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HI
The other variation of this scenario is – we have police as guests at this party, you can call the police if you like, but they are not going to turn up. A regular excuse used in our block.Building managers are always difficult – unfortunately large buildings need them. But there is no overarching mechanism for accountability of this service industry. Which often leads to unscrupulous behaviour.
1. As a large building it is often a really good idea to engage the services of a really good solicitor who is a specialist in strata. Build a relationship so that you are able to ask questions and get reliable responses and support.
2. Request a copy from both the SM and BM of the building managers contract, give a time frame for this to be delivered. Then have this contract reviewed by a good strata solicitor.
3. If there is no contract then the BM is basically on a ‘contract’ that corresponds to their billing period.
4. You will need specific advice on the specific costs and invoices. I would also be looking a little more closely too, and asking who writes the work orders, is there a ceiling on the cost of work orders that the BM can authorise.
You may need to consider reviewing the SM as well. it sounds like they are not doing a great job of looking after the interests of you, owners in the SP.
A good building manager and strata manager can enhance the lifestyle of all residents in strata, and working together can save money in the long term.
Well done for taking on this voluntary role.
Hi Cappy
Refer to your Strata Management Statement (SMS) the registered document that describes the legal responsibilities of your BMC. Each is a little different depending on which legal firm has drawn up the SMS. There should be a form for either a back up representative or proxy within the SMS. Our SP makes a point of appointing the BMC rep and back up at a General Meeting. We are also looking at the roles and responsibilities of the BMC rep and how we can support them around difficult decisions (read conflict within the BMC) through our by-laws, where our by-laws provide policy guidelines.
The BMC strata manager should also be able to assist with advice around a replacement BMC rep too, regarding the requirements of your SMS.
Hope that helps
Alley Cat
Thanks Jimmy for this sage advice.
This is an issue our building has also had to deal with.
We used many of your suggestions to make ‘doing business’ as difficult as possible. First step was by the strata manager requesting a copy of the lease agreement (as required by the Strata Act) from the managing agent. The name on the lease (male) did not match up with any of the actual residents (all female), as cross referenced to who was using the building’s security access. This meant that the person who had been allocated building security access was no longer a resident, this entitled us to turn off all building access, consistent with our by-laws. We then worked very closely with the apartments managing agent who agreed with us that the apartment had been ‘sublet’ and then took action through the then CTTT, with our full support. Eventually the agent was able to change the locks.
This would not work in all instances, as it is reliant on the property being tenanted, and the leasee not in residence. I also can not speak highly enough of the managing agent involved here as well.
This is a NSW location. Sounds like very dodgy tenants.
I would be calling the police re: dope smoking / possession.
If the pets are being kept in breach of by-law then the tenants are also breaching their tenancy agreement. This is the approach to take with the managing agent. I would be writing to the managing agent officially seeking the S119 documentation and outlining the breaches of by-laws, threaten the managing agent with CTTT action if they do not deal with their tenant. And if the agent does not comply take them to the CTTT.
Alley Cat
Go for it and roll these guys. This is not a short term project and will take alot of work, but it is most definitely worth it.
Our society is founded on democratic principles which include civic action. The steps are:
1. Talk to you neighbours – basically anyone who will listen, about all of the below.
2. Submit your questions / requests for information / action to be taken to the EC in writing and keep track of all your correspondence. These form the basis of informal conversations with neighbours, don’t discriminate – talk to anyone and everyone, including those who may be on the EC (sounds like you may not know who these are?) Be nice, but ask lots of ‘dumb questions’ strategically.
3. Phone and email the strata manager regularly, ask strategic questions politely and nicely.
3. Use the advise line at the CTTT, (I am in NSW) and ask them questions about any issues / concerns you have. Call back and ask the same questions again if you think you are being fobbed off.
4. Turn up to every meeting – EC / AGM, especially EGM/ AGM. If at all possible actually get yourself onto the EC at the AGM. Ask the strata manager how this is done, then ask the CTTT also. Do it properly so that if you manage to get on the EC this can not be disputed. This may not be possible.
