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If you have comments or complaints, please send them by direct message. Here at Flat Chat we only recommend Strata Choice – not just becasue they are our sponsors, but because we’ve known them since the current CEO’s Mum almost invented strata management in NSW.
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That would be the architect and/or developer and would be part of the strata scheme submission for planning approval. It may be changed later, for instance when an owner or owners want to add a fence that wasn’t there to begin with and which is (or should be) installed as part of the by-law giving approval for the installation of the fence.
In that case the owners corp should insist that the fence is lot property to be maintained by the owners on either side, or one owner if they want it more than the other person does.
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It would have helped a great deal if you had outlined in your initial post that your real concern is that the strata manager is a) taking instruction from one owners and b) refusing to let committee members see the paperwork relating to the work done for said owner.
I would put a motion to your next committee meeting that you send a letter to the strata manager asking why their contract should not be terminated for breach of their basic duties.
Actually, I would just sack the strata manager, sign up with Stratabox and manage the scheme ourselves.
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If you have written evidence that you raised these issues more than to months ago, with no response, then you can apply to Fair Trading for mediation prior to taking a Section 232 (2) action against the owners corporation (as represented by the strata committee) for failure to fulfill its statutory duties.
If you’re not prepared to shake things up officially – and that may be all it will need – then you should probably just let it go. The power of inertia is huge and the number of excuses people will come up with for doing nothing is often a lesson in creativity and self-justification.
But as soon as you give people a reason for not doing nothing, you’ll be surprised at how much support you generate.
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Unless there is a by-law in place to that effect (and even then …) I can’t see how this could be enforced. I would send a reply to everyone just asking “on what legal basis?’ Are they going to add the charges to your fees? Will you lose your vote if you refuse to pay? If you ask what part of the Act allows them to do this and why they want to, that might flush out the facts.
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Have a look here: https://legalanswers.sl.nsw.gov.au/neighbours-and-law/dividing-fences
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The rules are whatever you want them to be. If the car spaces are common property, you pass a by-law that limits what can be stored on them.
If the car spaces are lot property, you pass a by-law that goods that are not in keeping with the appearance of the building may not be stored on car spaces.
Also, your local council’s planning regulations may say that car spaces in and around apartment blocks may only be used for parking cars.
My strata scheme by-laws says only a “roadworthy vehicle” can be left in the parking space, yet I have been instructed to move my pushbike (it’s no big deal, really). But it’s just occurred to me – there’s a jet ski on a trailer parked nearby. The trailer is roadworthy, but the jet ski considerably less so. Hmmm … wonder which “bush lawyer” on the committee I can stir up with this.
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I think there’s a general principle that strata managers don’t clean gutters. Are you confusing your strata manager with a building facilities manager?
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JUST ASKING said: do you suggest that the strata manager’s invoices for their various fees could be available to the strata committee via the portal?”
Yes, absolutely. I would think at the very least you could ask for the extra charges to be itemised into basic categories such as:
- Dealing with correspondence
- Answering phone calls from owners
- Researching projects on behalf of the strata scheme
- Attending meetings
- Anything else you can think of
At least then you could tell if the charges are genuine or if the strata manager is just making them up as they go.
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Schedule B charges are a very common way for strata managers to pump up their charges or cover their costs (depending on which way you look at them).
The weasel words here are “upon instruction” because if at any time your committee has asked the strata manager to take care of correspondence, for instance, that would be considered an instruction that would cover every instance.
What you need to do is ask for an itemised invoice of their charges and then conduct an audit of what they are doing and what they have been specifically asked to do.
If they are handling a lot of issues that they haven’t been contracted to do, then you should ask for those to be itemised in your bill (although that might in itself attract an extra charge).
And your committee might want to instruct them not to do any more than the very specific jobs that they have been hired to do. But then the question arises of who will make the extra calls and answer the additional emails.
What you really need is a bit more transparency and there are a lot of software packages the strata managers can use that would allow that without any additional burden on them or cost to you.
