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OK, first of all, look here to read most of what you need to know about levies in NSW.
The most important thing to note is that you can’t be charged penalty interest until you are in arrears for more than one month, so a couple of days isn’t going to make much difference.
Different strata managers have their own processes but it does seem on the face of it to that this has been a very rushed business and you are entitled to (politely) ask why.
In fact, Section 83(3) of the Act says this.
Any contribution levied by an owners corporation becomes due and payable to the owners corporation on the date set out in the notice of the contribution. The date must be at least 30 days after the notice is given.
However, Section 83 (4) says this:
(4) Regular periodic contributions to the administrative fund and capital works fund of an owners corporation are taken to have been duly levied on an owner of a lot even though notice levying the contributions was not given to the owner.
So it’s far from clear cut. How can you be charged for notices not given? Well, there is a knowledge and expectation that you will pay the levies regularly and, in the absence of levies notices, it’s up to you to discover when and how much. I’d imagine this is to deal with the “I never got the notice” excuse by late payers.
As far as overdue notices goes, in extreme cases where the owners corp want to pursue owners for a large debt, then you’d expect a full set of levies notices, overdue warnings and penalty notices, so it’s bad management if they aren’t sending these out.
That said, penalty charges are obligatory unless a general meeting agrees to waive them.
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If you followed correct procedure at your AGM, you would have asked the owners to vote on the number of members there should be on the committee. If they said 3, than that’s what you’re stuck with until your next AGM. If you didn’t follow that procedure, then your owners are making it up as they go anyway, so just have a quick ringaround to find out if anyone objects.
Why would you even do that? Becasue if someone does object then they have a ready-made stick to beat you with if the committee makes decisions they don’t like.
Strata committeees don’t need to faollow the law … until they do.
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So, confirming is it correct that we only need a majority to approve any proposal’s/motions or requests?
In this case, a simple majority of people voting at a commitee meeting or a genral meeting is all that’s required.
There’s only one NSW strata decision that I can think of that requires a unanimous vote, and that is the return of excess funds to the owners.
Even selling your block to developers only requires 75 percent.
And to be clear, a decision to pursue repairs etc only requires a majority of owners voting at a meeting, NOT a majority of all owners in the block.
Anything that requires a special resolution – like a by-law, for instance – needs a 75 per cent vote in favour, calculated by unit entitlements, again from those present in person or by proxy.
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Whilst one can claim Stone is everlasting, in the scheme of a kitchen, kitchens are replaced periodically.
I’m feeling a bit stupid, here. It never ocurred to me that it was a kitchen bench. I had pictured an ornate garden bench hewn from Tuscan rock. Maybe the OP can clarify.
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I hate to be nitpicky but taking money out of the sinking fund is not “no cost to anyone” – it’s a cost to everyone. Also, strictly speaking, the sinking fund is for repairs and maintenance, not for upgrades and enhancements.
Now, if the sinking fund money hasn’t been allocated to other future jobs, you could probably argue that the tiles need maintenance or replacement and the easiest and cheapest way to do that is to lay carpet. But you really need to put that in a motion to the committee so that you get offical approval for this. Otherwise, the next person writing to me on this subject could be the hold-out neighbour asking what to do about the misuse of capital works funds for an unapproved project.
By all means get a quote for your neighbours on the kind of carpet you want so that everybody knows what they’re buying into. But don’t go ordering carpet until you have the official OK, in writing, from the committee.
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Is it not as simple as saying the majority of owners on that level can have carpet?
Not really. It’s common property, so all owners have a say it what is done with it. And then who is going to pay for it?
If you can come up with a plan that will cost the other owners nothing – or just the additional cleaning costs – then you will still need to get committee or owners corp approval at a general meeting if the committee doesn’t give you the thumbs-up.
But if the majority of owners on that floor are in agreement, that’s a pretty powerful case you can present.
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This decision can be made by a simple majority of owners at a general meeting (rather than a “super majority” required for special resolutions) or even by the strata committee if it has been delegated to make decisions on behalf of the owners as if they had been made at a general meeting.
If the strata committee option isn’t open to you, your main problem may be motivating the owners who agree to this to turn up or send proxies to vote in favour.
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Assuming the balconies are common property and there has been no by-law established to allow the additions and modifications, I think you can restore them to what you might reasonably assume their original state was.
You might also tell owners that if they wish to re-enclose them, they will have to apply for owners corp approval and (probably) council DAs.
But before all that, it might be worth canvassing the owners on what they want, individually and collectively. You may be surprised and discover a majority want a “cleaner” look.
You might also explore ways of either establiching shared laundries or some of the more modern ideas of laundries in cupboard spaces.
Older buildings tend to waste a lot of space compared to newer builds, so with some creative thinking you may be able to have laundries AND balconies – just not in the same place.
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It might be possible to get the owners corp to agree to “backbone” the building for three-phase and then leave it up to individuals as whether they want to run the cables into their flats. Having said that, why would anyone pay for an upgrade to common property wiring that they didn’t want to use? Future-proofing, perhaps?
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If “newness” is the only criterion for value, the Mona Lisa must be worth tuppence. See the post below for an example of how you can go way beyond the bond – and a rental agent’s attitude – to get compensation for damage to your property.
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It feels like the committee is being reasonable in offering a compromise but I can’t really see what’s in it for you. If, for instance, their repairs turned out to be bodgy, you would be responsible. I think a polite “no” would be an appropriate response. The problem lies with a previous committee that allowed a previous owner to do work without appropriate by-laws in place. It’s neither yours nor the current committee’s fault but there’s no reason for you to put your neck in this particular noose.
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My advice is to talk to the OC, not Strata.
And by “Strata” you mean … the strata manager? The strata committee? The strata chair?
Whatever, your intent, this is something that needs to be agreed by a majority of the owners and unless your committee is solidly behind you, go directly to the other owners.
I also wonder if there may be a fire safety element in all of this. Too many, too powerful appliances loading up an ancient wiring system sounds like you are one portable a/c unit away from either a black-out or a blaze.
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According to section 107 of the strata Act, a common property rights by-law (probably agreed for the purposes of a renovation) prevails over the common property memorandum. Section 107 (4) says:
The provisions of a common property rights by-law or a by-law made under section 108 for a strata scheme prevail, to the extent of any inconsistency, over the provisions of a common property memorandum adopted by the by-laws of the strata scheme.
The significant thing about the Memorandum is that you can choose to adopt it in its entirety but you can’t change it. And even if you don’t adopt it, an NCAT adjudicator is likely to take its provisions into account in a dispute.
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According to section 107 of the strata Act, a common property rights by-law (probably agreed for the purposes of a renovation) prevails over the common property memorandum. Section 107 (4) says:
The provisions of a common property rights by-law or a by-law made under section 108 for a strata scheme prevail, to the extent of any inconsistency, over the provisions of a common property memorandum adopted by the by-laws of the strata scheme.
The significant thing about the Memorandum is that you can choose to adopt it in its entirety but you can’t change it. And even if you don’t adopt it, an NCAT adjudicator is likely to take its provisions into account in a dispute.
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.