Forum Replies Created
-
Replies
-
The entrance of the building or the entrance for your unit?
That shouldn’t make any difference – they are both common property.
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.
… are you saying you’re preferred action would be to take the Committee to NCAT?
That’s just a personal preference and not necessarily the best course of action. You do have the option to take the neighbours to Fair Trading/NCAT yourself. But if the SC issues a Notice to Comply, it by-passes the mediation stage that you would have to go through.
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.
Update: About 26,000 properties out of an estimated 70,000 in NSW signed up by deadline day. That’s a lot of empty holiday homes in NSW as we head into Summer and the post-lockdown period. You can read more about it HERE.
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.
Oh, dear. The committee has decided to take the “do-nothing” option, and taken the dog-owners’ side because they foolishly believe that will make their lives easier.
I was going to ask about your by-laws but they are almost irrelevant as there is a section of the Act (158) that refers specifically to animals that have been permitted but prove to be a nuisance.
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.
So, you see that 158 (2)(b) allows the Tribunal to issue an order that sets a time limit for the dog’s behaviour to be moderated. That means the committee doesn’t need to ask for the dog to be removed in the first instance. The point being, the committee has options and is choosing to take none of them.
So this is what you could do. First take a detailed diary of when the noise occurs. Then get statements from neighbours who have also heard the dog. And make recordings (on your phone, is easy) of the dog yapping.
At the same time, you could seek mediation at Fair Trading with a view to either getting the neighbours to agree to take decisive action or (and this would be my preference) take the committee to NCAT under a section 232(2) for failure to exercise its responsibilities.
Now here’s my question for Flatchatters. Is there anything the owners can do to stop the dog yapping? Or is it too late for our little Mexican amigo?
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.
If there is no notice, use your phone to take a photo of the noticeboard, in case one mysteriously appears in the interim.
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.
I would also just check to make sure there isn’t a list of emergency tradie contacts on your notice board. If there isn’t, then what ScotlandX says is absolutely right. If there is, you may have to put up a bit more of a fight (but you should still prevail).
However, if they say tradies are listed in your By-laws, or any other document, you can reasonably argue that you’re not expected to carry that with you.
Apply for mediation and if they still won’t pay up, make a claim at the Small Claims Court
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.
The court will soon inform this women and her solicitor whether they have to adhere to any prescribed process.
Will they? As you say, in NSW the “winning” side has been penalised for not following correct procedure AFTER the decision was handed down.
I am told that the tribunals and processes in QLD are, at best, unreliable and decisions can be inconsistent. I think what Flame Tree is looking for here is any evidence that by-passing the system has worked in the past.
I can see why. I’m reminded of the decision regarding short-term letting where a QLD adjudicator said he was ignoring the on-point precedents of both the highest court in WA and the Law Lords in the UK, in favour of a dubious ruling in a case with very specific and irrelevant issues from a tribunal in Sydney.
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.
This is what the current Public Health Order says:MasksSo it’s only double-vaxxed workers who are not dealing with the public who aren’t required to wear masks in offices. I suppose it’s because residents of apartment blocks can’t be asked their vaccination status, that they are required to wear masks.
By the way, the PHO says this about failure to wear masks when you are supposed to:
… on the spot fines can be issued to individuals and corporations for a breach of an Order relating to not wearing or carrying a mask:
-
$40 for a person aged 15 and under
-
$80 for a person aged 16-17
-
$500 for a person aged 18 and above
The problem is, who polices this? Not the strata committee or strata managers and probably not even the police.
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.
Just to clarify, why does the (new value – (original value + cost of renovation, including legals) not apply in this situation?
I didn’t say it didn’t apply, just that it needn’t apply. This could be a bargaining chip to get your way in terms of them paying for all the legals, taking responsibility for the common property and changing the unit entitlements. The amounts might be quite small once all the expenses are taken into account but they shouldn’t be dismissed at the initial stage. Your lawyer will advise.
