additional interest to the levy invoice. Again, not only is this illegal but the interest is in the vicinity of 30% per annum. I reiterate that at no time has this claim ever been inside a court of law before a magistrate.

During these years I have discovered that there are many others in similar circumstances. I myself have come to the point where I feel there is no other action to take other than to draw to public attention the abuse of power and law that this body corporate has shown. As an individual, attempting to resolve this dispute through numerous avenues in an equitable way, now seems to be impossible. The key question in this saga is why have the BCM and their lawyers not prosecuted their claim before a court of law? Why have they continued their arguments against me outside of the court for more than five years, whilst they have a claim on file in the justice system? If they have a legitimate claim against me, then why do they not go to court? It would seem that it is I who has to try and prove that the claim against me is false rather than the claimant proving that they have a genuine claim against me. After all I am the defendant. They are the plaintiff and it is they who initiated this whole action in the first place.

One of the most recent events to occur in this long running saga is the BCM has now tried to coerce me into accepting a consent judgement. This entails me handing over the title to my property so that the BCM can sell my property and recoup their alleged outstanding levies and costs. This is just another devious attempt to circumvent the law and the court. Of course this is not enforceable as there is no court order, or any other judgement in place and I will not be a party to this. This action only reinforces and again begs the question as to why the BCM refuses to take their claim before a court?

In starting this petition it is my hope that Attorneys General of our states, members of parliament and in my case, the Queensland Government itself, will see that Body Corporate law is virtually impossible to negotiate. Those that seek to corrupt the current legislation, can readily do so because claims against individuals can be left indefinitely in the justice system, lawyers can use the laws to hide behind the actual issues at hand and Body Corporate Management themselves can act well beyond any actual and lawful authority they have. It is after all the unit owners themselves who are actually in control of the Body Corporate. Body Corporate Managers and their lawyers seem to have relegated this fact into virtual obscurity. It could also well be argued that many unit owners are unaware of the pertinent facts involving legal action/s that are being taken against their neighbours and fellow unit owners.

There are more than two (2) million strata title units and townhouses in Australia. Anyone here reading this, who owns strata title, could easily find themselves in the same place I am in. There is not one piece of written evidence to show that my levies were in arrears according to the claim that was filed against me. I would ask that you please consider signing this petition. Lawmakers and those that own strata title property need to know that there are many loopholes in current laws and they can be easily exploited to the detriment of property holders, both those that are facing legal action directly and all members of bodies corporate, that is, the unit owners themselves.

Thanking you.

Stephen Byrne

12 January 2020