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Hi tracer – While I don't know the details of your strata plan, I'm not sure I agree with your take on the role of a special levy. Others can talk here about the legal issues.
Our complex was neglected for many years… leaving predictable long term maintenance undone. Now there's a huge backlog of works to be done and not much in the sinking fund to pay for it. We sacked and replaced our strata manager, contracted engineers to review the main problems and are currently getting quotes and investigating whether a levy or strata finance is more appropriate/affordable to finance necessary repairs and maintenance.
Most of the repairs we have to do were predictable. Most are not emergencies, but if they're not fixed asap they will become more expensive and some could become urgent. Since the OC is legally responsible to maintain the premises, repairing the problem(s) will help us avoid the cost of someone taking legal action over works which should have been done. Plus there's the side benefit of improving the value of everyone's property investment by having a better maintained unit complex.
Your EC is answerable to all owners – the OC did elect them after all. If you're questioning their actions, hold an EGM and discuss your complaints. But an attempt to defraud?
There has to be a reason why your sinking fund was/is inadequate. In our case, it was poor management, poor advice and an obsession by owners in the past (and individuals controlling a non-democratic EC) with keeping strata fees so low that there was never enough money to fix the essentials.
As an EC member and secretary of our OC, I can't see why anyone on the EC should be upset at a resident or owner contacting them. Isn't that our job as EC members?
I'm regularly emailed or otherwise contacted by unit owners. It's not hard to redirect people to the strata manager when necessary.
Our EC members' names and unit numbers are usually listed on the noticeboards (2 buildings in complex). We also invite residents to contact us via the secretary's mailbox. From time to time we update our list of email and other contacts for residents and owners, so that we can keep people informed about what's going on.
I like PeterC's suggestion of the regularly updated information folder… though at the moment I'd be happy to ensure that EC members have something similar to help them do their job(s) properly.
Hi Billen Ben – I don't know about the legalities, but I do believe that ethically the OC should refund credit when someone's that far ahead. Surely your budget's not reliant on the advance payments of one unit owner… and if it is, then it sounds like time to raise your levies. Just a thought.
In the interests of maintaining good relations between neighbours, it's probably worth ensuring there is actually a viable alternative for residents to dry their washing.
Our complex doesn't have common laundries, but it does have a terrible south-facing drying area that is very difficult to access from many units. Especially for people with young children or disabilities. Then there's the issue of theft from clotheslines…
You could also consider installing a coin-operated laundromat-style dryer, which residents could use by paying for electricity as they go.
Thanks Billen Ben. Your contribution has reinforced my own views, and many of the arguments raised at the AGM.
I appreciate that there are good SMs out there… this one didn't seem too bad. Still gotta train her up
As someone who lives in a unit complex that's almost 35 years old, I can sympathise with sarahs's costs comment.
However, I do feel that the real problem is a failure to plan properly for future maintenance by keeping strata fees too low for years. Our complex suffers from the same syndrome and now – after a minor revolution to force people to face their responsibilities – owners are faced with the likelihood of a special levy or taking on a strata loan to fix years of neglect.
Despite all this, the owners' corporation accepted our responsibility for looking after various doors, and has paid for replacements where necessary.
The sinking fund is there for a reason… I've been quite surprised at the disdain some OCs and strata managers of older complexes seem to have for the 10-year Sinking Fund Plan – If done properly, it can be a very useful document and help prevent the sort of funding crisis that makes OCs consider getting rid of their responsibilities. Changing by-laws to make individual owners responsible for such maintenance won't necessarily ensure the work is actually done, but could perhaps open up a different sort of dispute within your complex.
sarahs said:
There's no real problem currently, except that our complex is now around 45 years old, and some of the front doors require replacement at a cost of around $1200 each. This could result in a major cost, and additionally there are 2 sets of glass sliding doors which are starting to require repairs. With 26 townhouses in the block, there is a strong likliehood of a large outlay coming up at some point.
The transfer of responsibility was suggested as a way to reduce costs (and of course rising levies).Hi phlebe
Looks as if – like me – you have a series of questions following your AGM late in 2011 (I've seen a few of your other posts).
You might find it useful to check out Strata Community Australia (NSW) at https://nsw.stratacommunity.org.au/ – this is the professional association for strata managers (formerly known as ISTM) and they have a list of professional standards that are a requirement of membership.