Hopefully by now you now have a couple of other owners who are equally concerned.
5. Get a copy of the strata roll, check with the CTTT how to do this, and then write carefully to all owners about your concerns, based on the evidence you have been carefully collecting over time. Time this strategically to coincide with the AGM.
6. Make sure there are you have organised for the inclusion of appropriate agenda items on the agenda of the AGM that allows progress to be made, this may be the rescinding of that troublesome by-law.
If there are no AGM’s happening then there is a whole different process, which others will need to deal with.
7. Good luck.
This process (hopefully) works if your are reasonable and nice, it is about the silent majority exerting their right to be governed in a responsible manner. This is about majority decisions, that is how democracy works, but there is nothing to say that good bit of lobbying can’t happen, based on information that is legally / strata correct.
Alley Cat
Further
If the tenant is storing flammable items e.g. cooking oil, on common property this could well breach the buildings insurance, in the event of a fire in this part of the building.
I am aware of a building that had a similar problem to the one you are describing with the addition of a fire. The OC had been trying for some time to get the commercial premises to move similar items out of common property and had been given some legal advice about the fire issues with end result that they had passed a by-law about storage on common property. I am not sure of the specific details, but the by-law did help with their insurance claim.
This was a nightmare situation for residents as they had to move out of their homes and deal with the damage.
What the #@## is your strata manager doing about this problem, your EC and OC need to mobilise fast on this one.
Good luck
Alley cat
A few thoughts to add to the mix.
The problem is that there are 300+ properties with car spaces, that is a real headache to manage effectively.
Any access device needs to be programmed in some way. This means that they should also be able to be disabled using the building’s access control system. If the system can’t disable devices then you are caught between a rock and hard place.
Technically only residents / occupiers should have parking / building access. Family members are a grey area, particularly if there is only one occupier. Again if extra access is provided, if it is abused then the access control system allows for the specific access to be turned off.
When is a casual visitor considered a resident – when they behave like one, such as checking the mail, putting the rubbish out etc. This is not behaviour of a casual visitor.
Cheers
plasteck
This is an interesting situation.
1. Ask your managing agent to source a copy of the buildings by-laws. This is their responsibility and should have been provided in 7 days of you signing the lease (
2. The strata plan will determine whether the parking you are using is considered visitor parking or ‘scramble’ parking as you are arguing it is. Again your managing agent can source this information from the OC / strata manager. I suspect from what you have told us here that all these parks are actually ‘visitor parks’.
Now IMO you are only paying for the parking that is on your lot, regardless of whether you are an owner or a tenant. You do not have the right to exclusive use of common property which is what you are doing in parking your second car in one of these parking spaces as your parking requirements exceed the capacity of your lot. You wouldn’t live somewhere that did not have enough bedrooms for your requirements, yet it is considered by some, including you, to have more cars than you can park appropriately within the property that you are paying for to be OK and inflict your parking problems on your neighbours.
I think you should make alternative arrangements, such as leasing a garage off another resident, for your second vehicle.
alley cat
All residents are entitled to the reasonable peaceful enjoyment of their own home.
In addition to the great information already posted another point that I make to noisey neighbours is that I can hear what they are talking about. That this is an inadvertent invasion of their privacy and mine, because I really don’t want to know their ‘business’ and that I find this ‘knowledge’ personally embarassing.
You might like to let the noisey neighbour know just how much you know about them – as the only way to avoid hearing what they are talking about is to wear ear plugs. And as I make a point of maintaining my privacy so should they.They are also in breach of their lease agreement, as a landlord you want decent tenants who are not going to use and abuse their property, regular parties place a great deal of additional wear and tear on the property and could be viewed as problematic in renewing a lease. Do make that point strongly to the property manager.
PS: Playing Chinese Opera or similiar may also very useful. But 2 wrongs don’t make a right either and this could seriously backfire.
Thank you
Bit busy of late, but would really like to hear the outcome. I also believe that the foundation of a civil society is social justice. And this needs to be practiced at a fundamental a level in all aspects of life, especially when we are lookIng after our homes, and the homes of others. I can’ t understand why there is such a lack of interest in democratic strata governance.I find this fascinating and congratulations on your forensics investigation. As described here it amounts to theft. I think this is just the tip of the iceberg as far as illegal use of common funds across strata goes.
