[Jimmy-T]

I had alway thought that the process was to get a court judgement on the debt then “garnishee” any future sale of the property and that guaranteed the debt would be recovered.

But I am now reading that if bankruptcy is declared, the garnishing of the sale proceeds lapses and, as “et” suggests, you go down list of creditors.

Perhaps the best tactic is to get the garnishee order then do everything possible to keep the owner solvent.  Meanwhile, you could alert local real estate and buyers’ agent to the possibility that the property might be sold, tell them how to contact the owner and let them do all the heavy lifting.

Unleash the hounds!

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[Jimmy-T]

I was thrown by the idea of 30-plus gate openers.  I thought it was one gate opener for 30-odd drivers. Even so, there are systems that will direct the power where it’s needed, at any given time, so that even if half a dozen vehicles emerge from their garages at the same time, like a scene from Thunderbirds, the system will temporarily divert the power from the charging vehicles to the gate openers.

Similarly, if half a dozen cars are being charged and one of them is finished, the system will divert the freed-up power to the other chargers.

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[Jimmy-T]

You have me at a disadvantage. I thought you were the boss of the strata management firm that blocked the installation.  Apologies for that.  My previous response will be toned down accordingly. And good on you for trying to solve a tricky but ultimately resolvable problem.

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[Jimmy-T]

Hobbitville wrote:

What is the situation if the positions are reversed. i.e. an owner takes NCAT action against the OC.

Basically the same.  The relevant section of the Act says it pertains to actions taken by and gaints the owners or strata scheme.

Does there have to be a special levy (from which the initiating owner is excused) raised to cover all of the costs, including any lot, as well as common property engineering inspections & physical repairs, as well as all lawyers fees incurred from the start of the complaint / failure of mediation?

The Act says the strata scheme “cannot pay any part of its costs and expenses in the proceedings from its administrative fund or capital works fund …” but can raise a special levt from which the prevailing owner must be excluded.

I’m not a lawyer but I would say that means any expenses incurred specifically in the pursuit of this case and used during the proceedings.  Others may disagree, but I think the meter starts running on this when the strata committee or owners corp decides to proceed with or defend an action at the Tribunal.

It would not (IMHO) think anything and everything related to the dispute could be counted, including surveys and inspections before the case commences, and repairs made after it had been concluded.

 

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[Jimmy-T]

Propose a motion for the next committee meeting along these lines:

In an effort to avoid misunderstandings, the committee apologises for any slight, hurt or imprecation about X’scharacter and/or intentions and that it withdraws and amends any such unintentional imputations.  The committee wishes to clarify that it now accepts that X’s motives for requesting the strata roll was purely so that he could participate more fully in the discussions of issues related to the scheme, which he has every right to do.

What they do with that will inform your next step.

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[Jimmy-T]

Do an online search for “recessed handrails” – stylish and discreet.

More expensive than a bannister on brackets, less costly (in terms of stress, at least) than a war of words at a Tribunal.

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[Jimmy-T]

Level_one wrote:

We are currently encouraging the introduction of EV charging facilities across our entire Community of some 55 Strata and unmanaged use of common property power as in this example we would consider one of the least desirable routes to go and not to be encouraged.

Congratulations on embracing the issue across the buildings you manage and good luck with wrangling the myriad options and issues that will be presented.  But less face it, the strata manager concerned could have handled this better.

Generally the design load and usage factor on a common property supply can be very limited . In our case the power available in the garage is designed primarily to operate the garage door openers and it us assumed all will not be operating at the same time. To use such a circuit for multiple EV chargers is not likely to be sustainable.

Yes, but this wasn’t an application for multiple chargers, it was for ONE. The tenant was advised to get the landlord to go to the hassle and expense to get a by-law (unnecessarily).

I would also suggest that expecting that all users will confine their charging to off peak times is optimistic.

Realistic, not optimistic. Most people using low-voltage trickle chargers do so when they are at home in the evening.  Also this is ONE person. If there were more wanting to do it, you would presumably adapt your policy and limit the usage until the system could cope.

This may require a bylaw to run cabling through common property from the meter/compressor to his garage but this option can be a totally user pays model and relatively inexpensive to implement considering the benefits to both the Lot Owner and the Owners Corporation.

I don’t think so. Section 110 of the Act specifies the installation of  electrical cabling and power points as a minor renovation only requiring approval which must not unreasonably be refused.

Section 132B of the Act actually specifies installation of EV charging as a sustainability measure, not requiring a by-law, per se, but a Sustainability Special Resolution which only requires a simple majority vote.

On the question of multiple use, that’s something that can be estimated as single users increase in numbers to a limit established by an electrical engineer. As the take-up is increased, more sophisticated systems can be introduced before the building is browned out.

We shouldn’t let perfect be the enemy of good.

