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This is a little bit complicated, but bear with me.
You’re right in that you can’t be expected to pay for enhancements but then there were repairs required to be done anyway.
First of all, this work would require a special resolution by-law and if you have one quarter of the unit entitlements, you could block that from the get-go. Even without that, they
shouldshouldn’t do the work without a by-law and you could challenge it if it isn’t fair or reasonable (i.e. you are being asked to pay to enhance someone else’s unit).Now, what you want is a by-law under which the upstairs owners accept ongoing responsibility for the maintenance and repairs of the enhancements to the stairs. Then the owners corp can agree to pay the amount that would have been required simply for the repairs, towards the improvements.
You will need a specialist strata lawyer to draw up the by-law (which the OC should pay for, to save confusion). Under no circumstances allow this to go forward on a nod and a wink as you could end up paying for other owners errors for years to come.
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Im in Qld. If Vic is similar the titles of Chair, Sect and Treasurer dont carry any more sway than other committee members other than a couple more duties. But in short they are of no higher value or status.
I can think of a couple of significant differences. In Victoria, the chair carries a deciding vote in a tie, and in Qld the office-bearers are elected by the owners as a whole (before the committee election).
Even so, it comes down to how individuals behave and being armed with the law of the land does help.
In my NSW scheme the chairman turns up for committee meetings with the minutes pre-prepared (although the secretary is allowed to suggest changes) and is also treasurer. That said, most owners think the building is well-run, so who am I to argue?
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Add to that, statutory declarations (signed and notarised) from friends and neighbours who will say on oath that the noise is intrusive, plus any correspondence from the owners corproation records that suggest there have been complaints in the past.
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Who has advised you that windows and doors are lot owner responsibility? From 1996 external windows and doors became the OC responsibility (though balcony windows and doors can be the exception and requires reference to the registered strata plan).
The 1996 changes were not retrospective. Generally speaking, in older buildings of this vintage windows and balcony doors are lot property. The information page to which you referred, outlines the changes in the 1996 Act but says this:
With regard to plans registered prior to 1 July 1974:
If the plan described … the location of a boundary relative to structure, the boundary was not relocated.
This post was edited to remove erroneous information. See Strata Answers post (below). JimmyT
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It seems that all cases in Austlii from the basic level of NCAT have been removed from the internet. Strange!
However, there are a couple of appeals against decisions, all of which originally resulted in the complaints against committee members being refused.
https://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/cases/nsw/NSWCATAP/2019/304.htm
https://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/cases/nsw/NSWCATAP/2018/136.html
https://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/cases/nsw/NSWCATAP/2020/151.html
It’s worth noting again that in all the cases I could find, they were appeals related to some aspect of a case in which an application to remove some or all members of a committee had failed.
There were no appeals listed where committee members were appealing against their removal.
Make of that what you will.
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I strongly recommend you consider joining the Owners Corporation Network (OCN) where you will get direct advice from other owners corps on these issues. I would also look at discussing your situation with our sponsors Strata Answers who may be able to give you hands-on support.
On the question of the finances, there is no minimum level but you are expected to have enough to finance the current demands of your capital works fund (although this is rarely if ever enforced).
The 10-year plan should be reviewed every five years and your finances should be allocated according to the expected needs, and adjusted as they evolve. Some expenditure may be needed to be brought forward while others can be delayed.
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What steps do I take to have it removed? What if the person refuses? Do I contact the Strata Manager and see of approval was granted? If not, where to next?
First check that permission hasn’t been granted then check your by-laws to see if there is anything specific about attaching stuff to or damaging common property. If there is, ask the committee or strata manager (or both) to issue a Notice To Comply. This is an official warning that has teeth – if the miscreant doesn’t comply, they can be taken straight to NCAT (mediation not required) and fined. By the way, no prior warning needs to be given. A Notice To Comply is a warning.
If there is no by-law that specifically covers this kind of thing, then the committee, the strata manager or even you individually can take action under section 108 of the Act. This would require compulsory mediation at Fair Trading followed, if necessary, by seeking orders at NCAT. Failure to comply with the orders could lead to financial penalties and costs of the action could also be sought.
Or, you could ask the strata manager to tell the resident to remove it and, if they failed to do so within a reasonable time, get a tradie remove the camera, hand it back to the resident along with a bill for repair of common property damaged in the process. Yes, they could claim that the camera was damaged but to whom?
The latter would be my solution. Make it their problem not yours. People who play by the rules only when it suits them should realise that cuts both ways.
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Like the camera installed on common property, your basketball ring would require permission from the owners corporation, at the very least, and probably a special resolution common property by-law.
People can’t just attach things to common property when they feel like it, in the same way that they can’t just paint their front doors the colour they prefer. The door is common property and is therefor subject to the rules of the OC.
Interestingly, though, if the camera was INSIDE the lot, in a terrace for instand, or behind a window, there would be nothing to prevent the resident from filming the comings and goings of people on common property.
However, under workplace safety regulations, they would have to put up signs warning tradespeople that they were being filmed
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Thnks for clarifying the “any other business” rules. That seems like an excellent compromise. Sometimes I wish all the relevant ministers around the country could just get togehter and pick the best laws out of each state’s legislation and come up with one decent universal Act.
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Thnks for clarifying the “any other business” ruels. That seems like an excellent compromise. Sometimes I wish all the relevant ministers around the country could just get togehter and pick the best laws out of each state’s legislation and come up with one decent universal Act.
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Those permissions were given under completely different circumstances under which people would be going to work. Now you can’t even go to a cafe to get away from the noise. I really wish you would let me pass this on to the Melbourne media as they might force the authorities to deal with it rather than shuffle it into the too-hard basket.
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One item wthat definitely WILL be on the agenda wiill be the election of a new committee. Daisy needs to organise a ticket of people in numbers large enough to remove the problem members and create a majority.
For instance, if there were nine seats on the committee, she would wrangle five candidates and add the four least unacceptable current members to her ticket, then campaign energetically and aggressively to get as many votes and proxies as she can before the AGM.
By the way, in NSW there is no such item as “any other business” allowed on meeting agendas as that is a loophole that allows all sorts of nasty decsions to be made without prior notice. I’m not sure but it may be the same in Victoria.
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