It is in owners best interests to look carefully at accounts and ask lots of questions. A good strata manager will have no problem answering.
I notice that I am up to about 16 posts, so it is timely that I talk a bit about my strata involvement, particularly as it has relevance here.
I am an almost accidental EC member, and now Secretary of a large number of lots that are part of a multi-strata complex ie BMC that functions under a Strata Management Statement (SMS). I have only been on the EC for nearly 3 years – very new, and most definitely still on a steep learning curve.
Why did I get involved? I looked at our account statements for the AGM, and couldn’t understand them. And then when I asked questions I did not get a straight answer. I attended the AGM, there were only 3 people present, all current EC members were absent, so the AGM was deferred and I made a point of attending again. Funnily enough the current EC members turned up and were promptly reelected, I made some pleasant noises and managed to get myself on the committee.
To cut a very long story short, the EC was run behind closed doors without due process, no agenda’s or minutes, the strata manager took instruction from 1 or 2 people only. I struggled to find out what and why things were being done. I started putting agenda’s together and calling meetings – with lots of advice from the OFT help line. Needless to say the strata manager and the EC block were not happy with me. I found a couple of other owners who were also concerned. I was also suspicious that the other strata’s may not be contributing adequately to paying for the shared facilities once I found out what their strata levies were. This later proved to be correct.
I personally wrote to all owners prior to the AGM, I included a motion on the AGM to change strata managers. We got a quorum at the AGM for the first time ever and changed strata managers. We have had a quorum at every EC and AGM since, without the use of proxy farming.
I found out that our strata was paying a significant number of the shared facility (BMC) accounts, including all electricity, a too high a proportion of the building insurance, building manager / cleaning, maintenance, and the list went on. Nearly 2 years later we are still sorting out who should be paying what, with support from a new BMC strata manager – not the same company that our strata has.
Part of the problem is that one of the other strata’s was going directly to the strata manager and basically saying – we are not paying that account, make the other strata’s pay. And the strata manager who was responsible for all, actually did use the wrong funds and the wrong % distribution. Funnily enough like Fchat 55 it was the strata that has the properties worth significantly more that all the rest!!! And therein lies my point, the people who can most afford to pay their fair share are most likely the ones who are not, and who are quite unscrupulous in deliberately manipulating the system to ensure that they do not.
What is interesting is that the other strata’s are now increasing levies and even needing special levies, while the strata that I am an owner in, is now financially stable. The BMC budget has also had substantial increases, but what our strata pays is similar. Funny about that.
Good luck – I too think that OC should be reimbursed by the owners who have received ‘rebates’ for something that is wholly and solely their own financial responsibility. Problem is – I simply don’t know how you would go about doing this.
But I do consider what they have done to be fraud.Kind regards
alley cat
Any owner can self nominate for the EC, and do not need a second (unless by own strata plan specific by-laws).
If you are battling the developer /builder then you are probably not the only one and using the governance procedure provided by the EC could well support the problems you are having.
If there are significant problems, do not delay getting legal / experts advise ASAP. This begins with the EC and then includes the OC.
Do not be too concerned at the effect this will have on property prices, my experience has been that the impact has been positive on prices and time taken to sell.
Alley cat
Firstly – no the EC can not overrule a decision taken at an AGM. Simple.
But if the common seal has now been applied to a contract then this significantly complicates the situation. This needs to be addressed by others in this forum who know way more than me.
But in an aside – I think you have good reason to lobby for support to replace the current strata manager, and put in someone who is more ethical and responsible.
Not sure how big your complex is, but you could find that with a decent strata manager, you may not even need a building manager. I would suggest that a building manager should not be allowed to write work orders, that all work orders are approved by EC delegates (or sub committee) and then written by the strata manager. I hope that a legal eye went over the building managers contract for sticky issues as there is no standard industry contract, as building managers are completly unregulated. But you probably already know this.
Good luck
Alley cat