Body Corporate Legislation in Queensland: What Agents Selling Units Must Know

A buyer’s solicitor calls you at 4 pm the day before unconditional date. The body corporate certificate shows a $14,000 special levy struck three months ago — the seller knew about it, the Form 2 didn’t mention it, and now the buyer wants to terminate. That scenario is playing out across Queensland since the new seller disclosure regime took effect. If you’re listing units, townhouses or any lot in a community titles scheme, body corporate legislation in Queensland is not background knowledge. It is the front line of your compliance.

The Legislative Framework Every Agent Must Understand

Two Acts govern the disclosure landscape for agents selling lots in community titles schemes. The Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997 (Qld) (the BCCMA) is the primary instrument regulating how community titles schemes operate, what bodies corporate must do, and what sellers must disclose about their lot. The second is the Property Law Act 2023 (Qld) (the PLA), which commenced on 1 August 2025 and brought significant transformation to Queensland’s property landscape.

The new regime does away with Queensland’s “buyer beware” premise and imposes on the seller the responsibility to provide the buyer with information relating to the property before the buyer signs the contract. That shift is fundamental. For agents selling houses, the change was notable. For agents selling units, it added a substantial layer of mandatory documentation that must be assembled before any contract is signed.

Unlike selling a standalone freehold house, selling a lot in a body corporate scheme involves additional statutory disclosure. Buyers are not only purchasing the individual lot — they are also buying into a shared scheme that has its own by-laws, financial obligations, and common-property responsibilities. Understanding which documents are required, who prepares them, and what consequences flow from getting it wrong is the minimum standard expected of any agent handling strata or community title work.

The Form 2 Seller Disclosure Statement and Its Role in Body Corporate Sales

Under the new legislation, a seller must provide a seller disclosure statement (Form 2) and certain prescribed certificates to a buyer before the contract is signed by the buyer. This is not a formality that can be addressed post-signing. The obligation is pre-contractual — the Form 2 must exist, be complete, and be delivered before the buyer executes the contract.

The PLA replaces the outdated Property Law Act 1974 and establishes new disclosure requirements for vendors of properties, including community title lots, in Queensland. For contracts captured under the new framework (which will be most), sellers must give the buyer a Form 2 under the PLA before the contract is entered into. The Form 2 contains a number of “prescribed certificates” including, notably for bodies corporate, a “body corporate certificate”.

For a lot in a body corporate scheme, Section 6 of the Form 2 specifically relates to the body corporate. The seller must confirm that a body corporate certificate has been or will be provided, and that the buyer will receive a copy of the Community Management Statement (CMS). The body corporate certificate does not include a copy of the community management statement for the scheme, which is also a prescribed certificate. The seller is required to obtain the current CMS from Queensland Titles. Agents who hand over the body corporate certificate alone and consider the disclosure complete are leaving their seller exposed.

The consequences of non-compliance are serious. A buyer may terminate a contract at any time before settlement if a seller fails to provide a compliant seller disclosure statement or prescribed certificate before the buyer signs the contract, or provides a disclosure statement or prescribed certificate that is inaccurate or incomplete in relation to a material matter affecting the property, the buyer was unaware of the true state of affairs at the time they signed, and if the buyer had known, they would not have proceeded to sign. Critically, if the contract is terminated, the buyer is entitled to a full refund of all money paid, including any interest accrued on that amount.

The Body Corporate Certificate: What It Is, Who Provides It, and What It Must Contain

The body corporate certificate is the centrepiece of strata disclosure under the new framework. These body corporate certificates replace the old section 206 disclosures; however, they are prepared by the body corporate, not the seller or the agent. That distinction matters operationally: the old section 206 disclosure statement was the lot owner’s responsibility to produce. The certificate now comes from the body corporate itself, or more precisely its committee or body corporate manager.

The certificates are: Form 33 — for schemes regulated under the BCCMA and regulated by the standard, accommodation, commercial or small schemes modules; Form 34 — for BCCMA schemes regulated under the specified two-lot module; or Form 18 — for schemes regulated under the Building Units and Group Titles Act 1980 (BUGTA). Form 33 will apply to the vast majority of unit sales. Agents listing a duplex need to confirm which regulation module applies before assuming Form 34 is the correct certificate — just because a body corporate is a duplex doesn’t mean it’s a two-lot module scheme. Refer to the CMS to confirm.