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Fey Knows said: How might we put a stop to SC meetings taking place at such a venue and make them have more, proper minuted meetings?
The simplest way to do this would be to put a motion to your next AGM instructing the committee that the meetings be held in a private space – and not on licensed premises – and that proper minutes be recorded, as per the provisions of the Act, which would also allow all owners to attend.
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If the agenda hasn’t already been issued, add another motion calling for the work to be done only after other specific works is done first.
If the agenda has been issued, propose an amendment at the AGM that the work should only be completed when all other essential repairs and maintenance work that benefits the whole scheme has been carried out. Even better, get specific about outstanding work that needs to be done.
Or extend the proposal to include all other areas around the building, calling for quotes on the work before a final decision is made on this.
Amendments can be proposed that don’t alter the general intent of the original motion, so if the motion says “do this work” you can add provisions to having that work done.
At least doing it that way is less personal and more procedural.
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Firstly, even as an ordinary owner, you would be entitled to see the building management agreement, or any other agreement, for that matter, but that would usually be via the strata manager.
Whether the building manager is required to let anyone see the management agreement directly is another matter, although you would think that the strata scheme secretary would be an obvious contender.
The simplest way to resolve this is to get the strata manager to show you the agreement, which you are entitled to see as part of your role as secretary.
Then you might want to look closely at why the building manager was reluctant to let you see it.
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I think this sounds serious enough to ask your local council to have a look (since your committee seems reluctant to do anything).
Alternatively, you could seek emergency orders from NCAT for a proper building inspection as a matter of urgency.
The legalities are that the balcony is almost certainly common property and the owners corporation has a duty to maintain and repair it. They certainly should be fixing the membrane and possibly charging the lot owner for damaging it.
They also have the right to demand entry if they need to inspect common property to see if there is a problem.
Now, all of this could be handled by our friends at Strata Answers who will (for a fee) guide you through the process or even take on the issue for you.
They would be my next call. Click on the above link for their contact details.
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LIVING IN THE PAST: A couple of readers have kindly pointed out that in my original response, I wrongly quoted the 1996 legislation. Here are the relevant references to the 2015 Act (which are more or less the same). -JimmyT
Section 17 of Schedule 2 of the Act is absolutely clear on this, minutes must be kept and displayed or distributed to owners within 7 days of the meeting.
The committee should also be issuing a full agenda 72 hours before its meetings (which owners must be allowed to attend) and should not be making any decisions that affect the scheme, owners, residents or common property in an “informal” setting.
Any decisions made that way are probably not binding, may be ignored and certainly could be challenged at NCAT. Here are the basics from the strata Act 2015.
5. Notice of meetings for [small] strata schemes(1) The secretary of the owners corporation of a strata scheme that is not a large strata scheme must give notice of a meeting to each other member of the strata committee at least 3 days before the meeting and to each owner.
(2) Notice is to be given by displaying the notice on the notice board maintained by the owners corporation or in accordance with section 263.
7. Matters that must be included in notice of meetingsThe notice of a meeting must include a detailed agenda for the meeting.
13. Non-member owner may attendAn owner or, if the owner of a lot is a corporation, any company nominee of that corporation is entitled to attend a meeting but is not entitled to address the meeting unless authorised to do so by resolution of the strata committee.
17. Minutes and other records
(1) Records to be kept
A strata committee must cause to be kept a record of its decisions, any notices given under this Schedule and full and accurate minutes of its meetings.(2) The minutes must include minutes of all resolutions passed in accordance with this Schedule.
(3) Distribution of minutes and records of motions
Within 7 days after a meeting of a strata committee or the passing of a resolution by the strata committee, the strata committee must provide copies of the minutes of the meeting or of the resolution in the following manner—(a) by giving each member of the strata committee a copy,
(b) by giving each owner a copy, if the strata scheme is not a large strata scheme,
(c) by giving an owner a copy, if the strata scheme is a large strata scheme and the owner requests a copy within the period of 7 days.
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