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Very helpful Whale, thank you, especially since we are still waiting to hear from the Council.
The Council finally rang & said the file would be retrieved from the archive ASAP. They’ll also talk to the receptionist. We are still waiting of course. Not to worry, we’ll get there.
Thank you Robert. I didn’t think we would have a great many regulations to comply with. One of our main reasons for buying in a complex like this was the likelihood of far less maintenance issues in the long term. The complex sits on flat land in a flat environment. Good for long walks as we age further (hopefully) & minimal maintenance requirements, relatively speaking. Having said that, we also expected to find harmony & good management. It certainly appeared that way, when we inspected our house with our strata infant eyes. You are right, I do post a lot. That is because I want to learn & understand what governs strata schemes & what we might reasonably expect. I read the Act & relevant rules & regulations on a daily basis. My next reading task will be the Civil Liability Act 2005. If we are to challenge our management (& challenge it, we will), we must possess relevant knowledge & documents. The advice & experience offered in this forum is priceless. At the conclusion of our quest, I am hoping to be able to help others, as I have been helped myself. In any case, it should make for a good yarn if we are successful. If not, we will cry quietly in our cups. So there.
Dear Kangaroo, our SP was registered in June 1992 & no, we won’t be allowed anywhere near the EC. It is tightly controlled by the SM’s acolytes. We have lived here for a little over two years & have a copy of the by-laws, which appear to be pre-1996. We’ve had a minor confrontation with the SM in 2012 & have been observing the goings-on quietly until our AGM last year. We have no notification of ECMs or their minutes at any time. The AGM minutes don’t reflect the discussions. Our motion for an amendment to previous year’s minutes were put to a vote & defeated overwhelmingly (it was on the subject of the SM’s insurance commission prom the previous year). We are not confident of getting all the documents we ask for, therefore we are gathering external documents first, in order to understand what to look for. By-law breaches only apply to those outside of the acolytes’ circle. Do I need to add more? As for the fire safety inspections, the completely enclosed rear courtyards leave only one exit from those houses in case of a fire. We need to understand how that is meant to work. Our common property has many obvious hazards, which leaves us with no insurance coverage should someone come to grief (at least two of them are bad enough to cause fatality). Something is terribly rotten in the State of Denmark & we must find out what that is. I am very grateful for your advice regarding our future dealings with the Land Titles Office.
Thank you Cosmo. We’ll do just that.
Thank you Whale. You make a lot of sense. We have never seen a fire safety certificate, nor do we have a notice board, although we do have a by-law requiring it. However, we have lodged a request to see the development consent with the local council & expect to hear from them in the next few days. After we have seen & copied the DC, we will request a copy of our by-laws from the Land Titles Office. And now, thanks to your advice, we will ask the council for the fire safety certificate too. As you might have noticed by now, there are many, many irregularities here. Whatever strata matter we look at, there is something wrong. These irregularities arise from JimmyT’s very aptly put “back of the ciggie pack” management style. But, we fear there may be more than lax management going on. Time will tell.
Thank you JimmyT. That explains why I couldn’t find anything specific on the net. Now I have another question. Our complex is in blocks of terraces with enclosed rear courtyards. The majority of the courtyards back onto wide, uninhabited outside spaces, mostly privately owned grassland. Is there a specific fire safety regulation for this?
Judging by our own & others’ trials & tribulations in this forum, the strata dwellers in NSW, if not nationally, have to be experts in not only the SSMA 1996, but all related laws, rules & regulations. It doesn’t take long to begin speaking legalese, when one is forced to look up something new every day. Speaking for myself, my already semi-formal speech (due to my nationality) has become far more formal lately, even with my nearest & dearest.
Thank you Whale. Unfortunately, we have already engaged a company, which is not Integrated Building Consultancy, although ours too specialise in strata hazards. The reason I wanted to know what an inspector’s qualifications should be is because I want to ask our company a similar question, then compare the answers. After our previous WH&S assessment, it is essential we get someone appropriately qualified (I can’t give details of the previous assessment, suffice it to say, it was a horror story. The man might have been a garbologist for all we know).
Does anyone know what qualifications are required in a WH&S inspector?
I remember some noise made on the subject by the incoming lot in 2011, that they would review the strata laws during their first term, but would not introduce a new bill until their second term. They appear to be working towards that.
He put my written request for amendment of the 2012 minutes (I had made him fess up to the percentage of his insurance commission during the AGM, but it never made it to the minutes) to a vote & won hands down. As it turns out, I found out he had understated the percentage anyway. He won’t include anything in the minutes he doesn’t want to. He is a crook with his acolytes on the EC & will be dismissed in due course, if that’s the last thing I ever do. I resent him holding our sole form of wealth in his hands. There is no point in selling up & moving away, because we do not intend to saddle some other poor sucker with the same situation. Wouldn’t be cricket, eh what?
Thank you again scotlandx. Yes, I have checked the agreement & it does provide for 3 year roll overs. However, the new term was supposed to begin at the 2013 AGM & it was never mentioned at all, although the proposed budget was passed without amendment (we abstained), which includes their fees for the coming year. As for the shortfalls in the admin fund, when I objected to the proposed budget at the 2012 AGM because it wasn’t allowing enough money ($500) & that the sinking fund would have to be raided again, the other owners stopped just short of booing & hissing. Lo & behold, it did happen & the insurance went up by nearly $4,000, which of course came out of the sinking fund. So, we just abstained at the 2013 AGM, as I said earlier. Once again the SM allowed only a few hundred dollars, with nary a comment from anyone. By the way, we are preparing for large scale document discovery, but that will take some time. To be honest, the whole strata scene appears to be a war zone & I’m personally not sure whether I want to spend my remaining years on a battleground. As far as I can see, the main intention of the Act is to NOT supervise it. The proposed reductions in red tape to benefit strata dwellers sound too much like the annual letters I get from my health insurer saying “we’ve got good news for you, your premiums are going up”. Struggler was right. He went & bought himself a small island in the form of a detached house.
Yet another question. Our agreement with the SM was signed nearly 15 years ago, for a term of 36 months. There has been no other contract signed since. The way I see it, we don’t have a valid contract & haven’t had one for many years. This was also raised in our submission to the adjudicator, but was not touched at all in the reasons given for the subsequent decision. Any opinions?
Thank you scotlandx. Now, I have another question for the knowledgeable ones among you. Our SM told the OFT when questioned about the regularity of S71 breaches that it is industry practice. My information is otherwise. What say you?
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