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What makes you think that it is not common property?
Hi, Ozzy
NSW Advice
Sounds like you have what we call a “dotted line plan”. Not as common as the solid line plans that create a LOT more common property. If you take a look at the strata plan you will likely find the building is defined by a dotted line rather than a solid line. There is also an accompanying reference to say that there will be no common property in the lot including the buildings and a stratum defined (3m down 6m up).These are strata plans and they still have some common property responsibilities like common services that service multiple lots (water/sewer/elec), fencing of the strata boundary and if there is a common driveway that would be included as well. These schemes can usually have a lower levy requirement due to the lack of CP roofs/walls etc.
These schemes still have all of the other requirements that a normal strata would incur like needing to insure all buildings.
I also wanted to emphasis Jimmy-T’s point about ai. It “hallucinates” often when it comes to strata as there is often a lot of nuance on how things work and when it scours the internet looking for patterns to pass off as answers it will find a lot of people getting it very, very wrong.
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The area of the NSW legislation that details who should sign relates to the Owners Corporation Seal being affixed which is Section 273 of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015.
- No. Owners may sign the contract per the above. Section 273(2)(a).
- Not based on the information supplied.
Yes. If an incident occurs on common property then there is always a chance the Owners Corporation will be liable. The absence of insurance held by the contractor just makes that more likely.
The supreme court just held an Owners Corporation liable for a fatality that occured on site and it was an employee of a lot owner.
SafeWork NSW v The Owners – Strata Plan No 93899 [2024] NSWDC 277 (11 July 2024)
The area of the strata plan that Tina accurately describes will potentially outline a “stratum” for courtyards. This will be what you need to know to start to understand who is responsible.
The strata plan will also show where your courtyard is and they are usually tied to the lot with a “veniculum”. Looks like an S that has fallen over.
The best place to start looking will be to grab a copy of your strata plan and look for the notes on it and see if they clearly details these things for you.
We are renovating our internal laundry with new cupboards and storage. However, some pipes need to be moved along the wall to accommodate the relocation of the laundry sink.
Where are those pipes? Is it an internal wall or an external wall?
Our strata manager is telling us we need a special by-law to cover this in addition to a “scope of work” and plumbers diagram.
If it is an external wall you are now moving pipes which may be common property in your complex. Because of this the approval and subsequent need for a by-law is because of Section 108 of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015.
The by-law is to protect the owners corporation from potential cost in the future should there be an issue because of that relocation.
Surely all the evidence that would be required would be a couple of quotes from reputable insurers with the nefarious premises included and matching quotes with them excluded,
I have never ended up at NCAT to know what their burden of evidence is.
In my experience it was a tenant’s activity causing the increase and it was very difficult to get anything from the broker/insurers about specifically who and why there was such an increase.
The OC made a request to the lot owner to cover the increase once sufficient information was gathered and the lot owner refused. They did however evict their tenant and the insurance went back down.
The Section of the NSW section for lots responsible for an insurance premium increase (Section 82) requires their “consent of the owner” when presented with the explanation and cost. If they dispute it then it’s off to NCAT and you’re going to need some evidence to take with you.
We had an insurer come back to us today seeking police checks for a Vape shop in a complex and it looks like their cover will need to go off shore because nobody local wants to touch it.
Tattoo studios are also difficult to insure.
We were lucky to have a bank manager, who was serving on the strata committee of a self managed strata. He told us we would save a lot of money by going self managed.
This is a very broad statement when you balance the investment of personal time to manage the property (because not having an SM doesn’t mean you get to stop doing all that is needed) vs the fact that not all companies are out there trying to make a tonne off your scheme.
The company I work for has fees that run between $1 to $2 per day per lot and we’re very upfront with notifying when requests could result in a schedule b charge and give the committee an opportunity to side step it or accept it.
When everyone gets along, it’s great. The first person that doesn’t like how things are going or the first by-law that starts getting broken it will be then you have to wonder if $1-$2 per day per lot is worth the headache.
Who is sending the invoices through? It is the Committee Treasurer with an instruction to pay?
What is the delegated authority in the Agency Agreement?
As a strata manager I wouldn’t be paying random invoices sent in from owners however if I have an instruction from the Strata Committee then it’s my job to pay that invoice.
Some management software will allow for the Treasurer (or whomoever the committee appoints) to pay the invoices and remove the strata manager from the equation.
Current NSW Legislation in Strata Plans (Section 137B Strata Schemes Management Act 2015) does not allow for an Owners Corporation to reasonably refuse pets. I have seen OC’s go to NCAT who decided that 2 x dogs was not “reasonable” and they lost.
You must however apply for approval via your strata committee.
I have a picture of a goat on a third floor balcony. I think that one would be seen as unreasonble.
Community Title is quickly catching up with some further updates the the legislation expected this year.
It would not be reasonable to refuse a legitimate companion animal that was appropriately registered.
As a strata manager I am often getting emails from owners “why did the levies go up so much!”
The Strata Manager does not set the budget which results in the levies. The Owners Corporation, made up by Owners that attend the AGM are the ones that set the budget and have influence over what the levies are.
If you want to know more about what’s driving these changes being on the committee and/or being at the AGM is the best thing to do.