Mahoneys gets application dismissed in Watermark Residences adjudication

8 June 2021

Mahoneys successfully acted for the Watermark Residences body corporate in having an application brought against it, by two lot owners, dismissed.

Whilst the Office of the Commissioner for Body Corporate and Community Management is an excellent forum to raise body corporate issues, the decision highlights the fact that adjudicators frequently take a pragmatic and common-sense approach to issues brought before them; and that this specialised jurisdiction, and the Act, is not designed to ventilate every technical body corporate issue that may arise.

The decision of Watermark Residences is the story of:

  • a committee that went to extraordinary lengths at the peak of the COVID lockdown to allow owners to participate in a general meeting before the Justice Legislation (COVID-19 Emergency Response—Community Titles Schemes and Other Matters) Regulation 2020 came into effect; and
  • two lot owners who sought to invalidate the annual general meeting because it did not strictly comply with the requirements of the Act.

The Watermark Residences decision provides important clarification on:

  • when general meetings will be invalidated by an adjudicator; and
  • the importance of only making an application when there is a material reason to do so, and not because of a technicality or for an ulterior motive.

The decision, including a summary, can be found here.


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