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This is trickier than it sounds. You have paid half the bill then, effectively, half the balance. Your refund should be $3000 because the second payment of $6000 was half yours. Strictly speaking, the other owner should be asked to contribute $6000 to the admin fund for this to be a true zero-sum calculation but be careful – strata law says money can only be refunded when owners agree unanimously. Next time, pay everything via the strata manager.
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CORRECTION: I have checkcd my previous answer and now have had this explained to me by someone who knows what they’re talking about.
In NSW, the internal slabs and ceilings are common property, and that means the waterproofing on the bathroom floor (but not the walls) is too.
The “Who’s responsible?’ document, section 11, is strangely worded but that’s what it means. The plumber was right.
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Common property maintenance (like pool equipment, gym facilities, and cleaning) has been neglected for months, yet there’s no communication about what’s being done.
The Owners corporation has a dutry to maintain and repair common property which can be enforced by taking a complaint to Fair Trading and NCAT (section 232).
Defect and compliance issues (including balcony tiles and drainage) are discussed behind closed doors without any consultation or proper inspection. In some cases, owners are told they may be responsible for issues that clearly pre-date their ownership.
The OC is responsible for common property, lot owners are responsible for their lots and if they bought apartments with issues, then that comes under caveat emptor – buyer beware. However, the OC should not shift responsibility for common property issues to lot owners because of unauthorised work done by previous owners if there is no by-law in place saying as much.
Committee meetings are not being properly communicated. Owners who are not on the committee don’t seem to be invited to observe, and minutes are often delayed or vague.
Propose a motion for your next AGM outlining how you want these matter to be dealt with.
The building manager attends committee meetings regularly and appears to influence decisions, even though I thought their role was to act under the direction of the owners corporation — not as a voting or decision-making member.
The bulding manage may be offering valuable information about the building to the committee. They shouldn’t be voting unless they are also an owner in the building … and even then.
What’s most concerning is that owners who ask questions or request clarity seem to be treated differently. When I’ve raised legitimate concerns (politely and in writing), I’ve either been ignored or subtly singled out in building communications. It’s starting to feel like there’s an effort to discourage owners from speaking up.
This is, sadly, part of strata life. The only way to fix it is to change the personel on the committee or get them to acknowledge that they have been biased (unlikely).
There’s also no clear process for raising matters for the AGM agenda, and requests for updates about the next AGM have gone unanswered — even though it’s been over 12 months since the last one.
There only has to be an AGM within each financial year, which means theoretically, they could be 23 months apart. The process for raising issues is simple – you propose a motion to the next General Meeting and it has to be put on the agenda, regardless of when that meeting is held. Or you can get the signatures of 25 per cent of owners to call a general meeting to discuss the issues that you think are urgent.
I’m aware that under the NSW Strata Schemes Management Act, there’s a requirement for transparency, timely communication, and fair treatment of all owners, but I’m unsure how to proceed when the strata manager and committee appear to be working in tandem to avoid accountability.
The Act is much more vague than that but if you have a demonstrable concern, you can take action at Fair Trading and NCAT to resolve issues.
Is it worth lodging a complaint with NSW Fair Trading, or is mediation a better first step?
Mediation IS the first step at Fair Trading. You can’t proceed to NCAT without it.
Should the building manager even be attending committee meetings this frequently?
You can’t really complain about “secret” meetings AND about the bulding manager attending committee meetings, which, by the way, is standard practice in many buildings.
And if past building defects were there before ownership, who is responsible — the owners corporation or the current lot owner?
Common property defects are the responsibility of the OC unless there are by-laws to say otherwise. Lot property defects are the responsibility of the lot owner, regardless of how old they are.
Finally, you have ignored requests not to post the same issue in two or more different places in the forum. This can only lead to confusion with two different threads. I have deleted the other post.
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The obvious answer is to limit the number of members on the committee by taking a vote ay your AGM under the provisions of Section 39B of the UTMA.
39(b) if there are 4 or more members of the owners corporation—the members of the corporation must, at a general meeting, decide—
(i) by ordinary resolution to have 3 to 7 executive members; or
(ii) by special resolution to have 8 or more executive members.
That means if more than seven owners want to be on the committee then your owners corp would need to pass a special resolution and that would require not more than two owners or 25 per cent of the unit entitlement holdings to vote against it. I would them move that your committee be reduced to five and hold an election.
