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First of all, the committee and/or strata manager needs to follow up the Notice To Comply and seek fines, if only to establish that the upstairs neighbour has been uncooperative.
Then you need to seek mediation with a view to taking action at NCAT for the flooring to be fixed. The question of permission is almost irrelevant since the issue is whether or not the noise is excessive.
If the upstairs owners feel they have been treated unfairly by being challenged on flooring for which they have been given permission, then that is an issue they should take up with the committee.
And you should be talking to an experienced strata lawyer (like either of our sponsors) now, before you even think of calling a real estate agent. This is a surprisingly common problem as it’s a combination of people thinking they can do as they like with their property, inadequate by-laws and ineffective committees and strata management.
Don’t give up without a fight because the facts are simple – if the floor is too noisy then it needs to be fixed.
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I don’t understand why at least two and possibly three breach notices have been sent.
Me neither. This is one of the great myths of strata – that you have to send three warnings before you send a Notice To Comply … which is a warning.
The abstainer is being ridiculous in this case. The issuing of a Notice To Comply is merely sending the owners a message to abide by the terms of their permission or face consequences as decided by a Tribunal.
This is likely to be an order to make them control their pet better. If they don’t comply, then it could be a fine or, in extreme circumstances, removal of the animal.
It’s as far from being a death sentence for the cat as it it from being an eviction notice for its owner (which would never happen).
You could take action against your strata scheme for failure to enforce its by-laws, under section 232, which would invite NCAT to issue orders to send a Notice To Comply.
In any case, individual owners can take action under section 158 (below) against residents whose permitted animals constitute a nuisance. Even then, removal of the animal would be a last resort.
And you might look at how why your strata manager has failed to explain this pretty basic stuff about Notices To Comply to the fence-sitter. Repeat after me: “A notice to comply IS a warning.”
158 Order for removal of an animal permitted under by-laws(1) The Tribunal may, on application by an interested person, make an order against a person who is keeping an animal on a lot or common property in accordance with the by-laws for a strata scheme, if the Tribunal considers that the animal causes a nuisance or hazard to the owner or occupier of another lot or unreasonably interferes with the use or enjoyment of another lot or of the common property.
(2) The Tribunal may order that the person—
(a) cause the animal to be removed from the parcel within a specified time, and be kept away from the parcel, or
(b) within a time specified in the order, take such action as, in the opinion of the Tribunal, will terminate the nuisance or hazard or unreasonable interference.
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Check th small print of your home and contents insurance. Otherwise Google “bicycle insurance” – different insurers provide different levels of cover for different premiums.
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My lesson from this was I now list my valuables, especially those I think the insurer may push back on if a claim needed to be made.
You’d be surprised how many individual items of value you can list on your home and contents insurance without it affecting your premiums. If you don’t have home and contents insurance then good luck with that.
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” …under a licence agreement with all terms and conditions to be approved by the strata committee.”
That’s a pretty broad condition unless you think there’s some jiggery-pokery afoot. If this is a commercial outfit, insist that a legal document protecting the strata scheme be drawn up by a lawyer at the coffee club’s expense.
If it’s a social group, make sure that the conditions can be revised annually at the AGM.
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The best person to answer that may be the chair of the meeting who called it out of order. Write and ask what teir reasoning was.
But one reason that springs to mind would be if it was on the agenda but wasn’t flagged as requiring a special resolution vote. That would do it.
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I recall my son telling me that his expensive bike was stolen from his block of flats when the thief turned up with a battery powered angle grinder to access the pretty solid security cage and then remove the heavy duty lock with which the bike was tethered. My point is, no security cage is impenetrable.
Motion activated security cameras will make everyone’s storage more secure. But your strata committee may feel that isn’t warranted by the level of threat. Home and contents insurance will mitigate against loss if the SC is proved wrong.
Check and see how many thefts and break-ins there have been in the past. You may be installing security that you don’t need.
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Under section 52 of the Act, if the functions of the owners corporation were delegated at a general meeting (and there should be an AGM minute of that having occurred, if that’s the case) then they can only be revoked at a general meeting. So hold a general meeting and revoke them.
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Persuade the committee to install an integrated communications hub like our sponsors Stratabox. If they balk at it, go direct to the rest of the owners and get their support.
If you can’t then you are at the mercy of your office-bearers and their desire to go beyond the bare minimum in communications
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It sounds very much like an illicit land grab and if so, the next questions are
1) what do you want the outcome to be and
2) how far are you prepared to go to achieve that outcome?Complain to the committee and/or strata manager? An EGM? Action at NCAT? Either of these could make an enemy for life of your neighbour but that’s not necessarily a good reason for not taking action.
Over to you.
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you could first ask the strata committee and then the agent … which insurer was chosen and why.
“Because they offered the best cover for the premiums demanded,” would be the easy answer to that, and hard to disprove.
But to expand on your initial point, owners are entitled to see all strata records and the strata manager is legally obliged to show them (usually at their office for a modest fee).
Also, in NSW strata managers must declare any commissions they make from arranging insurance cover.
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Take it to the committee before the warranty runs out. It’s clearly not fit for purpose – but maybe they authorised a cheap installation. But’s common property and that means the committee needs to tell the property manager to extract the digit and put in a claim.
Meanwhile canvass other owners to see if they are suffering similar issues.
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Is there currently mould in your flat? And what do the by-laws for your scheme (not the model by-laws) say about drying laundry?
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There is a whole website about solving these disputes.
You’re right, of course, which is why I suggested going to court as a first option. Re the website to which you refer, a link would have been nice.
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