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.
The first thing that occurs here is that, although the upstairs owners have exclusive use rights to the roofspace, it doesn’t mean it belongs to them. In fact, it may well mean the opposite – the roofspace is common property but only they have the right to use it. The same principle applies to balconies in most modern apartment blocks.
So, yes, you can probably block the renovations unless they are done on your terms.
Those terms might include that the owners take full responsibility, individually and collectively, for any alterations to the the common property (a standard provision) and that all three of you agree to a redistribution of the unit entitlements so that you retain 26 per cent of the UEs and they have 37 per cent each.
You needn’t seek any compensation for the effective purchase of common property but they would pay all legal fees for setting all this up via an experienced strata lawyer of your choice (and I highly recommend either of our sponsors Sachs Gerace or Bannermans – see ads at the top of the page).
Failure to agree to any of these very reasonable conditions might well trigger your objection to the plan.
I’m sure there’s a nicer way of putting all that, but if you want to retain some level of control over the big decisions in the building, that would be my approach. And I would have a chat to a lawyer right now.
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.
I have just been advised that the frame tags indicate that the steel door frames were manufactured in 2021. But they are of course the original frames from 1981. Where do we stand legally with this? How should we proceed?
My cynical side thinks maybe your fire safety inspectors have found something for which they can charge you extra. If so, they should at least apply tags that reflect the facts.
As for your legal standing, call your strata insurer and ask them. They’re the ones who will have an issue with this, if anyone does, in the event of some misadventure.
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.
I have not looked deeply into the reforms and wonder if a problem I confronted a couple of years ago has been dealt with. In short, my tenants rented a 2 bedroom flat and one day without informing me, decided to live in one bedroom and rent the other via ABB.
The new registry requires tenants to upload proof that they have their landlords’ permission to run holiday rentals.
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 two issues here.
1. You are having problems with your upstairs neighbour and
2. You want the strata committee to fix it for you.
While there is a principle in NSW strata law that the Owners Corporation has a duty to enforce its by-laws (implicit in section 232.2) if you go down that road, you first have to have a fight with the SC and then expect them to come in on your side when you win and they lose.
The worrying thing in this is that an acoustic test can only reveal the potential transmission of sound and doesn’t take into account actual experienced behaviour which, as you are discovering, can be a huge part of the problem.
However, I would be asking the committee for a commitment to take action, should the sound insulation prove inadequate, to insist that it be remedied (carpet and underlay is the simplest solution).
Alternatively, if the acoustic insulation is within the parameters set in the by-law, to take action to moderate the behaviour of the residents.
Then you can get the acoustic test done, but only to establish where the fault truly lies. I’m not sure about the committee’s insistence on “loser pays”. The floor, slab and ceiling are common property and therefor their responsibility.
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.
How is the value of the common property calculated?
Do you mean the wall that you are removing? If so I would think it would be nominal as you are (or should be) taking responsibility for all common property affected by the amalgamation, while the dividing wall may have no intrinsic value on its own.
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.
NSW Health has reiterated its advice which is basically unchanged despite other restrictions being eased this week.
Further to our previous communications regarding the COVID-19 roadmap update, masks are still mandatory in all indoor common areas of residential strata premises in NSW.
Common areas include:
- lifts
- car parks
- garbage areas
- lobbies
- stairwells
- corridors
- and any indoor areas that residents may pass through.
Masks are not required to be worn inside your own your residence or apartment.
COVID-19 spreads more easily indoors and in settings where you can’t physically distance. That’s why it’s really important that masks are worn by every person who enters the building, including:
- residents and visitors
- contractors
- staff
- delivery drivers/riders.
Share and print the updated posters to make it easier to communicate the mask wearing rules with your residents, community and networks.
We will continue to keep you informed of your requirements to comply with COVID safety measures, including a factsheet that will be made available on nsw.gov.au.
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.
-