They also have info about who's responsible for what (ie owners' corporation versus individual owners) and an online training module for Executive Committee members… which anyone can do.
Hope these help give you a start. It's also worth checking out the NSW Fair Trading's website section on strata schemes at https://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/Tenants_and_home_owners/Strata_schemes.html
Despite my personal leanings towards new technologies, there are several owners in our complex of 24 units who don't have email or even a computer. So these IT based solutions don't suit everyone.
We use email as much as possible to distribute info to EC members and unit owners in general. Also to communicate with the strata manager (though I'm not sure they always read the contents, given some responses). But there's always someone I have to give printed info – including a new member elected to our EC at last week's AGM.
Noticeboards can be useful and – if well managed – can add to a sense of community in a strata complex. They also give info to tenants about what's going on, so they're not left out of the communication loop.
In an ideal world, I can see how a well maintained website or blog could be useful. But in the world of our units, I know I'd have to act as 'moderator' on any IT-based info forum for owners… and there's simply not the time.
I'd say it's also worth checking out the health and safety issues associated with boron or any other chemical termite treatments before exposing residents to unnecessary risks.
Not saying there is one, but I think it's worth taking precautions. I'm also a little uneasy about what appears to be an outright bid from a company for work…. is that really the purpose of this forum?
I agree with JimmyT – I've never noticed him 'living in some sort of strata Utopia'. Instead I see a practical attitude that and – in this forum – a chance to share experiences so we can come up with solutions.
To me, strata living is as much about politics as the rest of life… I'm talking about politics with a small 'p', as in the interactions between people. In real life. We have real problems to solve – and just like in free standing houses, sometimes there are poor neighbourhood relations and unsympathetic landlords. And there are also strata managers and building managers who keep crap records – just like many other businesses, in my experience.
Back to the topic: I agree with struggler – if our EC didn't make decisions by email, then nothing much would happen. We also have meetings, where we usually endorse those email decisions.
I live in a unit complex which had become dysfunctional over many years. Our old (now sacked) strata manager was not the best with modern communication techniques, including email. In fact, they had minimal communication skills. Their record keeping and work performance sucked, despite their old fashioned office techniques.
It took for unit owners – some of whom contributed little before – to band together to make a change. We basically had a revolution. Our new situation is not perfect, but it is improving.
Our EC tries to foster a pleasant living environment and is not stacked with time servers or self-interested people. We communicate directly with residents, but mainly by regularly updating our noticeboards and NEVER posting up whinging notices. We remind people to contact the strata manager directly for their maintenance concerns and to contribute ideas via the secretary's letter box.
As secretary, I contact individual owners about resolving problems and email/mail unit owners our EC minutes (also displayed on noticeboards). If I ever saw bullying or defamatory emails going round, I'd intervene immediately – fortunately it's not happened to us.
Mind you, we did have a surprising experience after complaining to our old strata managers about the poor job they were doing: the company's owner sent stream of consciousness emails that made little sense, topping them off with his great PR effort of emailing crude images and pornography to a male EC member. If there were ever any doubts about the cost and difficulty of changing, his actions just made us accelerate the process of dismissal.
I agree with JimmyT. It's well worth giving the Tenants Union – aka Tenants NSW – a go…. and I agree about the potential for a similar problem to develop if you had neighbour problems in a free standing house.
I've never been to prison, but I've been both a tenant and a resident owner, and have lived in houses and flats. My worst crazy neighbour problem was actually in a free standing house.
You're almost there kevv39… don't let this problem make you homeless.
I agree with JimmyT about calling in the police and taking legal action. It all sounds even worse than I initially thought.
By the way, to check if your old strata manager is a member of Strata Community Australia NSW (formerly ISTM) phone them on 02 8904 0450. I've found in the past that the search facility on their website doesn't always show all members names, so it's best to ask – and to see if they can help too.
Good luck
Can only agree with Jimmy T.
Our place has lots of water leakage (and other) problems and insufficient funds to fix them – caused by years of neglect. I live in fear that someone will demand a similar payment before we can fix everything.
Only a couple of days ago my spouse threatened to 'sue the strata' if the leak affecting our balcony isn't fixed soon (we've already had our carpet replaced several years ago, after being inundated by a serious leak in another unit that affected most units on our floor). I had to point out that we've got engineering reports and are well on our way to repairing all the leaks, not just ours, hopefully in the new year.
