Has anyone else had to deal with this kind of obstinance? Please tell me I’m not alone in this frustration!
Just last year I had the same issue with Netstrata whose boss tried all sorts of BS to try to wriggle out of their legal responsibility to provide the strata roll to our secretary, including sending a quote (to our secretary) from Flat Chat where I told a reader they had no legal right to be given the strata roll for free. The genius Netstrata minion who found this, edited out the part where I said the secretary was entitled to receive all the records. Clowns!
What’s the magic word? Did you find a particular phrase or approach that finally made them budge?
They were using the entirely spurious argument of protecting the owners’ privacy. We said we’d keep the files in a super-secure system – even though any owner could rock up to their offices, pay the $35 fee and expect to see and copy the files. Basically we offered them an off-ramp so they could do the right thing without losing too much face. They eventually quit as strata managers saying I had created a toxic atmosphere … but by then the Four Corners report hit our TV screens. Only their developer mate was sad to see them go.
In your case, the magic word might be “tribunal” – as in, “let’s take this to NCAT and get a definitive ruling.”
Do I need to get the whole committee to descend on them like an angry mob (metaphorically, of course)
Get the committee to agree that if the strata manager doesn’t hand over the documents (or make them available), you will take a complaint to Fair Trading, NCAT and Strata Community Association (NSW) and make a submission to the Fair Trading Task Force currently examining issues in strata management
Is the next step a formal complaint to NSW Fair Trading?
You could give them one more chance to provide the documents or else. But don’t make threats unless you are ready to act on them. That said, while Fair Trading’s response will be a slap on the wrist with a feather, no strata management firm likes to be spotlighted in that way and they will get it done.