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I’m guessing that people have arrived at the building with washing machines from their previous homes and feel it would be a waste not to use them. Or there may be some illogical squeamishness about “sharing” laundry facilities.
In any case, these machines should not be there, especially as they are getting in the way. I would be sending out a polite note telling people that the laundry is common property and they are not permitted to leave anything there, including white goods.
Set a deadline for their removal and perhaps offer the numbers of a charity or a second-hand dealer who will take them off their hands. Failure to remove them means they will be treated as “abandoned goods” as defined by Section 32 of the Strata Regulations:
32 Disposal of abandoned goods: section 125 of Act(1) This clause applies to goods left on common property (other than motor vehicles and things permitted by the owners corporation to remain on common property).
(2) The owners corporation may dispose of goods left on common property if:
(a) a disposal notice has been placed on or near the goods and the goods have not been removed from the common property within the period specified in the disposal notice, or
(b) they are perishable goods, or
(c) they consist only of rubbish.
(3) A disposal notice must:
(a) not be less than the size of an A4 piece of paper, and
(b) be placed in a position or be in a material so that the contents of the notice are not likely to be detrimentally affected by weather, and
(c) describe the goods and state the date and time the notice was issued, and
(d) state that the goods will be disposed of if they are not removed from the common property before the date and time specified in the notice (being not earlier than 5 days after the notice was placed on or near the goods), and
(e) specify contact details for a member of the strata committee, the strata managing agent or a delegate of the owners corporation in relation to the notice.
(4) If the goods are so placed that they block an entrance or exit, the owners corporation may move the goods to another place on the common property before placing a disposal notice on or near the goods, and for that purpose the owners corporation is taken to be the owner of the goods.
(5) The owners corporation may dispose of the goods by selling them or in any other lawful manner and for that purpose is taken to be the owner of the goods.
(6) A purchaser of goods sold by an owners corporation in accordance with this clause acquires a good title to the goods freed and discharged of any interest of any person who would otherwise have an interest in the goods.
(7) The proceeds of a sale of goods under this clause are to be paid to the administrative fund of the owners corporation.
(8) The owners corporation must make a record of goods sold under this clause and keep the record for a period of not less than 12 months after the disposal.
(9) The record must contain the following particulars:
(a) a description of the goods,
(b) the date of the sale,
(c) the name and address of the purchaser,
(d) if sold by auction, the address of the principal place of business of the auctioneer.
Obviously, if they are just left there, the easiest thing to do is give them to charity and then you don’t have the hassle of selling them, then giving the money (minus the costs of the sale) to the owner.
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I can see where this might become an issue but is there a problem right now?
I think this would be something that you could discuss with all the owners to see what they think.
But the first person who isn’t able to get their machine into the laundry may be able to take the scheme to NCAT and get everyone’s machines cleared out unless they were prepared to allow them to be used communally.
Two possible solutions would be for the owners of the existing machines to allow them to be used communally and for the power usage to be billed back to individual units using coded electrical meters.
Or you could clear out the existing machines and have coin or code operated machines installed for communal use.
As I said, this is something for discussion – perhaps reminding owners that “first in, best dressed” is not a principle that stands up in strata law.
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Section 110 of the Act defines Minor Renovations (below) as work that can be done with “the approval
of the owners corporation given by resolution at a general meeting”. Bear in mind that this approval can and often is given by the strata committee, provided the committee has been previously been given approval to make these decisions by a by-law approved at a general meeting. Section 111 (also below) refers to work affecting common property.110 Minor renovations by owners
(1) The owner of a lot in a strata scheme may carry out work for the purposes of minor renovations to common property in connection with the owner’s lot with the approval of the owners corporation given by resolution at a general meeting. A special resolution authorising the work is not required.
(2) The approval may be subject to reasonable conditions imposed by the owners corporation and cannot be unreasonably withheld by the owners corporation.
(3) Minor renovations include but are not limited to work for the purposes of the following:(a) renovating a kitchen,
(b) changing recessed light fittings,
(c) installing or replacing wood or other hard floors,
(d) installing or replacing wiring or cabling or power or access points,
(e) work involving reconfiguring walls,
(f) any other work prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this subsection.(4) Before obtaining the approval of the owners corporation, an owner of a lot must give written notice of proposed minor renovations to the owners corporation, including the following:
(a) details of the work, including copies of any plans,
(b) duration and times of the work,
(c) details of the persons carrying out the work, including qualifications to carry out the work,
(d) arrangements to manage any resulting rubbish or debris.(5) An owner of a lot must ensure that:
(a) any damage caused to any part of the common property by the carrying out of minor renovations by or on behalf of the owner is repaired, and
(b) the minor renovations and any repairs are carried out in a competent and proper manner.(6) The by-laws of a strata scheme may provide for the following:
(a) additional work that is to be a minor renovation for the purposes of this section,
(b) permitting the owners corporation to delegate its functions under this section to the strata committee.(7) This section does not apply to the following work:
(a) work that consists of cosmetic work for the purposes of section 109,
(b) work involving structural changes,
(c) work that changes the external appearance of a lot, including the installation of an external access ramp,
(d) work involving waterproofing,
(e) work for which consent or another approval is required under any other Act,
(f) work that is authorised by a by-law made under this Part or a common property rights by-law,
(g) any other work prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this subsection.(8) Section 108 does not apply to minor renovations carried out in accordance with this section.