Form 33 provides comprehensive information about the lot, including financial contributions, by-laws, insurance, common property, and any service contracts or embedded networks. It also includes details about the body corporate’s financial position, including administrative and sinking fund contributions, penalties for late payments, and any special levies. Agents reviewing a certificate should check all of these fields carefully, not simply confirm its existence. A certificate showing a large outstanding special levy or a depleted sinking fund is material information that will affect a buyer’s decision.

A body corporate must produce a body corporate certificate to an “interested person” within five business days of a request and payment of the prescribed fee, or within twenty-four hours of a priority request. An interested person includes the owner, mortgagee or buyer of a lot, an agent of such person, or another person who satisfies the body corporate of their interest in the information. The prescribed fee for a standard certificate under the BCCMA (Forms 33 and 34) is currently $84.10, with a reduced fee applying if an updated certificate for the same lot is requested within three months of a previous one, and an additional $30 for a priority request that must be refunded if the certificate is not provided within 24 hours.

Timing is a practical issue agents regularly underestimate. The levy information included in the certificate may change during the course of a marketing campaign, depending on things like when the AGM is held or whether additional levies are issued. If the information within the certificate is updated, a new certificate will be required. Order it early — but not so early that it will be stale by the time the buyer signs.

Levy Arrears, Special Levies, and Settlement Adjustments

Levy arrears are one of the most common disclosure issues agents encounter in unit sales, and one of the most misunderstood. The body corporate certificate essentially rolls what was a section 206 disclosure statement and a section 205 information certificate into the same document. Section 205 information certificates are routinely obtained immediately prior to settlement to ensure that any outstanding amounts owed by the seller are paid at settlement. The certificate is a guarantee that this is the amount owing at the date of issue, which a buyer may rely upon at settlement. This is particularly important if the lot is in arrears.

Sellers carrying levy arrears must understand those arrears will be visible on the certificate and will be adjusted at settlement. The question for agents is whether arrears constitute a material matter requiring proactive disclosure in the Form 2, or whether the certificate itself is sufficient. Given the PLA’s broad construction of what constitutes a material matter, the prudent position is to ensure the Form 2 accurately reflects the lot’s levy status. An agent who notices arrears on a certificate but fails to flag them to the seller’s conveyancer is creating risk for all parties.

Special levies deserve particular attention. A special levy is struck when something unexpected happens to a building that requires expensive repair that was not forecasted. They are disclosed in the body corporate certificate, but the timing problem is significant: a special levy may be resolved by the body corporate committee after the certificate was issued but before the buyer signs. A person who obtains a body corporate certificate may rely on the certificate against the body corporate as conclusive evidence of matters stated in the certificate, other than to the extent to which the certificate contains an error that is reasonably apparent. This means where the seller obtains the certificate for the purpose of providing seller disclosure, the seller will be entitled to rely on the certificate. However, if a seller becomes aware of a new special levy after obtaining the certificate, that awareness is a problem. Sellers cannot shelter behind a certificate they know to be outdated.

By-Laws, Exclusive Use Areas, and What Agents Miss

Every community titles scheme operates under a set of by-laws found in Schedule C of the CMS. By-laws are the set of regulations established by a body corporate to oversee and regulate how a body corporate should operate. Your scheme’s by-laws are found in Schedule C of your body corporate’s Community Management Statement (CMS). By-laws are legally binding and enforceable within the property complex, and all residents are expected to adhere to them.

For agents, by-laws are directly relevant to the sale in three ways. First, they define what buyers can and cannot do with the lot — restrictions on pets, short-term letting, parking, renovations, and more. If a buyer is purchasing specifically to operate the lot as a short-stay rental and the by-laws restrict or prohibit that use, the buyer has grounds to argue non-disclosure of a material matter. Second, by-laws govern the use of common property. Third, exclusive use by-laws allocate portions of common property — typically car parks, storage cages, or garden areas — to specific lots.

