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Hi Peter,
This is a problem often faced by strata managers who are faced with the demand that they, or the owners corporation, help to recover damages from the lot responsible for the leak. I think you sense that this is not the OC’s responsibility and indeed it is not.
If the OC were to be party to any claim it would be acting outside its authority / duty which is narrowly defined as repairing and maintaining Common Property. That said it would be reasonable for the OC to share with the lot owner any evidence it has as to the effects of the leak. If a leak in one lot has reached another lot, then presumably the water passed through common property raising the question of whether it did any common property damage to the slab and whether this was properly dried out etc.
In essence I agree that this is not a matter requiring the attention of the OC.
John Hutchinson
m: 0418 797470 e: john.hutchinson@strataanswers.com.auS T R A T A A N S W E R S PTY LTD practical solutions for strata living
abn 11 600 590 083
http://www.strataanswers.com.auJust to be clear…. when you say ” at the last Strata Meeting the Committee proposed ..” I am assuming that this was a motion on the Agenda for a General Meeting of Owners and we are not talking about meetings of the strata committee.
Reasonable Notice should be given to Owners quite separately to including it in a Motion on an agenda – what if the Motion was not passed ?! Fire inspections are mandatory
That Notice process would at least open the door to some discussion around the logistics of gaining entry.
Right to charge for non access ? As Jimmy notes, we are talking about passing on charges from the Fire Inspection Contractor for having to return a second time.
It is doubtful whether the owners corporation has the power to resolve to pass any costs of this sort onto owners without there being a by-law in place entitling it to do so. Does your scheme have such an empowering by- law ?
John Hutchinson
m: 0418 797470 e: john.hutchinson@strataanswers.com.auS T R A T A A N S W E R S PTY LTD practical solutions for strata living
abn 11 600 590 083
http://www.strataanswers.com.auHi Katherine,
As kaindub points out most strata management agreements contain no metrics to identify and manage poor performance / responsiveness. And, yes, it is probably time to focus on a new agreement with a new manager rather than wrestle with your existing.
If you are going to insist on some meaningful performance KPIs like ….respond to all email and phone enquiries within 24 hrs. ..etc..… then it is equally important that the agreement does NOT contain provisions that allow any failure by the strata manager to meet KPI’s to be effectively “de-toothed” by other provisions.
By that I mean those key provisions in an Agreement that allow for Termination of the Agreement after xx no. of performance failures – the ultimate sanction. They can be watered down by further provisions that allow such performance failures to be ignored “as long as they are rectified within 30 days”. This leads to a cycle of recurring technical breaches with the owners corporation at the end of it no better off.
Performance metrics will always be a pain to enforce and yet another unneeded call on strata committee time. They either have to be watertight or alternatively you need a high level of trust & respect between the SM and owners.
John Hutchinson
m: 0418 797470 e: john.hutchinson@strataanswers.com.au
S T R A T A A N S W E R S PTY LTD practical solutions for strata living
http://www.strataanswers.com.auJust on your featured item this week… you can have your own food scraps recycling unit inside your kitchen
Check out Breville’s web site.
https://www.breville.com/au/en/products/food-disposal/bwr550 .html For the price paid i didn’t mind as in my mind i doing my part…I have arranged with the gardener to place the dried chips into the garden by digging holes
I live in a apartment..Purchased this at the start of the year…
Now i have almost no garbage at all, I recycle every thing, things i can’t place in recycling bins at the building i take to Woolies..—
Hi Ziggy,
Your argument for getting the SC to replace the balustrade has two legs..
1. The OC has a duty to repair and replace anything faulty – having no money is no defence
2. The OC has a duty to ensure reasonable safety (even if your building is such that it does not have to comply with the more stringent workplace safety requirements)
With this in mind, go back and see if the Minutes provide any clue as to exactly why the level 1 balustrade was replaced. Does this apply to your level.
Remind SC of their duties as appropriate. If no action, apply for Mediation which may lead you into an NCAT application if it still fails to achieve agreement & action.- in the form of getting quotes for work, raising special levy if necessary etc
Hope this helps
John Hutchinson – Strata Answers Pty Ltd – www.strataanswers.com.au
Hi Ziggy,
Common property on a balcony works like common property within your unit i.e the external glass, the balustrade and the walls are common property: you own the paint…. although with balconies there may be restrictions on your painting due to “Appearance” by-laws. Anything within the lot that does not service other lots is lot owner property.
The light fitting would be your responsibility as it is both within your lot and services only your lot. ( even light fittings recessed into false ceilings are the responsibility of the lot owner ). Before you replace it, consider whether “Appearance” by-laws mandate a particular type of fitting – best to replicate the original.
