In NSW, it’s pretty straight forward. If, for example, the owner is being reticent and the OC opts to carry out the work to rectify private private property then the OC is to pursue the costs. And the NSW Strata Schemes Management Act allows a relatively straight forward method to recover the costs as a debt, so there’s no need for legal demands, etc. You just put it on the ‘tab’, so to speak.
The hard part is gaining access to the lot if the owner refuses. But that can be obtained by an order from NCAT.
The relevant section and subsections are:
(3) Work that is duty of owner or occupier to carry out If a person who is the owner, mortgagee or covenant chargee in possession, tenant or occupier of a lot in the strata scheme fails to carry out work in order to remedy a breach of a duty imposed by Part 8, the owners corporation may carry out the work and recover the cost of the work from that person.
(5) Recovery of costs as a debt The costs incurred by an owners corporation in carrying out any work referred to in this section may be recovered by the owners corporation as a debt.
I am not familiar with the TAS Strata Titles Act but I note that Tas ST Act states:
11. Rights and responsibilities for common property
(1) The body corporate may sue and be sued for rights and liabilities related to the common property as if the body corporate were the owner and occupier of the common property.
(2) If the body corporate grants rights of exclusive occupation of a particular part of the common property to another person, the body corporate’s rights and liabilities as occupier of that part of the common property are, while the right of exclusive occupation continues, vested in the other person.
So it appears that the exclusive occupier can be sued if he/she fails to maintain their portion of the common property
Also it seems that the body corporate can only raise funds for its parts of the common property. That is, the body corporate cannot raise funds to maintain the exclusive occupier parts of the common property. I note that the Tas ST Act states:
82. Fund for meeting financial obligations
(1) A body corporate must maintain a fund for the purpose of meeting its financial obligations under this Act.
So, in effect, section 82 limits the body corporate to only collecting monies for its obligations; not to meet the exclusive occupier’s obligations.
Again, I am not familiar with the TAS ST Act and the above is just to provide ‘food for thought’
Cheers
Ray