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Topic
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What are my prospects of success to get the NCAT to replace the strata management and executive committee and owners corporation of our building with a compulsory strata manager for 2 or 4 years?
Reasons are:
– One commercial and residential owner owns 61% and gets his licensed builder (but not master builder) son-in-law to project manage all works.
– our conservation neighbourhood is beautiful and the original 1929 building was beautiful. Its’ conservation value and heritage potential is becoming ruined by incompetent works.
– the building is being dilapidated due to negligence and incompetence, and arguably due to a conflict of interest as the 61% owner and son- in-law builder are likely future developers and may be running the building down on purpose.
– the 61% owner issues purchase orders for works to his son-in-law in his own name or in his business (which is on site) name and the invoice is billed to the Owners Corporation. No receipts are readily available but could be in his name where he could then claim them on his own tax. 100s of thousands of dollars of the Owners Corporation’s funds are spent this way.
– inadequate records are kept of major works as 61% owner and son-in-law decide things verbally over the dinner table. The other owners cannot know what is going on by viewing the strata records.
– the rear garden area has not complied with its DA of 2008 and has a third world, shanty town look. As does the residential interior of the building.
– the development consent for the garden area and storeroom conversion to a cafe should be reviewed as shops are storing their goods in garden and it is unclean and messy and the noisy mechanical shop equipment should never have been approved to be placed there.
– the local police do not respond appropriately to violence, caused by pay back bullying which is a response to objections to unlawful commercial use for a residential zone, which council consistently neglects to investigate.
– last month building was found guilty of breach of fire order, criminal offence. $22,000 fine in local court. Prosecuted by council.
– history of building being served notices of intention to prosecute by council, which are ignored. Building owners do not have competence to adhere to fire safety or other orders and need performance management by compulsory strata manager where 61% owner and his son-in-law does not control information and communication and the other owners (who are lazy investor owners) are trained how to use the SSM Act to meet their responsibilities.
This week I wrote to the CEO of our strata manager firm and asked he convene a workshop with all owners except the 61% owner to discuss a way forward. I wrote that the SM firm had some part in allowing this building to get to the stage it is at.
I asked council also write to SM CEO and support that request and I also asked council to apply for a compulsory strata manager for the reasons above. I have read case law and it appears NCAT does not appoint compulsory SM because the building is heading towards disaster, only when it has reached disaster. If meetings are being held and records kept and levies are being raised they dismiss applications.
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Replies
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To do this you have to go to NCAT with a strata manager who is prepared to act in that role. And that is the easiest way to find out what your chances are.
If a reputable SM company with a good track record will take you on, it means you have a good chance of success.
If you don’t have a good chance of success, they probably won’t take you on.
It really is as simple as that.
By the way, I have never heard of this idea that NCAT waits until disaster has occurred. It may be true and it wouldn’t surprise me but I have never heard this before.
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