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Stripping the current laws back to their basics, you can’t ban pets unreasonably which means, literally, without good reason.
That means you can’t ban dogs because they might bark all day and night. However, you can get rid of them if they do.
There’s a widely ignored section of the law that deals with animals that have been allowed but later prove to be a nuisance, so there are mechanisms available to remove problem animals, however that tends to reinforce the argument against unreasonable bans.
As for tricky laws to limit the size of dogs, there was a recent case (albeit in Queensland) where a dog owner successfully fought a by-law that required them to carry their dog in common property or walk it up 15 flights of fire stairs, because that effectively prevented them from keeping their dog.
All of which is to say, if you can’t identify a specific issue – such as a resident having a genuine phobia of dogs or a life-threatening allergy – you could be on a sticky wicket.
The size of the dog would be an issue if you had particularly small lift or passageways, so that people wouldn’t be able to avoid close contact.
But I think your best bet is to make the resident aware that if the dog proves to be a nuisance, you have options to have it removed from the building.
If appropriate, you might also give permission on condition that it be muzzled when on common property and that the owner doesn’t take it into the lift if there is someone already in it.If you want to be alerted when anyone replies to your posts or responds to this topic, please register and login, then you will be able to subscribe to the topic. The opinions offered in these Forum posts and replies are not intended to be taken as legal advice. Readers with serious issues should consult experienced strata lawyers. NB: Longer threads may spill over to additional pages - look for the numbers on the bottom right, under the last post.
There are probably enough residents, to get something like this passed.
Really? You couldn’t muster 25 percent of votes to block it?
Perhaps there is a trade off between people without car spaces being allowed to use the garages. Or do the monster truck owners want to have their cake and park it?
But seriously, I think your block needs to have an audit of the available parking and the parking needs of owners and come up with a comprehensive plan that probably won’t suit everyone but won’t be driven exclusively to suit the needs of an already privileged few.
Every problem is an opportunity in strata and this may be a chance to address the parking issue to everyone’s benefit.
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This is so complicated and sounds like a very costly exercise whichever way I go.
Not necessarily. Firstly you could contact StrataAnswers who provide a low-cost option for advice. And you could get your committee to investigate defects in the building before it’s too late. At least then the cost would be shared.
If you are financially restricted, Marrickville Legal Centre provides free strata legal advice for the whole of NSW. Just click here and fill in the form.
But even if you can afford it, the right advice could save you thousands in the future.
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Is there a requirement in the Act that levies are allocated to the Capital Works Fund.
Yes and no. The Act requires the owners corp to estimate how much it is going to spend on capital works and then allocate the funds accordingly, at the AGM.
However, it doesn’t say funds must be levied or, indeed, that a specific amount has to be raised. In other words, your scheme could decided not to raise funds for repairs and maintenance and therefore not set any figure to be raised via the levies.
The 10-year maintenance plan is another matter. The law says you must have one and that it must be updated every five years. However, it doesn’t require the estimates to be made by a qualified professional, so in a smaller scheme, this could be done by a member of the committee.
So you can see, this can be a very loose arrangement and since a lot of owners and committees are loath to do anything that would add to the levies, this often slips through the cracks.
However, a responsible and well-run committee will take all of this on board. And if they don’t, should a responsible owner feel the building is being neglected, the committee members leave themselves open to action at NCAT to be removed individually and collectively or, worst case scenario, be replaced by a statutorily appointed strata manager.
Here are the relevant sections of the Act:
79 Estimates to be prepared of contributions to administrative and capital works funds(1) An owners corporation must, not later than 14 days after the constitution of the owners corporation and at each annual general meeting after that, estimate how much money it will need to credit to its administrative fund for actual and expected expenditure—
(a) to maintain in good condition on a day-to-day basis the common property and any personal property vested in the owners corporation, and
(b) to provide for insurance premiums, and
(c) to meet other recurrent expenses.
Note—Recurrent expenses would include such regular expenses as insurance, water charges, electricity charges, carpet cleaning, lawn mowing services and the like and minor expenses relating to maintenance of the common property.(2) An owners corporation must, at each annual general meeting, estimate how much money it will need to credit to its capital works fund for actual and expected expenditure—
(a) for painting or repainting any part of the common property which is a building or other structure, and
(b) to acquire personal property, and
(c) to renew or replace personal property, and
(d) to renew or replace fixtures and fittings that are part of the common property, and
(e) to replace or repair the common property, and
(f) to meet other expenses of a capital nature.