Note. Section 132 enables rectification orders to be made against owners of lots for damage
caused by work done by owners.111 Work by owners of lots affecting common property
An owner of a lot in a strata scheme must not carry out work on the common property unless the owner is authorised to do so:
(a) under this Part, or
(b) under a by-law made under this Part or a common property rights by-law, or
(c) by an approval of the owners corporation given by special resolution or in any
other manner authorised by the by-laws.Additionally, the Regulations say this:
28 Minor renovations by ownersWork for the following purposes is prescribed as minor renovations for the purposes of section 110 (3) of the Act:
(a) removing carpet or other soft floor coverings to expose underlying wooden or other hard floors,
(b) installing a rainwater tank,
(c) installing a clothesline,
(d) installing a reverse cycle split system air conditioner,
(e) installing double or triple glazed windows,
(f) installing a heat pump,
(g) installing ceiling insulation.
Note.The work prescribed by this clause is subject to the requirements set out in section 110 (7) of the Act, including requirements that it does not involve structural changes, changes to the external appearance of a lot or waterproofing.
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I have edited this response due to having re-read Section 110 of the Strata Act which defines what is and isn’t a “Minor” change to a lot. Bear in mind, “minor” changes still require Owners Corp approval but that can be given by the committee if certain standard by-laws are in place.
With reference to the original question, subsection 7 (c) of Section 110 says that aspects defined as not being “minor” include:
(c) work that changes the external appearance of a lot, including the installation of an external access ramp,
In other words, they would require a special resolution. Have a look at the restrictions and definitions laid out in section 110, in my post below
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There are specific regulations for “other” forms of voting and pre-meeting electronic voting (Regulations sections 14 and 15) , with the common factor that they must be agreed on and established before the meeting at which they are to be employed.
But to answer the original question, in NSW you could theoretically send a blank proxy form and ask the strata manager to fill in the name but this would be such an abrogation of your responsibilities I wonder why you would do it to begin with.
Better to abstain than vote blindly, and with the new regulations about quorums, the presence of your vote will make no difference as to whether or not.the meeting can proceed.
14 Other means of voting—owners corporation and strata committee(1) An owners corporation or strata committee may, by resolution, adopt any of the following means of voting on a matter to be determined by the corporation or committee:
(a) voting by means of teleconference, video-conferencing, email or other electronic means while participating in a meeting from a remote location,
(b) voting by means of email or other electronic means before the meeting at which the matter (not being an election) is to be determined by the corporation or committee (pre-meeting electronic voting).
(2) Without limiting subclause (1) (b), the other electronic means of voting may include requiring voters to access a voting website and to vote in accordance with directions contained on that website.
(3) If a matter may be determined partly by pre-meeting electronic voting, the notice of the meeting must include a statement that the relevant motion may be amended by a further motion given at the meeting after the pre-meeting electronic voting takes place and that consequently the pre-meeting vote may have no effect.
(4) A motion that is to be determined wholly by pre-meeting electronic voting may not be amended at the meeting for which the pre-meeting electronic voting is conducted.
(5) A motion that is to be determined partly by pre-meeting electronic voting must not be amended at the meeting for which the pre-meeting electronic voting is conducted if the effect of the amendment is to change the subject matter of the original motion.
(6) If a motion that is to be determined wholly or partly by pre-meeting electronic voting is amended at the meeting for which the pre-meeting electronic voting is conducted, the minutes of the meeting distributed to owners must be accompanied by notice of the change and a statement setting out the power to make a qualified request for a further meeting under section 19 of the Act.
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Ahhh, that old trick. Levies can only be charged based on the unit entitlements of the lots. Bills can only be charged for the specific strata schemes and any common property they share with other schemes. If your scheme is being charged for anything, you are entitled to see the bills and receipts. That should put a stop to any shenanigans.
Do a quick search for Faraway Girl and see how a first-time developer tried (and failed) to get his first few owners to pay his bills.
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Did you know you can raise a claim against the strata insurer yourself? You might find that they are a lot less rigid about what is and isn’t covered.
Failing that, I think you’d have a common law claim against the OC. Just because they aren’t insured doesn’t mean they aren’t liable.
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The secretary (or delegated strata manager) has to call an AGM once in every financial year. If they fail to do so, you can pursue this through Fair Trading and NCAT, seeking orders to compel them.
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Tiles attached to the terrace would be common property so stencilling almost certainly is too.
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Sir Humphrey is mostly right. In NSW a ‘qualified request’ may be made by owners who hold one quarter of the aggregate unit entitlements of the block. Obviously, that is slightly different from 25 per cent of owners.
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Who is the Judge and Jury – Strata Committee or Strata Manager?
NCAT (the tribunal) are the “judge and jury”. The strata committee and/or the strata manager can issue Notices To Comply which should be on an official form and refer to the by-law that has allegedly been broken. If you ignore the NTC and commit the alleged breach again, they can take you to NCAT and ask that you be fined.
Is the Strata Committee made up of all owners or only some?
The strata committee can comprise anyone who is duly elected to it. This can be renters or even non-residents if they are nominated by an owner and elected at an AGM. In blocks with more than 50 per cent registered tenants, the election of one as a tenants’ representative has to be organised but the tenants’ rep has no voting power and can be excluded from the discussion of “sensitive” matters
How do I find out who is on the Strata Committee and who has proxy’s?
Get a hold of copies of the minutes of the last AGM and the last committee meeting
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It sounds to me that the combination of the “perfect parking space” and the “no stopping” sign indicate that this might be a turning area. If so, no one should be parking there.
However, that is no excuse for personal abuse or vandalism and that’s something you should report to police and ask them to have a word with your strata manager and/or committee chair.
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There are two issues here – is the road common property or not and your neighbours’ behaviour.
In your original post you refer to the councils saying this is a “split road”. What does that mean?
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