I would also propose asking the owners corporation to pass an instruction to the strata committee that they must name in the minutes any committee members who miss two or more consecutive strata committee meetings and then hold a general meeting to discuss their removal from the committee under the terms of Section 39(5).
I would warn the owners that failure to adopt a workable system for the strata committee could lead to the appointment of an Administrator who would take away a lot of their decision making powers and cost the scheme more both in terms of paying their fees and indirectly from the the administrator’s requirement to do everything according to the letter of the law.
By the way, this would also apply to schemes in NSW which now have the power to remove non-functioning committee members by a simple majority at a general meeting.
Finally, you posted this exact same question three times. I was very close to deleting it completely. How many times do I have to ask people not to post multiple times?
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As much as I appreciate Jimmy’s guidance, as I understand how strata law works I think there are a few things to distinguish and clarify. 1.Changes to common property If there are to be additions/changes to common property, then this needs to be agreed to at a general meeting. I don’t know if it requires a simple majority or a super majority.
No need for your disparaging remarks, especially when you go on to illustrate the gaps in your knowledge.
Changes to common property usually require a super-majority to pass a common property by-law. However, the chair in this instance is trying to invoke the provisions for an accessibility infrastructure by-law which would only require a simple majority.
The issue with that is that it seems no requirement for accessibility has been established – i.e. there is no one currently living in the apartments who NEEDS a lift to be installed. Even if there was, a chairlift on the stairs might be enough.
In short, the chairman is not being honest with the owners, probably because a lift would greatly enhance the value of his property, and for me that undermines the whole project. I would send him packing and then look at the issue of a lift for the smaller block on its own merits.
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The OC could insist that the lot owner purchases the common area before proceeding with (b) but in this case, that might be mean-spirited if the owner already has exclusive use.
In NSW most balconies in relatively new blocks (post 1996) are common property but the lot owners have exclusive use. That’s not really all that significant. What is relevant is the look of the building, the maintenance of the area and the new structures, and the fact that the owner is utilising CP air space (above the balcony floor) to enhance the value of their property.
If it was easy to re-assign unit entitlements, that would be the way to go. But it isn’t and it’s expensive and that could be getting in the way of an opportunity to a) keep an owner happy and b) put some extra funds into the OC coffers.
I would be proposing a 99-year lease at a fee to be increased every year by CPI, which included a clause that the owner and all subsequent owners agreed to a by-law that said they would maintain the balcony to an acceptable standard at their own expense.
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Questions are 1) who is responsible for fixing up the re-tiled (leaky) balcony and 2) who is responsible for fixing up the damaged ceiling below?
Section 106 of the Act says this: An owners corporation for a strata scheme must properly maintain and keep in a state of good and serviceable repair the common property and any personal property vested in the owners corporation.
As you have intimated, in the absence of a by-law to say otherwise, the balcony is common property, and as section 108 of the Act indicates, if a by-law doesn’t specify that a renovator has taken over responsibility for affected common property, then responsibility defaults to the owners corporation.
Now, since the common property has failed, causing the damage to the ceiling, in my opinion the OC is responsible for the repairs. Why? Because when they saw the previous owner was tiling the balcony and they did nothing about it, they took responsibility for whatever consequences might arise.
That’s the price of a nod and a wink.
The question of liability for the damage has been hotly disputed in these pages in the past but if I was the owner of the affected apartment, I would run this all the way to the Tribunal, if need be. We have heard of cases where the OC has refused to claim on their insurance (to avoid paying the excess and maybe affect future premiums) and the apartment owner has gone directly to the insurer who paid up.
This is a lesson for everyone in strata who allows common property to be changed without the appropriate by-laws in place. Anything for a quiet life ceases to be relevant when you are having to raise levies to pay for repairs when a renovator is long gone having sold their apartment to someone who is none the wiser.
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Changing your unit entitlement is a potentially long, complicated and expensive process, especially if one or more owners isn’t onside. It’s not uncommon for the moderate benefits by evening up the UEs to be less than the cost of the resdistribution.
However, the OC might look at selling or leasing the airspace above the terrace, locked into a by-law as a condition of approval, with the latter linked to CPI in perpetuity.
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OK, this is NOT legal advice but it is what I would seriously consider doing if I was in your position.
