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[Ginny]

Our block of 4 is on a corner in the suburb of Manly in NSW.  Lot 1 and 2 are accessed direct from the street.  Lots 3 and 4 share a common property lobby.

Lot 3 have ‘decorated’ the common lobby with their excess furniture and Lot 4 (us) have agreed to that – within reason.  However, Lot 3 have abused our concession to them by assuming possession of the common property lobby, treating it as an extension of their lounge room.

The current items that Lot 3 circulate through the lobby are an organ, a dressing table, a Coles shopping trolley, office chairs, plastic pot plants, vases, school bags and shoes, hats, an umbrella stand, shopping, etc.  At the AGM two years ago (Lot 3 travelled last year) I asked that they please not store items in our common area.  They bristled and said they had left an eskie there for a few moments when unpacking from a holiday.  There was an eskie there on the morning of the AGM but typical of their combat strategy they bamboozle with half truths and blatant denial.

Boo hoo, none of the other Lots care!  Lot 3 love giving us the shits!  While I’ve informed the Strata Manager, I’m pretty sure he can’t help the situation.

I really, really want to put all their crap on Gumtree free stuff but I suspect there will be ramifications. 🙁

Thoughts?  Comments?

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[Jimmy-T]

Are they using the lobby as living space now?  Or is it just the occasional random item left unattended?

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[Ginny]

The organ or keyboard has been a fixture, on and off, for years.  I see it as I walk in every night.  Lot 3 moved it when they travelled but they’ve been home for 6 months or more and the organ has been back in the common property lobby since their return.  A dressing table comes and goes.  Other items, like paintings, etc. I assume they store there as they want to sell them and they don’t want people viewing items for purchase from their apartment.  Hats, school bags, school shoes and drink bottles are left there randomly, sometimes they belong to their children and sometimes they belong to visiting children.  The umbrella stand is permanent and for their use only.

Their assumption is that the ‘space’ underneath the stairs up to our apartment is their storage space.  Unfortunately, it’s came home to me that this situation can’t continue when my Mum visited from the country.  She’s got balance issues, a similar thing to Meniere’s Disease, so couldn’t get up the flight of stairs to our apartment and needed to get the lift from street level or Lot 3’s level up to our apartment.  She tried to steady herself by reaching out to one of their office chairs, which as its on wheels on a tiled floor, resulted in a nasty accident.

I’ve emailed the Strata Manager about the incident but the organ and office chair are still in the common property lobby.

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[Ginny]

One other thing, Lot 3 use a Coles supermarket trolley to bring their groceries from their garage area.  They continually scrape the sides of the lift with the trolley and have worn tracks in the lift carpet; I sometimes find it blocking the stairs up to our apartment.

Again, the lift is only shared by Lot 3 and Lot 4 (us).  Lot 3 led the Lighting Committee which has installed a light in the lift which Link Elevators have told me does not meet the Lift Code (Lot 3 was away for the school holidays and the lift light failed).  Someone (the assumption is Lot 3) has broken the lift roof in their attempt to replace the globes.  I’ve told the Strata Manager that Lot 3 needs to provide a satisfactory explanation for this before Strata replaces the light with one which is up to Code and repairs the lift roof.

On another note, years later, we cannot resolve some of issues that stem from the work the Lighting Committee did that impact Lot 4.  At an AGM, it was agreed that I get an electrician in to find a satisfactory resolution for the common areas that impact both Lot 3 and Lot 4.  When the electrician was on site Lot 3 came out of their apartment and started telling the electrician what to do.  It ended up in a pretty ugly scene, especially as the male in the Lot 3 relationship is very aggressive, so I suggested the electrician leave.  That electrical company has said categorically, they will never, never do any work at this Strata Plan again.

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[Jimmy-T]

I think the best way to deal with this may be to force the other owners to get involved by invoking section 232.1 (e) and 232.2 (below) which is to seek Tribunal orders compelling an owners corporation to fulfil its duties to all residents.

So what you could do is list all the issues that are demonstrably breaches of by-laws or of the Act and ask the Owners Corp or strata committee to issue Notices To Comply. 

If they refuse fail to do so withing two months, you can then take them to the Tribunal who should order them to do so.

Obviously, there will be a backlash from your neighbour of some sort, but at least it will be the Owners Corp who are issuing the complaints and not you personally.

 

232   Orders to settle disputes or rectify complaints (extract)

(1) Orders relating to complaints and disputes

The Tribunal may, on application by an interested person, original owner or building manager, make an order to settle a complaint or dispute about any of the following:

(e)  an exercise of, or failure to exercise, a function conferred or imposed by or under this Act or the by-laws of a strata scheme,

(2) Failure to exercise a function
For the purposes of this section, an owners corporation, strata committee or building management committee is taken not to have exercised a function if:
(a)  it decides not to exercise the function, or
(b)  application is made to it to exercise the function and it fails for 2 months after the making of the application to exercise the function in accordance with the application or to inform the applicant that it has decided not to exercise the function in accordance with the application.

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[Ginny]

It came to my attention yesterday that Lot 3 is subletting their garage area (their sub-tenant parked in front of my garage).  This is why they can’t fit their excess furniture into their garage and store it in the common area lobby.  Does this make any difference?

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[Happy Strata]

Ask your Strata Manager for a copy of the Strata Roll, to which you are entitled, even if they charge you the small inspection fee to do so.

Then check if the “tenant” renting the car park is listed on the roll per https://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/housing-and-property/strata-and-community-living/strata-schemes/responsibilities-of-the-owners-corporation

If not, lot 3 would be in breach of the tenancy notice being given within 14 days: http://www5.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/ssma2015242/s258.html 

Another issue may be that lot 3 are breaking the Development Application (DA) conditions for your complex. Depending upon the age of your block the DA would have a specified number of parking spaces based upon number of bedrooms, and this would normally be related to what the council required under their planning guidelines. If a lot then “commercially” leases their garage to someone outside the complex, they are going against the DA. 

Re your issue of the common area full of items – take lots of photos. Without this it can later on become a he said, she said situation. 

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[Ginny]

I am taking lots of photos!  Re your previous advice and bearing in mind we must have the most toxic Strata Plan on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, what should I focus on as taking precedence – unlisted tenant/breach of DA or as this is not the only issue with this Lot, go straight to NCAT for the appointment of a Strata Manager to take over and get the block fully compliant?

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[Jimmy-T]

@Ginny said:
…  or as this is not the only issue with this Lot, go straight to NCAT for the appointment of a Strata Manager to take over and get the block fully compliant?  

I would go for a section 232.2 orders and during that process you could explain to your neighbours that they need to get themselves compliant or you will seek the appointment of a strata manager.

They (and you) really don’t want that to happen. Why?

1. For at least a year, possibly two, you and your neighbours will have ZERO input into the running of the scheme.

2. The strata manager is pretty much required to do everything strictly by the  book so all those little things you have all been letting slide will have to be done, regardless of the expense.

3. Many strata managers will use their tried and trusted tradies for all the work needing done, regardless of the expense (because they aren’t paying the bills – you are)

4. Your neighbours will have learned nothing and when the statutory appointment is over, they will go back to doing things exactly as they are now.

It would be better to get a “strata audit” done and then everybody can sort themselves out when they know what they should be doing and why.

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