- This topic has 8 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 9 years, 5 months ago by .
-
Topic
-
HI All
We are a small three unit self-managed strata, we have an issue with one of the units where any request to gain access to maintain/clean the gutters or pebble crete or common property boundary walls are ignored. I have sent them e-mails but I have not received any response. What is my next step.
-
Replies
-
jpeake600- The owners corporation has a strict duty to repair and maintain common property.
Do you have a functioning Committee? Does your small scheme hold Meetings?
Have you obtained approval in the correct manner from the other owners (or at least one other owner if you have 3 owners) for the undertaking of the repair and maintenance?
Do you have the correct authority from the Owner’s Corporation to undertake these actions?
Does your scheme have sufficient funds in the Sinking Fund to carry out this repair and maintenance?
If approval has been obtained correctly then can you please answer the following:
Is the apartment in question occupied at the moment or is it vacant?
If it is occupied then the next questions are: Is it owner occupied? or is it tenanted? If it is tenanted do you have a record of the Agent’s contact details?
If it is occupied then you can always contact the occupant via knocking on the door, emailing the Agent etc. Have you tried this?
If is is not occupied then write a letter to the owner at their last known address to provide Notice of the maintenance, including the dates that the access is required to clean the gutters and undertake the pebblecrete repairs. Ask the owner to respond to you by a given date if and when they receive the Notice.
If no response is received by the given date then you will have done all that you can do under the circumstances, and you should be able to undertake the maintenance and repairs.
These steps may take a while …. but it is worth doing everything correctly or you can find yourself in a whole heap of trouble.
@proudsceptic said:
If no response is received by the given date then you will have done all that you can do under the circumstances, and you should be able to undertake the maintenance and repairs.
These steps may take a while …. but it is worth doing everything correctly or you can find yourself in a whole heap of trouble.
I think the next step is to get orders from NCAT allowing you to access the property in a non-emergency situation. The law seems to be a bit ambivalent on this but most strata managers I know would err on the side of safety and get the orders under section 122 (4) (below) even though section 122 (2) seems to imply that an NCAT order is not required.
I would think that telling the the owner that you will be able to do this and that any damage to their door or locks in gaining permitted access will be to their cost and that they could be fined $1100 for preventing access might focus their minds.
122 Power of owners corporation to enter property in order to carry out work
(1) An owners corporation for a strata scheme may, by its agents, employees or contractors, enter on any part of the parcel of the scheme for the purpose of carrying out the following work:(a) work required or authorised to be carried out by the owners corporation in accordance with this Act (including work relating to window safety devices and rectification work carried out under Part 11),
(b) work required to be carried out by the owners corporation by a notice given to it by a public authority,
(c) work required or authorised to be carried out by the owners corporation by an order under this Act.(2) An owners corporation for a strata scheme may, by its agents, employees or contractors, enter on any part of the parcel for the purpose of determining whether any work is required to be carried out by the owners corporation in accordance with this Act.
(3) In an emergency, the owners corporation may enter any part of the parcel for those purposes at any time.
(4) In a case that is not an emergency, the owners corporation may enter any part of the parcel for those purposes with the consent of any occupier of that part of the parcel or, if the occupier does not consent, in accordance with an order of the Tribunal under this Division.
(5) A person must not obstruct or hinder an owners corporation in the exercise of its functions under this section.
Maximum penalty: 5 penalty units.
(6) An owners corporation is liable for any damage to a lot or any of its contents caused by or arising out of the carrying out of any work, or the exercise of a power of entry, referred to in this section unless the damage arose because the owners corporation was obstructed or hindered.If you want to be alerted when anyone replies to your posts or responds to this topic, please register and login, then you will be able to subscribe to the topic. The opinions offered in these Forum posts and replies are not intended to be taken as legal advice. Readers with serious issues should consult experienced strata lawyers. NB: Longer threads may spill over to additional pages - look for the numbers on the bottom right, under the last post.
jpeak600- The owners corporation must repair common property, and owners must repair anything within their lot.
It is my understanding that one of the powers provided to an owners corporation is the power to maintain the value of the property as a whole for the benefit of all owners.
If the poorly maintained balcony is significantly adversely affecting the outward appearance of a lot and thereby possibly devaluing the building as a whole, and/or breaching a by-law, and/or is an occupational health and safety hazard, then the owners corporation has the right to request that the owner undertakes a repair of the balcony.
Is the property with the poorly maintained balcony tenanted, or is it owner occupied?
If the property is tenanted then the owner will need to be notified.
It must be taken into consideration that the necessity for repairs is subjective in some instances, and that different people have differing thresholds for triggering a repair within their Lot.
The owners corp can seek orders forcing the owner to repair lot property or, if they fail to do so, arrange the repairs themselves and then bill the owner.
If you want to be alerted when anyone replies to your posts or responds to this topic, please register and login, then you will be able to subscribe to the topic. The opinions offered in these Forum posts and replies are not intended to be taken as legal advice. Readers with serious issues should consult experienced strata lawyers. NB: Longer threads may spill over to additional pages - look for the numbers on the bottom right, under the last post.
This is a separate issue but the best thing you can do is engage a strata debt collection agency who will recoup the unpaid levies entirely at the recalcitrant owner’s expense.
Having said that, this is obviously part of the larger problem of having a “deadbeat owner” and you just have to pursue everything that you need to do, until they either play ball or sell out and move somewhere where they will be left in peace.
If you want to be alerted when anyone replies to your posts or responds to this topic, please register and login, then you will be able to subscribe to the topic. The opinions offered in these Forum posts and replies are not intended to be taken as legal advice. Readers with serious issues should consult experienced strata lawyers. NB: Longer threads may spill over to additional pages - look for the numbers on the bottom right, under the last post.
Following on from JT’s debt collection thread is this recent article: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.lookupstrata.com.au/nsw-why-leave-it-so-long-to-recover-strata-levies-in-arrears/amp/