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Topic
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We are a complex of 80 units in a regional area NSW. The Building Managers (BM) Contract (called Caretaking Agreement) was set up initially by the Developer in conjunction with the Strata Manager over 20 years ago. A new Caretaking Agreement was signed in July 2017 with the appointment for 5 years with a 5 year option. The 5 year option was applied for and accepted by the Strata Manager in April 2021 even though it did not expire until July 2022.
My issue is that the current BM (married couple) are no longer on site and pay a member of their family to maintain the complex. The origin BM’s – one has had dementia for a couple of years and the other had a stroke last year and their son now has Power of Attorney. They are in the process of selling the contract to another BM, which I believe can be quite lucrative for the original party. I understand approval needs to be given by the SC for the sale/transfer of the Agreement.
We appear to be paying a large amount of money for little gain for the duties on the original contract (S120,000pa). Despite them trying to talk up what they actually do! There is no issue with the current family member carrying out the maintenance and repair of the common property and controlling the use of common property by residents, tradespersons and overseeing their activities.
My question is How do we terminate this contract? My aim is to create a new contract which is more realistic and also at a cost saving for the BC.
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Unless you have missed out some detail, the current contract is void.
A building manager contract requires a vote by the owners corporation. The strata manager alone can’t extend the contract.
Check the minutes from 2021 AGM to see if a vote was taken.
Since the strata manager has acted without authority, it’s their problem to sort it out with the building manager.
These 5+5 year caretaker contracts are an infection that has spread from Queensland and benefit only the caretakers and and the developers who sell them in the first place. Who reading this has an effective 10-year employment contract? It’s time the Property Services Commissioner had a good hard look at these rorts. Strata managers ony get three years maximum. That’s the benchmark.
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Perhaps the answer is to stop paying the fees and let them take you to court. Then they would have to do the heavy lifting to prove their contract was valid. Send them a note saying you believe their contract was not validly signed and you will be happy to discuss a new contract which is legally binding on both parties. This is not legal advice, by the way, just a tactic you might explore.
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