Exclusive use areas require careful attention during listing. The CMS is the legal backbone of every body corporate. It defines the scheme’s by-laws covering rules about noise, pets, renovations, and parking, lot entitlements governing how levies are apportioned, and any exclusive-use allocations or common property rights. An agent marketing a unit with a car park or storage cage allocated under an exclusive use by-law must confirm that the allocation is properly recorded in the CMS and disclosed in the body corporate certificate. For older schemes registered prior to BUGTA, there was no requirement for exclusive use allocations to be recorded in the land registry before BUGTA was introduced, so it is possible there are unregistered exclusive use grants for such schemes. Agents dealing with older buildings should raise this with the seller’s conveyancer before listing.

By-law changes require a special resolution at a general meeting plus registration of an amended CMS with Titles Queensland. If the modification relates to a new or revised exclusive use by-law, a resolution without dissent is required. The body corporate is obligated to register the revised community management statement with Titles Queensland. This registration must be completed within three months following approval of the motion at a general meeting to amend the by-laws. If a seller believes their exclusive use area is covered by an informal arrangement rather than a registered by-law, that is not a selling feature — it is a risk that must be addressed before contracts are exchanged.

The Community Management Statement: Your Pre-Listing Checklist

The CMS is the constitutional document of every community titles scheme. Agents listing a unit should obtain and read the current CMS before preparing the listing. It tells you the scheme’s regulation module, the lot entitlements (which drive levy calculations), all registered by-laws, and any exclusive use allocations attached to the lot.

Whilst there is an obligation on sellers in the PLA Form 2 to produce a copy of the current CMS, it does not form part of the body corporate certificate. For schemes registered after commencement of the BCCMA on 1 July 1997, the CMS is not required to be produced with the certificate. For such schemes, it is sufficient for the certificate to simply confirm that the by-laws and exclusive use areas are those contained in the current CMS.

However, for former BUGTA schemes with a “Standard CMS” — issued by the titles office on 15 July 2000 stating that the by-laws are “Taken to be those in effect as at 13 July 2000” — a consolidated set of by-laws and details of any exclusive use areas must be included with the certificate. Producing a consolidated set of by-laws for such schemes can be a tedious one, requiring an analysis of historical land title searches. Agents listing in older complexes, particularly inner-Brisbane units originally registered under BUGTA, should flag this complexity to the seller early. It can add weeks to pre-contract preparation time.

Separately, the CMS also identifies caretaking and letting engagements that affect the scheme. The body corporate certificate must include details of caretaking and letting contracts for the scheme, as well as details of embedded electricity networks in the scheme. A buyer purchasing an investment unit needs to understand whether a resident manager holds a caretaking agreement over common property, the term remaining on that agreement, and whether the letting engagement is through the manager or open to any agent. These are material commercial considerations for investor-buyers.

Committee Approval Requirements and Transactions That Need More Than a Certificate

Most residential unit sales proceed without requiring any body corporate committee involvement beyond issuing the certificate. However, some transactions engage the body corporate’s governance structures more directly, and agents who are unaware of these requirements can find themselves with a delayed or unravelling transaction.

Certain by-laws require committee or body corporate approval for activities that a buyer may intend to carry out immediately upon purchase. A by-law requiring prior written approval before conducting an auction on scheme land is one common example. A by-law may require prior written approval of the body corporate before allowing an auction to take place on scheme land. A compliant version of such a by-law allows the committee the ability to grant or refuse a request, and when considering the request the committee must act reasonably taking into account the details of the request including the impact on the scheme. Agents planning an on-site auction at a body corporate scheme should review the by-laws and obtain committee approval before the auction date.

For transactions involving management rights — where the seller also holds a caretaking agreement or resident letting agent authorisation attached to the lot — the transfer requires notification to the body corporate and must comply with the BCCMA’s provisions governing management rights transfers. This is specialised territory that requires an experienced conveyancer and is beyond the scope of standard residential unit transactions, but agents listing management rights lots need to be aware the sale process differs materially from a standard residential lot sale.

There may be circumstances where a body corporate does not have the information needed to provide the body corporate certificate. Section 5(1)(i)(ii) of the Property Law Regulation 2024 provides that a seller is not required to give a body corporate certificate if a reason under section 6 applies, and that the seller can instead provide an ‘explanatory statement’ in its place. In circumstances where a body corporate does not respond to a request in time or at all, the seller will need to seek legal advice about how their disclosure obligations will be impacted. Agents who find themselves in this position should treat it as a red flag: a body corporate that cannot or will not produce its own certificate likely has record-keeping issues that will affect the sale regardless.