Replacement of the balustrade is the responsibility of the OC but only if the OC has reason to replace it – i.e. only if there is a requirement to retrofit to the current BCA standard. In most cases you will find that the obligation to retrofit to the Current standard only arises when major external work is being done.
I hope this helps
John Hutchinson – Strata Answers Pty Ltd – www.strataanswers.com.au
There are 101 strata matters that need to be looked into in this Review and the ones that will get most attention will be those that are already canvassed in the consultation document; but there are others….and important ones.
Let’s think about what has been happening with meetings over this last Covid year; there has been an exponential increase in the number of electronic meetings or meetings that have been a mix of electronic or physical. If electronic meetings are to be a permanent fact of life, then we have to clean up the way that strata managers identify those voting online eg.- Does a name under a zoom screen provide evidence of who the voter is ? What about multiple owners on zoom who are logged in on the same connection? etc.
Even more important….PRE-MEETING VOTING is completely different to electronic meeting occurring when a meeting is being live streamed. It’s typically asking owners to provide their votes ( probably by email) AHEAD of the meeting whether it is a physical or electronic meeting. This might work as a way to more easily get routine resolutions approved and give owners the feeling that they have participated even if they never came to the meeting ; but it is fraught with danger…
To offer the opportunity for owners to vote ahead of the meeting is to invite owners to vote WITHOUT HAVING HEARD any discussion around the motion, let alone any debate if the motion was contentious. It is fundamental that votes should be cast in an informed manner AFTER a matter has been debated, NOT BEFORE the motion has been discussed – why else do we have debate / discussion ?
We have seen how unscrupulous strata committees have used Pre-Meeting voting to assist in getting their favoured motions approved with a minimum of explanation and opposition. We have also seen how owners who put forward motions end up putting their case to other owners at a general meeting, only to find that, despite having won the approval of those physically present or online at the meeting, their motion is defeated by the Pre-Meeting votes cast against them by owners who were never there and who had never listened to the “case” and the arguments.
Pre-Meeting voting may have a limited role for dealing with non-contentious matters but the Act needs to be amended so that it does not displace the traditional sequence of Meet, Debate and Vote. ( It could also assist if the Act provided for the owners corporation to be obliged to circulate the “case” in support of an owner’s motion and not just the “case” for those motions that the strata committee supports.)
STRATA ANSWERS
http://www.strataanswers.com.au – practical solutions for strata livingMy understanding of the Sustainability Infrastructure amendment is that enables the passing of Sustainability Infrastructure Resolutions for such things as solar installations with a simple 50% majority.
Issues around the ownership of panels, common property rights and the responsibilities for maintenance will clearly have to be addressed in a manner that binds both the affected lot owners and the OC. In other words where individual owners are impacting on common property there will still need to be by-laws. Even if the solar infrastructure is OC owned, there will still most likely be a need for a by-law to regulate owner usage etc.
This amendment does not do away with the need for by-laws but in effect means that by-laws relating to sustainability infrastructure can be passed with a 50% majority of those present at a meeting.
John Hutchinson
S T R A T A A N S W E R S practical solutions for strata livingA similarly interesting question is “Do Strata Committee members want to be paid”.
I suspect that in most cases the answer is “No, I’m not doing it for the money but I am not happy with the number of unpaid hours I have to put in”.
And this is usually for one of two reasons – the Committee just has too much work to do or other members of the Strata Committee aren’t pulling their weight and sharing the workload.
Trying to change the work habits of fellow Strata Committee members is hard to imagine !
Trying to reduce the workload on volunteer Strata Committee members is the more practical approach.How does a Strata Committee set a workload appropriate to half a dozen unpaid volunteers, who might talk on a Whatsapp group once a week and have meetings every month or two?
They need someone to point them towards what decisions they need to focus on and someone to pick up on what gets missed and someone to make sure decisions translate into action. This is especially so for buildings dealing with major issues such as defects or buildings keen to take a proactive stance on energy efficiency. But in every case the need is for the Committee members to be able to make timely well informed decisions without spending hours on detail.
They can only do this with help.
In a larger building a good building manager will ensure that he obtains the necessary decisions from the Strata Committee and then implements them.
In buildings without this calibre of building management the Owners Corporation needs to engage a ”Business Manager” to research issues, put relevant points to Strata Committee members for their focus, obtain their decision and ensure follow through action.Is your Strata Manager the person to do this ?
Strata Committee members have to decide, but in many cases it is likely that the strata manager’s skillset is elsewhere.You need to discuss the nightmare that is living in an apartment building with animals that can make you die, should you come in contact with their hair.
This is pet lovers versus death and hospitlisations. It is discriminatory to those with asthma and allergies for the sake of a few spoilt individuals who are cruel to their animals.
