Forum Replies Created
-
Replies
-
Let’s have a few details. There should have been a general meeting which discussed and approved the special levy. If your friend’s share is so large, and assuming she doesn’t own most of the building, it’s unlikely that all other owners will have their shares on tap. Someone would have realised that producing such a sum on little notice could be uncomfortable. Didn’t the general meeting address that point?
She might be able to negotiate a payment plan.
If some owners lag because of the amount demanded, can the works still proceed?
But no, she doesn’t have much recourse. Note that the OC can only grab her unit as part of bankruptcy proceedings in which they’d be an unsecured creditor.
A good side of strata title is that prospective purchasers should be more likely to obtain finance than they would if you stayed company title. That could put your value up.
A bad side of strata title is that if your building’s “many years ago” mean that it’s ancient, selling it to a developer could be easier to get through a company meeting than with strata.
There are other issues, such as noise control and having pets, that vary between states.
If you’re in NSW, that’s a matter for the state government. Report it to your local state MP.
IMHO, there’s nothing wrong with recording a conversation (including a meeting) that you’re at. The only wrong I can think of is breaching intellectual property rights. However, committee members are volunteers and have no basis for reserving intellectual property rights.
And I can’t see that a motion asking people with recording equipment to confess has much weight. The committee can make decisions about the OC’s matters, not individual owners where are entitled to observe the committee meeting.
Part 2: If you’re unfinancial, no-one can use your vote (except that you or your bank can use it for a motion requiring unanimous agreement).
Part 3: Gutters do block occasionally in areas with trees; your balcony should cope with this by directing floodwater outwards. That’s not waterproofing; it’s common sense.
Have you obtained detailed design(s) from a window expert? The aluminium members in a window can be wider than existing members, making “the same design” impracticable. Have most of the wooden windows passed their use-by date?
You might find that the local council requires off-street parking for everyone before they will allow conversion to strata title. Ask them.
JT, section 52 provides that the OC can delegate powers to the strata managing agent. It doesn’t relate that to office-bearer functions (although the treasurer and secretary are discussed separately). That begs the question: what are the chair’s functions? Apart from controlling meetings if present, the SSMA is unhelpful on what the chair is supposed to do. Perhaps the next batch of amendments will clarify.
Have they been holding properly-announced formal committee meetings? If not, that’s something that you must get changed. If there are formal meetings, wouldn’t it be simpler to attend the meetings rather than push for separate meetings to review formal committee meetings? The chair can but doesn’t have to let you speak at formal committee meetings.
You’re probably bound by the contract.
Do you have a by-law about noise and/or floor treatment?
It doesn’t make much difference here but was your plan registered before 1975?
Have AGMs been held annually and minutes circulated and posted on the noticeboard? Apparently there are no committee minutes. Without committee minutes, how do you know who the secretary is? Ditto the chairperson.
Have accounts been circulated annually? Are there separate admin and capex accounts? What is the manager costing you?
Had you thought of including a motion to terminate the manager? Get a quote from a large firm but perhaps not one that’s been in the news lately.
Unless you already have them, download your strata plan and registered by-laws from the LPI website (fees are payable). A careful study of them might save you going wrong somewhere.
Also, where you say the OC knew of and gave permission for your barbecue, note that the OC is not quite the same thing as a roomful of 12 owners and nor is it the committee. Your dab-handed partner should keep that in mind when reading.
Positions as senior as Strata Commissioner are supposed to be widely advertised as part of a careful process to secure the best appointee. But that didn’t happen in John Minns’ appointment. Fine man though Minns no doubt is, the hazards of ministerial parachuting are on show today.
Apparently the committee member lives in the building. Visitor parking is by definition not available to this person. You’ll find that the DA or BA under which the local council approved your building requires there to be X visitor parking spaces. You’ll also find that there aren’t any more than X visitor spaces. A committee member can’t change that. The committee can’t change that. The OC can’t change it either, not even to convert it to an EV-charging space.