Common Agent Mistakes in Unit Sales

The shift from the old section 206 regime to the new PLA framework has caught agents out in predictable ways. Understanding where errors concentrate is half the battle.

Using outdated disclosure documents. The old section 206 templates are no longer compliant. Any agent still using pre-August 2025 forms is operating outside the law. The REIQ’s Realworks platform has been updated with the compliant forms, including template explanatory statements for circumstances where a certificate cannot be obtained. If your office is not using current Realworks forms, fix that immediately.

Ordering the certificate too late. The body corporate has five business days to produce a standard certificate. Agents should request Forms 33/34 early and build the five-day SLA into their sales timetable to avoid delays. Running an offer, negotiating a price, and only then ordering the certificate means the buyer is either left waiting before signing or, worse, signs before the certificate arrives. Neither outcome is acceptable under the current framework.

Treating the body corporate certificate as the only disclosure required. The certificate and the CMS are both prescribed certificates. Failing to attach the current CMS to the Form 2 package is a compliance deficiency. Beyond the Form 33, sellers are expected to provide additional disclosure including community management statements, by-laws and rules of the scheme, minutes of recent body corporate meetings, and details of any ongoing disputes, legal proceedings, or tribunal orders. The minutes in particular are a window into the scheme’s health — unresolved maintenance issues, disputes between lot owners, and pending special levies often surface months before they are formally struck.

Making representations about by-laws without verifying them. An agent who tells a prospective buyer “pets are allowed in this building” based on what the seller says, without checking the current by-laws, is creating a misrepresentation risk. By-laws change. What was permitted under the scheme five years ago may no longer be. Always direct the buyer to the CMS and by-laws for definitive confirmation of any use restrictions.

Overlooking special levies raised after the certificate was issued. The certificate is accurate as at its date of issue. The certificate remains accurate only as of the date of issue, so if the sale takes longer than expected or levies change, you should request an updated version. A marketing campaign that runs for three months on a 2025 AGM-era certificate may be relying on stale financial information. Request an update if the campaign extends beyond a reasonable timeframe.

Misidentifying the correct certificate form. Applying Form 33 to a BUGTA scheme (which requires Form 18) or Form 34 to a standard BCCMA scheme that happens to be a duplex are errors that render the disclosure non-compliant. Check the CMS and the scheme’s registered instrument before ordering.

What This Means for Queensland Agents

Selling a community title lot in Queensland is no longer a transaction where the agent focuses on price and conditions and leaves the paperwork to the conveyancer. Selling a body corporate lot is no longer a routine conveyance. It is a compliance-driven legal process requiring precision, timing, and understanding of both the Property Law Act 2023 and the BCCMA.

In practice, agents listing units need to build a pre-listing checklist that runs parallel to the marketing preparation:

• Order the current CMS from Queensland Titles at the time of signing the listing authority
• Review the by-laws for any restrictions that affect the buyer’s intended use, particularly short-term letting and pet policies
• Confirm whether any exclusive use allocations attached to the lot (car parks, storage, courtyard) are recorded in the CMS
• Engage the seller’s conveyancer to request the body corporate certificate at listing, not at offer
• Check the body corporate certificate carefully when it arrives — levies, arrears, special levies, sinking fund balance, insurance status, and caretaking engagements
• Ensure the conveyancer is providing both the body corporate certificate and the current CMS as prescribed certificates with the Form 2, not one without the other
• Request an updated certificate if the marketing campaign extends significantly or if the AGM falls during the listing period

Form 2s, Forms 33/34, and body corporate records are more than just paperwork — they are legal safeguards. As Queensland moves toward a more robust disclosure regime under the Property Law Act 2023, these documents are front and centre in every strata or community titles transaction. Handled properly, they build trust, prevent disputes, and keep sales on track. Handled poorly, they can undo weeks of negotiation in an instant.

The buyer’s right to terminate extends right up to settlement. That is a long window of exposure for a seller whose agent didn’t understand the framework. Know the legislation, build the checklist, and order the documents early.