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You may find just talking to agent and advising of the intention to go to NCAT is enough. As has been said it’s often just agents trying it on, or unfamiliar with the property so just claiming any damage to be ‘safe’.
I had a similar thing and pulling out the original condition report had quite the effect on their bluster.
There may be procedural grounds to contest too, such as whether the item was on the agenda circulated to residents ahead of the meeting etc.
Frankly for only 8 units it’s a bit strange that everyone isn’t on the EC, nor that the EC wouldn’t informally raise these issues well ahead and around a meeting. Not a great way to run the complex.
The affected residents should have some conversations with the EC, with some suggestion of nominating themselves instead of current members next time the EC is up for renewal given the way this issue is being managed…
I’d be guessing the process should be similar to that when attic conversions etc take place, described elsewhere on these forums.
The owners are appropriating common property and normally you’d be required to purchase, lease (via exclusive use clauses) if you’re using land/airspace owned by the OC. Although you might want to check your plan of subdivision to be sure that the space below floor level is definitely OC (it usually is, but some aren’t: lot extends ‘infinitely’…)
I’d also put the onus on the owners to provide the OC with relevant permits and surveyor signoffs that the work is to code, and no subsidence or other damage to the building is likely as a result of the works before even thinking about purchase/lease of the space.
It never ceases to amaze me the depth of knowledge and experience here. Some great ideas far superior to mine! Good luck (and don’t be afraid to turn off that water if it comes to it, other cranky tenants/agents calling yours can help increase the pressure, but of course you’ll likely get some collateral damage).
There’s a quick and dirty way to bring this to the agent’s attention. Turn off the tap to the hot water except when you’re using it for a few days and see what happens. If it’s only metered to you per the owner’s defence, no-one else should be objecting.
It is of course possible that if there is a meter box on the granny flat as you’ve described, that it’s a sub-meter being used to record the granny-flat’s usage, and which is then being deducted from the main meter’s usage before bills are issued.
It may be less confrontational and direct to just approach the landlord and say you’ve observed that your breakers cut off their power, and you’re concerned about the bills – and could they show you their bills to assuage your concerns.
Also, if you’re in Vic, I think granny-flats aren’t allowed to be separately metered – they’re ‘dependent dwellings’ – but it’s been a while since I checked that.
On the face of it, it would seem very strange if the roof (which doesn’t look accessible) were part of the top floor’s lot, and not the common property of the building. Even in the internal area of the domes are part of the top floor lots, it’s no different to the internal area of a room under the roof of any top floor apartment.
We had a similar thing in our body corporate – some owners queried fixing a roof leak into a top floor owner’s lot – seemingly not realising the same roof sheltered their own lots!
It’s even stranger given there had clearly been a sinking fund for the issue, and that VCAT still sent to mediation rather than just issuing a determination. Could make interesting reading if the case notes are made public, perhaps there’s some nuance present that isn’t public yet.
If I were being asked to cough up 100k, I’d just put the furniture in that room into storage, let the water through, and see how long the owner underneath lasted before agreeing the roof is common property!
Morticia and Juan Durection, not all clotheslines have to be “on display”. Appropriately worded by-laws (or simply common agreement by owners!) can permit outside clothes drying that doesn’t have the washing visible, eg. clothes-horses must be equal in height or lower than balcony railings so as not to be visible from the street, or in a concealed alcove of the balcony (some buildings have an outside, but concealed area for this now). You can get airers that clip onto the balcony railing and face inward to provide concealed drying space.
There’s a range of products out that can help with this sort of stuff -e.g.
https://www.shopbot.com.au/ps-meliconi-lock-balcony-clothes-airer-36943930.html
https://www.lifestyleclotheslines.com.au/versaline-up-away-ceiling-mounted-clothes-airer/
@Very Nice landlord, since you likely only need a majority to install another clothesline on common property, I don’t think Lot 4’s objections finally matter. Obviously it would be preferable to have some level of agreement – can perhaps a retractable line be installed, so it’s only out when actually in use? Since it sounds like they’re treating the common yard as ‘theirs’ (ie monopolizing the line, assuming the ‘view’ is all theirs) maybe you may need to take a sterner view though?
I should clarify that I don’t think a free-for-all with clothes everywhere is the best outcome, but more in the circumstances presented (concealed courtyard) it seems a better outcome than using a dryer. In general, OCs should encourage outside drying to the maximum extent possible (which may vary depending on the building, its occupants, and their options and choices). I’m lucky in that my apartment block all units have both front and rear balconies, and only the rear are used for drying which keeps the aesthetic nice.
As Jimmy said though, it all comes down to the specific by-laws, and my experience is, these are widely ‘quoted’… inaccurately… by those with an agenda.
@Juan Durection said:
Keep the tone and value of the building that little bit better.Not sure what kind of tone you like, but I’d prefer to live in a building which supported using the wind and sun to dry clothes, instead of burning coal to do so…
It also sounds like there’s a decent amount of greenery around the courtyard with the clothes horse, so it’s not as if the washing is on display – one must actively seek it out.
cdinoz, I’d be seeking to have any strata rule about washing either clarified or amended to permit washing to be dried outside!