- Write a polite but firmly worded letter to the chair, copied to the strata committee and the strata manager, telling them that you believe they are acting outside the letter and spirit of section 132 of the Act and requesting them to withdraw the motion for the lift immediately. Tell them that failure to do so within, say, three days, will result in you taking action at Fair Trading and NCAT.
However, you might also tell them that you will support an application to install a lift provided it doesn’t cost the owners’ corporation anything and doesn’t impact negatively on common property or the appearance of the block. - Meanwhile, call Fair Trading and ask them to advise the strata manager that they are acting outside the terms of Section 132C. There is more information HERE.
- If they don’t withdraw the motion and don’t cancel the meeting, make an application under section 232 of the Act, to resolve a dispute, that dispute being that the chair and strata manager have given wrong information to owners to install a lift that benefits the chair and only one other owner. See this page for details and instructions. This will lead to mandatory mediation.
- If the issue is unresolved at mediation, apply to NCAT for orders under section 232. See this page.
- If the plans for the lift proceed, then apply for an urgent order to prevent work going ahead. This page explains how.
- Meanwhile, you could apply to Fair Trading for disciplinary action against the strata manager for providing false advice to the strata committee and chair – all they will get is a verbal warning but it should make them pull their heads in. You’ll find out how to do that HERE.
Now, before you do any of that, I would try to get support from other owners in the building, so that the Chair can see you are not acting alone.
There is every chance the chair will try to bully you into submission by telling you that he will use strata funds to hire expensive lawyers to fight you at the tribunal but you will have to pay the costs when you lose.
The only response to that is to say that you’re not going to lose and he can then explain to owners why there has been a special levy issued (mandatory under strata law) to pay the legal bills, but which excludes you.
Now, it may not come to any of that but if the chair and strata manager can see that you are in the right and determined they may just back down.
Finally, if you are in tight financial straits, Marrickville Legal Centre receives government funding to help disadvantaged owners under the age of 65 across the state with strata problems and Seniors Rights Service helps older strata owners and residents with their legal issues.
Finally, some housekeeping. Please don’t use the “quote” button to reply to posts. We know what the issue is and hitting “quote” clutters the threads with the same material over and over. Just hit “reply”. However, if there is one sentence in a post that you want to address, highlight it, then press “quote” and that will save you having to spell it out again.
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Section 132C of the Act, cover accessibility infrastructure and it is clearly predicated on there being a request by Someone who needs it. Your chairman is a chancer and someone needs to make this clear to all the owners in the building. I would be telling them that if they approve this by anything less than a 75 per cent majority, it will be challenged at NCAT, and even if they approve it by a super-majority, it will still be challenged. In other words – if the people who benefit from the lift don’t pay for it then all the strata scheme is going to get is legal bills and no lift.And you might take the opportunity at your upcoming AGM to get yourself a new chairman.132C Financing and installation of accessibility infrastructureBefore approving an accessibility infrastructure resolution, the owners corporation must consider the following—
(a) the cost and financing of the accessibility infrastructure and works including expected running and maintenance costs,
(b) who will own, install and maintain the accessibility infrastructure,
(c) the extent to which the use of the accessibility infrastructure will be available to all or some of the lots in the strata scheme,
(d) the extent to which not installing the accessibility infrastructure will cause or be likely to cause detriment to be suffered by—
(i) the person requesting the installation of the accessibility infrastructure, or
(ii) a person on behalf of whom the installation of the accessibility infrastructure is requested,
(e) whether the building can support the type of infrastructure required to provide access,
(f) other matters prescribed by the regulations.
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And don’t forget to come back and tell us how you get on.
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A reasonable fee? And don’t forget the lift group would probably have to pay the OC the difference between the cost of installing the lift and the added value on their properties.
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In your experience is there anyway I can get free legal advice on this matter, thank you in advance.
Many lawyers will give you 15 minutes to discuss what your options are over the phone. Call either of the two who sponsor this website and ask them what they think (don’t forget to mention Flat Chat)
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One solution could be for one car to drive into the spot and the other to back in. That way the cars can be close together when parked but the drivers have room to get out. Has worked in another place.
Brilliant! Simple solutions are often the best.
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- Write a polite but firmly worded letter to the chair, copied to the strata committee and the strata manager, telling them that you believe they are acting outside the letter and spirit of section 132 of the Act and requesting them to withdraw the motion for the lift immediately. Tell them that failure to do so within, say, three days, will result in you taking action at Fair Trading and NCAT.