The greatest challenge you face is how to manage the remediation of your windows and balustrades as a single cohesive project when your strata scheme is pre 1974 and these items are lot property, not common property.
As has been said you cannot turn the clock back and ” convert to a post 1974 setup”. What you can do is put in place a regime whereby the maintenance and repair of these items becomes, by agreement, the responsibility of the owners corporation. This is what I think your lawyer must have had in mind.
You need to create a by-law that will vest in the OC responsibility for the upkeep of these items ( I don’t think adopting the Common Property Memorandum will help much here as it is very specific about what can be included and excludes windows etc in pre 1974 buildings).
Your by-law will need the unanimous agreement of all owners if you need it to cover all lots. It’s not a question of just obtaining a 75% vote, because when a by-law modifies the rights and responsibilities of individual owners, their individual CONSENT is needed.
This is of course not legal advice – you have your lawyer. – but just seeking to explain the process. It is a well tried path because many ageing and older buildings have faced situations similar to yours. There is some energy required to obtain the agreement of all owners but, given that you are not seeking to raise funds, but rather to dispense them on something owners would normally have to pay for themselves, you should not face much opposition.
Discussions around style, design, contractors etc would then take place via meetings of your Strata Committee and General Meetings of Owners as for any owners corporation project.
We trust this helps.
John Hutchinson
m: 0418 797470 e: john.hutchinson@strataanswers.com.au
S T R A T A A N S W E R S PTY LTD practical solutions for strata living
abn 11 600 590 083Another area that apartment owners are ripped off is with car park stacker maintenance. I recently completed a block of apartments that I decided to retain as a long term investment
The car park stackers (10 X2) are imported with only one authorised representative in Melbourne. I am obliged to use the importer for all maintenance as they are the only ones with access to spare parts.
The cost of an annual maintenance contract is $5000 for two visits of about 2 hours each. An exorbitant charge by any measure.
Look just wanted to say, your podcom is hilarious. i.e. Hyperbole Towers (or BS Towers for potty mouths).I an owner of two OC properties – nightmarish admin/OC experiences. I may have some perfect fodder -albeit – I love your website it is not only informative but also super-duper because you have genuine experiences – bit like the Dorothy Dix of the strata living world – but really well answered/responded to (no slight on Dorothy).The format is really good unlike ‘others’ and which when you read ’em you kind of feel that behind ’em’ is a stinky (non-trustable) OC type manager corporate person.-I guess it was is called the ‘voice’ or ‘tone’ (sense of the absurd and humour) – Flatchat is like a friend you sincerely want to catch up with and the other is more like oh yeah, guess I’ll catch up because I might get something worthwhile form it – but not in a kind of positive way – more doom and gloom attached.I like Todd McKenney’s presence – I worked with him on 42nd Street about a gazillion years ago – (I was a mere dresser and just fresh out of WAAPA). Todd was beautiful and stupendously talented and generous spirited with his help with the greyhound man.I haven’t quite finished listening to podcom – saving it for later and if I had to identify with any of your Hyperbole Towers podcom’s , character’s it would be Amber – straight to the point and NO (BS) hyperbole!!Also, I remember No. 96 and then it was followed and can then still remember the building being blown up, calling an end to the series and then used to watch the racier version ‘the box’ – ha, but hard push to get parents to let me watch – but sometimes – oh, my gosh – love ya work Jimmy!On one of property’s going through the nightmare of having ALL the common property windows replaced and the other. Three years of subdivision – i.e. from stratum title to strata title- very expensive legal battle – but I had excellent solicitor and barrister – ended up ok – but it cost the Service Company and me – and to end up virtually in the same place i.e. with levy arrangements at the beginning of the fight.Oh my lord, in all the time I have owned the strata property, I think I have seen it all, from experiencing shocking floods into property, then dealing with the insurers for over a year, various lawyers, some good some bad, now having a good old fight with OC Manager and her wanting to access my private property terrace to do Common property works – anyways. Fortunately I have the best Managing Agent in Melbourne.Also, I cannot stop the nosey, over controlling – OC Manager from contacting my tenant direct.Anyways… thanks for the laughs in horrible times of covid.Love your article in Jimmy and it’s GREAT to see this shonky industry being exposed.
For buyers like me it’s a painful process to attempt to wait until the contract expires and then initiate a new one based on current needs & market forces.
It’s just about impossible because incumbent contract holders manoeuvre extensions, usually for no cost. In other words, they pay multi-$$$ for the initial contract with money going to the developer and are then given extensions by owners free of charge because the owners don’t realise they’re being ‘had’. Crazy.
Please keep up the good work! We need people like you to shine a light on this regulatory failure.