[BondiLocal]

Hi Jimmy and all. I took a little while to work out how to add a post on the new platform (scroll down!) Now I’m used to it, I want to take this opportunity to make a general statement: Thank goodness you are there with your team!

I so appreciate knowing your speedy, free and accurate advice is available. I’ve had conflicting advice from NSW Fair Trading in the past, it seems to depend on who answers the phone there. I’ve also got a law degree so I usually understand legislation, but our Strata Management Act could be a lot clearer!

I remember your SMH column and always found it interesting over many years. Didn’t realise until I later swapped a house for a unit, how hard it can be for owners, and how little oversight there is, particularly on strata managers who take advantage of the ignorance and busy-ness of Committees.

Not to mention the odd greedy owner who seems to think they own the whole building! So, THANKS!

 

 

[BondiLocal]

Thanks so much, Lady Penelope and also scotlandx for your very valuable suggestions and advice.

So, my lawyer’s letter to the Committee was flicked from the Committee to the agent. The agent replied, ‘on behalf of The Committee’ just repeating the excuses I’ve already mentioned eg Committee agrees through emails and tells the agent what they want. I was advised to ring the agent with any questions or concerns.

At the AGM on Tues. night, the agent was chairing, but argued the Committee’s case in most items.  There were no actual votes at the AGM, not even a show of hands. Just like. ‘ok sounds like most of us agree to that’ at every turn.

The 91-page agenda wasn’t completed in the almost 4 hour meeting, so there was no Other Business. No adjournment or even officially ending the meeting. The agent just got up and left after being re-appointed for another 36 months. (I suggested re-appointment for 3 months but was just told ‘no way’ by the agent in the Chair. Then I suggested 12 months, but didn’t have enough supporters. The Committee trusts the agent, as do many owners)

At least one nasty item was knocked back ie the Committee asking to appoint a particular company to undertake all the major construction and waterproofing works, before they’ve even received quotations. Geez.

I think I’ll give up on the Committee and agent, stay for the good times all summer, then move out before that blue netting spoils my view. I’m too ill to spend my remaining months undertaking legal action, although I’d like to.

Thanks again, good people, it’s wonderful to get some detailed and reliable advice from Flat Chat gurus. 

[BondiLocal]

Thanks so much Lady Penelope for this advice.

I had already sent that link to our Committee. 

You see, they still say they don’t have meetings, because they don’t have formal motions or agendas or votes. They say their decision-making is just a series of emails with eventual agreement. 

Also the agent says it’s too expensive and time-consuming to let all owners know about Committee activities. It requires some emails but also some printed posted copies, Plus the noticeboard copy.

The agent won’t give the Committee the contact details of owners, so the Committee can’t send out emails, and the agent charges us for every email sent.

I’ll raise this issue in Other Business anyway on the basis of that Fair Trading link. But the practical difficulties of contacting owners will then be fired back at me and that’ll end that.

Is that Fair Trading link enough to force a complete change in their behaviour? Is each decision equivalent to an ‘in writing’ meeting? 

Your suggestion about requiring 3 meetings a year: where is that from? It could be very useful for the next General Meeting, thanks.

I don’t want to attend meetings myself as I get too stressed by now. (I did my time on the Committee and did everything, and got burnt out!) And just want to know what’s going on in the Committee’s heads. If I’d known earlier this year what was about to happen – a year of drilling noise and 5 months with no lift and I’m 140 stairs up – I would have moved out then. Plus $75000 in special levies in the past year being paid by each unit for future works they are probably planning but we have no detailed information.

But I love my view and position and want to stay for the months that are left to me! I actually engaged an expensive strata specialist lawyer who wrote to the Committee recently, but they just flicked it to the agent who wrote back without addressing any of my requests.

Thanks for listening and your help anyway

[BondiLocal]

Thanks, but my question was about decisions of the Committee not being notified to other owners, not about notice of the AGM.

Our Committee says it doesn’t have meetings, so they have no need to inform owners of their decisions.

eg the Committee hasn’t reported to the owners corporation about a botched project early this year, that cost $91,000 instead of $70,000, and was stopped when the money ran out, with only a quarter of the work completed. It was already running 4 times longer than estimated. I know because I had the drilling noise for 4 months, but non-resident owners have no idea and were told only that ‘we need more money’ to complete the job.

Now they recommend the same company undertake a huge package of external renovations, to cost approx. $3 million and take 2 years. With no engineer’s advice about what actually needs to be done.

We won’t have time at the AGM to discuss or ask for any of their plans in detail as there are so many items to be voted on. And we ‘don’t know what we don’t know’ to ask about.

At least half owners are investor non-residents who just vote Yes to everything.

If we had prior knowledge of their decisions, we would have time to think about it and even have a bit of extra info or feedback before it goes to a vote at the AGM. And we might find out what’s going on and why.

 They say they’re too busy to have meetings so they just email each other to make decisions. But they’ve managed to put a lot of time into getting quotes and deciding on our new balustrades etc. without telling us residents or owners anything.

So Please, I want to find out if I’m entitled to be notified of decisions of the Committee, within 7 days of the decision, in this situation where the Committee doesn’t hold meetings.

This advice is needed before we get to Other Business next Tuesday 20th Nov. – at about midnight!

Thanks!

[BondiLocal]

Wow Jimmy, you are FABULOUS.

Thanks so much for your quick and comprehensive answer! It’s not the answer I was hoping for, but at least we now know where we stand according to the law.

I always admired and enjoyed your newspaper columns, but now you’ve helped me personally, I’m even more steeped in admiration of your understanding of this area, not to mention your accessible way of explaining it. Hope the Easter Bunny was generous to you today. Thanks again, BondiLocal

[Author]

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