Square Pegs, Round Holes and Missing Puzzle Pieces — The Conundrum of Administering Community Titles Scheme Terminations: An Argument for Law Reform

The Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997 (Qld) facilitates termination of a Queensland community titles scheme (‘CTS’) in two ways — by resolution of the owners, or a District Court order that it is just and equitable to terminate the CTS. This article investigates the court-ordered terminations of Nobbys Outlook CTS 14822 and Village Square CTS 24175. Through an interpretive research approach informed by a qualitative case study, the authors investigated the Village Square termination and identified three concerns. When compared to Village Square, the approach adopted in the Nobbys Outlook termination raised jurisdictional problems relevant for future terminations. Secondly, the termination process is largely undefined as compared to the statutory trustee for sale process in the Property Law Act 1974 (Qld), despite the arguably greater potential for complexity in CTS terminations. Finally, there is a lack of prescription around administrators’ roles, powers, obligations and protections, unlike the equivalent provisions in the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth). The authors provide recommendations for statutory reform to protect CTS owners.