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[Jimmy-T]

StM@lo wrote:

Perhaps instead of telling Strata Communities their position is extremely short-sighted. Electric Vehicle Council CEO Behyad Jafari, and his organisation could be pro-active and research, and create a “standard bylaw” proposal

Maybe because strata law isn’t his area of expertise.  Perhaps someone will pass his comments on to SCA or Fair Trading or the Property Commissioner or anyone who wouldn’t have to learn a completely new skill set just to ask the right questions. (oh, hang on, I think I kind of did that already).

I am flabbergasted at the level of resistance there is to electric vehicles in this country, especially among politicians.  The recent reversal of sustainability measures proposed by NSW Planning is a huge retrograde step and a clear message to the strata community that our leaders think climate change and energy security aren’t serious issues.

All it would take is for our invisible Fair Trading Minister to get one of her many minions to say: “Go ahead and fix a meter or two to the electricity supply, on a user-pays basis, and charge the owners for the energy used, until such times as you want to upgrade to full EV charging in your block.  We’ll sort out the legalities later.”

If we need to have a by-law every time there’s a miniscule change to common property – and I’m not convinced a by-law is necessary in this case – we’ll be back in the stone-age before we know it.

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[Jimmy-T]

Are you asking if every addition to common property has to be approved at a general meeting rather than just by the committee?

If so, one answer would be that any such major item would have to be budgeted and that would need approval at a general meeting.

Does that answer your question? I think you may not have got a response to this  previously because your question was a wee bit confusing – very general then very specific.

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[Jimmy-T]

It’s a building with more than 100 units.  Looking at the picture in the SMH, there are many power points in the garage.

Even so, it is very simple to put an in-line meter on a power source and a separate locked socket for anyone else that needed it.  The available technology is very advanced and inexpensive.  You can even access some meters using your credit card, phone or pass key.

Strata Answers is running courses for City of Sydney informing people what their real choices are.  Saying ‘too hard” is not a valid option.

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[Jimmy-T]

This discussion has now evolved into exchanges about who pays the owners corp expenses (or doesn’t) when they take a case to NCAT and lose: Loser pays – schemes must raise losing case expenses by special levy

 

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[Jimmy-T]

TrulEConcerned wrote:

Is Mediation citing an order under  s. 232 the way to go (where I will list s. 104 as Just Asking mentioned). Or can I go straight to NCAT?

Apply for mediation on that basis and if they don’t agree in writing, move on to NCAT (being sure to ask for costs). They might offer to reimburse you for the levies you should not have paid, which isn’t strictly kosher but would resolve the problem (unless you want the other owners to know how their money is being wasted).

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[Jimmy-T]

To finally nail this one down, here is a response from our sponsors Bannerman Lawyers.

If an Owners Corporation is unsuccessful in proceedings, there are different costs consequences that may apply depending on whether proceedings are commenced in the NCAT or the Courts.

Costs can be categorised into two main types:

2. The Owners Corporation’s costs of the proceedings, including legal costs and expert costs; and
3. The Owners Corporation’s costs of complying with any substantive orders made by the NCAT or the Court including orders to pay damages.

Costs in the NCAT

If the Owners Corporation is unsuccessful in NCAT proceedings against a lot owner, it must raise a special levy, excluding the successful owner from liability to contribute, to fund the Owners Corporation’s costs of the proceedings. This is automatic and does not require an order of the Tribunal, pursuant to Section 104 of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (“SSMA”), as extracted below:

104         Restrictions on payment of expenses incurred in Tribunal proceedings

1. An owners corporation cannot, in respect of its costs and expenses in proceedings brought by or against it for an order by the Tribunal, levy a contribution on another party who is successful in the proceedings.

2.  An owners corporation that is unsuccessful in proceedings brought by or against it for an order by the Tribunal cannot pay any part of its costs and expenses in the proceedings from its administrative fund or capital works fund, but may make a levy for the purpose.

3. In this section, a reference to proceedings includes a reference to proceedings on appeal from the Tribunal.

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[Jimmy-T]

Thanks for your kind words and the heads-up on Google.

I have changed the menu link to the main podcast host that I use (https://blubrry.com/693510/) and you can subscribe from there.  There’s no way I can easily see of telling Google that our podcasts are more likely to be childish than adult.

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[Jimmy-T]

I doubt if the landlord would cover the cost of Ubers.

Also, you suspect the strata committee has been less than proactive here.  Did they canvass residents to find out who would be impacted by this, and how badly?  Could they have organised a peak hour shuttle service between the block and public transport? Might they have “borrowed ” visitor parking from a nearby block?

I doubt very much if any of these options were even considered – and this committee would not be alone in its “damn the torpedoes, full steam ahead” approach.

There are several opinions here that are typical of a common strata committee view, that the tenant just has to suck it up as everyone is in the same boat.

But they’re not.  The tenant has no say in the extent of the work, its timing or how it is structured. Could it have been done in stages that were less disruptive, for instance?

Also, the benefits to the tenant are debatable to say the least.

The landlord should compensate the tenant and the rental agent should be passing that message on.  Whether or not the landlord is entitled to compensation from the strata schemes is when the “we’re all in this together” argument gets real.

 

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