When Sue Black received a letter from her local council informing her she would have to relocate her business to make way for a major road project, she did as she was told. 

“I thought ‘Oh well, this is serious, I better move’,” Ms Black said.

The hairdresser has been left $60,000 out of pocket and faces an uncertain future at her new location.

“It took every penny to set this up … it’s huge money and it’s money I don’t have,” Ms Black said.

She is one of more than 20 property owners and tenants impacted by the Caloundra Transport Corridor Upgrade.

Sunshine Coast Council initially told property owners they would need to leave by June 2022 to allow for construction of the new link road.

The deadline was extended until March this year, then changed again to June.

Businesses are still operating at Ms Black’s former premises, The Hub Shared Space, on Oval Avenue in Caloundra.

“I loved it there,” Ms Black said.

“It was a beautiful little space and perfect for me.”

Commercial rents have also increased significantly on the Sunshine Coast in recent years, which made it difficult for the hairdresser to find a suitable and affordable alternative.

“I’ve had to double my turnover, plus another half and still don’t have enough money to keep the doors open,” she said.

In the fine print

Ms Black says she was told by a council officer that she would be compensated for relocation costs.

She has since been informed that will not happen because she moved too soon.

Her solicitor Brent King said the council had treated his client unfairly.

“It’s unconscionable to contact a person with a lease in place, tell them they need to vacate but then wash their hands of the matter and refuse to compensate the person who’s just heeded their advice,” Mr King said.

“The goal posts have moved so often that even people who have chosen to stay are seeing impacts on their businesses.

Mr King said the council needed to appreciate it was dealing with people rather than just numbers.

A Sunshine Coast Council spokesperson said it aimed to give impacted landowners as much notice as possible and offered to acquire properties ahead of the resumption process.

“Due to circumstances outside of council’s control, namely resourcing issues within the Queensland government’s department of resources, there has been an unusual and significant delay with processing the application,” the spokesperson said.

“Council will contact landowners and tenants of the revised and final vacant possession date.

“Council gives occupants a very long lead time and also offers a rent-back arrangement.”

Cutting their losses

Nicole Waddell ran a coffee shop at the Hub Shared Space and relocated earlier this year.

She said she had taken a “wait and see” approach after receiving the initial letter from the council.

She said they had also been told they would be compensated for the move.

“Because the tenancy ended, we weren’t entitled to anything even though we’d been there the whole time while this road situation was going on,” Ms Waddell said.

“As much as you want to fight for it, you’ve got to realise that you don’t have millions of dollars to fight as well.

Don’t ‘jump the gun’

Lawyer Ian Neil, who specialises in land resumptions, said recent rapid growth in south-east Queensland had meant a “flurry of activity” involving various government departments acquiring land and properties for infrastructure.

“The last two or three years the authorities have, rightly or wrongly, notified property owners of intentions to take property … but that’s not a formal process,” Mr Neil said.

“It’s important to find out whether or not a formal notice of intention to resume was issued.

“If the property owner or tenant jumps the gun to such an extent that they’ve abandoned their tenancy and acquired another property, then the constructing authority can say ‘well you’ve done that prematurely and we don’t have a legal obligation to reimburse the costs incurred’.”

He said anyone who received a resumption notice should seek legal advice.

“The first step is to respond to the the authority and say, ‘Well, I need to get advice — do you confirm agreement to pay or reimburse or reasonable costs’,” Mr Neil said.

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