Note—Expenses of a capital nature would include expenses in relation to major repairs or improvements to the common property or personal property of the owners corporation, such as replacement of roofing, guttering or fences and the like.(3) When estimating amounts needed to be credited to the administrative fund or the capital works fund, the owners corporation must have before it, and take into account, a statement of the existing financial situation of the strata scheme and an estimate of receipts and payments.
(4) An estimate prepared before the first annual general meeting of an owners corporation is to take into account the initial maintenance schedule provided by the original owner for that meeting.
(5) In estimating amounts to be credited to the capital works fund, an owners corporation is to take into account anticipated major expenditure identified in the 10-year plan for the capital works fund proposed under this Division.
(6) An owners corporation of a large strata scheme must include in the estimates prepared at an annual general meeting—
(a) specific amounts in relation to each item or matter on which the owners corporation intends to spend money, or on which the owners corporation is aware money will be likely to be spent, in the period until the next annual general meeting, and
(b) a note as to any difference between the estimates and the 10-year plan for the capital works fund prepared under this Division and the reasons for the difference.
80 Owners corporation to prepare 10-year capital works fund plan(1) An owners corporation is to prepare a plan of anticipated major expenditure to be met from the capital works fund for a 10-year period commencing on the first annual general meeting of the owners corporation.
(2) An owners corporation is to prepare a plan for each 10-year period following the 10-year period to which the first plan applied. The plan is to be prepared for the annual general meeting at which the period covered by the previous plan expires.
(3) An owners corporation may, by resolution at a general meeting, review, revise or replace a 10-year plan prepared under this section and must review the plan at least once every 5 years.
(4) A plan under this section is to include the following—
(a) details of proposed work or maintenance,
(b) the timing and anticipated costs of any proposed work,
(c) the source of funding for any proposed work,
(d) any other matter the owners corporation thinks fit,
(e) any other matter prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this section.
(5) A plan under this section is to be finalised by the end of the next annual general meeting of the owners corporation after the annual general meeting for which the plan is prepared.
(6) An owners corporation may engage expert assistance in the preparation of a plan under this section.
(7) An owners corporation is, so far as practicable (and subject to any adjustment under this section), to implement each plan prepared under this section.
81 Owners corporation to set contributions to administrative and capital works funds(1) The owners corporation must determine the amounts to be levied as a contribution to the administrative fund and the capital works fund to raise the amounts estimated as needing to be credited to those funds.
(2) That determination must be made at the same meeting at which those estimated amounts are determined.
(3) The owners corporation must levy on each person liable for it such a contribution.
(4) If the owners corporation is subsequently faced with other expenses it cannot at once meet from either fund, it must levy on each owner of a lot in the strata scheme a contribution to the administrative fund or capital works fund, determined at a general meeting of the owners corporation, in order to meet the expenses.
(5) A contribution is, if an owners corporation so determines, payable by the regular periodic instalments specified in the determination setting the amount of the contribution.
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Why do you say it’s common property?
Technically, you only own what’s inside the the external walls of your apartment, plus or minus a few specific exceptions. Your windows and balcony, if you have one, are common property. The concrete slab under your flooring is common property, as is the ceiling. Your front door and the closure mechanism attached to it are both common property.
Look at it this way, anything around or inside your unit that is shared by or might impact on a neighbour above, below or next to you, plus adjacent common property areas too, are all common property. You own the air inside the apartment and any non-load-bearing walls withing the area too.
You own and are responsible for a share in common property which is why you need to get on to your defects ASAP – because you will end up paying a share of the cost of fixing issues in other apartments if you don’t.
All of which leads me to beseech you to ask a professional for their advice because I am sensing you are way out of your depth here and that is being taken advantage of by your developer, builder and maybe even your building manager.
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First re the Notice to Comply, to what is the resident supposed to comply?
A “Notice To Comply” is a standard official warning which must cite and reproduce the by-law that has allegedly been breached, if it is to have any effect. Since this was issued by the Strata Manager, it’s reasonable to assume the by-law was spelled out on the official form.
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There is an information sheet about neighbourhood noise from the Environment Protection Autority:
That sheet generally applies to “mechanical” noise, including radios, stereos and musical instruments. As you say, there is nothing there about voices. That may be why the cops were never called. The “peaceful enjoyment” by-laws are what’s relevant in this case.
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Isn’t body corp still available after the warranty period? If all fails, doesn’t it eventually land with body corp?
Yes, but if it’s a building defect, the builder/developer should fix it in the first six years. Okay, the owners corp carries the can thereafter, but that means you are paying ashare of all the repairs (and all the others that are found in other apartments).
You might be able to get the builder to fix defects after the developer warranty period expires, but it’s a lot harder.
Also, new buildings should have a defects bond that can be accessed to pay for defects. if you don’t make a claim, the developer pockets the money.
Get professional advice or you and your neighbours will be taken for mugs.
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But I’d like to note that not all walls are necessarily common property.
True. I was distracted by the 2mm rule, that anything smaller than that was the lot owner’s responsibility.
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Is it absolutely clear here these are building defects and as a result should be covered under building insurance – are there grey areas?
They are defects in common property and that’s al you need to know. The Owners Corp is legally obliged to get them fixed. If they are “building defects”, i.e. they are the result of poor construction, up to the first six years, the Owners Corp can demand that the builder fix them.
According to fair trading, this falls under body corp but I assume building warranty would be executed first. https://www.nsw.gov.au/housing-and-property/strata/living/repairs-and-maintenance.
Correct – but time is running out for you if the block is already six years old.
If everyone refuses responsibility, can the dept of fair trading step in?
No. Fair Trading doesn’t take action in these cases. Owners take action at the tribunal (NCAT) but first need to seek mediation at Fair Trading. If your Owners Corp is not taking action then you and other owners have to do it.
I have a building manager and it is my understanding this is hired by the body corp to take care of issues like this? Is that their role, are they suppose to advocate on my behalf?
The building manager does what the committee/owners corp wants them to do. If the committee and/or building manager is in cahoots with the developer, that is just as likely to be covering up defects as it is getting them fixed.
How do I find out whether other properties in the complex have the same issues, can strata tell me?
You can arrange to go to your strata manager’s office (by appointment) and look at all the correspondence from other owners. It costs about $35. You can also ask to see their addresses and email addresses and you can write to them and ask if they have noticed any issues and what happened when they reported them. Your strata manager may refuse to give the addresses to you citing privacy. This is total BS and you should point out that Privacy laws don’t apply to owners corporations.
I don’t mean to be insulting, but judging by your questions and clear lack of understanding of the processes and pitfalls facing you, you really need to get professional advice and do so soon before the six-year warranty period runs out.
If talking to a lawyer feels like a bridge too far, contact our sponsors StrataAnswers and they will provide common sense advice on what steps to take next (for a modest fee).
Judging by what you have said, you are being deliberately misled by your building manager and that makes me think they might be more concerned about keeping the developer happy than looking after apartment owners.
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You need to get professional strata legal advice as soon as possible and you need to get your strata committee involved.
These all look like common property defects and they should be fixed under the statutory warranties. They may also be an indication of other serious defects in the building.
It also seems as though the builder, strata manager and developer are happy to lie to you to run down the clock on the defects.
Do not waste another second wondering about this. Call a strata lawyer today. There are a couple of excellent ones listed at the top of the page
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You can forward the link but not the reviews. And there is a “Send a message” link on the left but if you require direct assistance you’d be better to approach Consumer Affairs Victoria or an experienced strata lawyer who operates in Victoria.
I have neither the time, the qualifications nor the professional indemnity insurance to offer legal advice. I suspect ScotlandX may be in a similar situation.
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There is new Regulation on the Strata Law that makes it compulsory to people in the Committee and the Strata Management to disclose all the problems in their building before they buy.
I am unaware of this new regulation, which sounds very woolly, if it exists at all. What does “all the problems” even mean? There’s a hole in the roof and Mrs Underminer in number 92 is a terrible gossip?
I suspect it’s yet another example of someone getting half the story – strata owners and their agents can view all correspondence and minutes if they wish – and turning it into an urban myth in an ill-informed response to a news item.
Someone please correct me if I’m wrong and I’ve missed this earth-shattering new regulation.
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Have a look in your Strata Plan. It will show how far above ground your owner’s property extends – perhaps 3 metres.
The strata plan will show how far the lot air space extends above the terrace. The lot owner should pay for the air space used above that.
If a by-law is needed, draft it and call a general meeting to consider it. Otherwise the roof comes down.
The lot owner should have the by-law drafted, then the OC can consider it at a general meeting (which the lot owner should also pay for). This process should not cost the strata scheme a cent.
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