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I may be splitting hairs here but section 102 doesn’t make any reference to a “budget” but instead refers to items for which estimates have been provided to an AGM:
An owners corporation for a large strata scheme must not spend on an item or matter an amount greater than the amount specified for the item or matter (plus 10%) in estimates provided for that item or matter at an annual general meeting.
So there are two issues there – it’s estimates rather than budgetted items and it’s an AGM, specifically, rather than any other general meeting.
Now you might reasonably assume that items discussed at an AGM and for which estimates have been provided might be part of the budget. But not necessarily.
If, for instance, an owner proposes a motion to spend an amount on, say, painting and that isn’t in the budget, it would come under the 10 per cent limit.
However, if that proposal comes up in the middle of the year between AGMs and is made to the strata committee rather than the AGM, there may be no such restriction.
Apart from the limit on a figure above which two estimates must be sought ($30,000 in a large scheme), and legal fees, there doesn’t seem to be any other restrictions on spending in either the Act or the Regulations.
So where does that leave unbudgetted items? I don’t think there is any legal requirement to only spend money on items identified in the budget so the 10 per cent excess limit (and its waiver) applies only to items discussed at the AGM.
Apart from that, it would seem that the committee, if it has been given the power to act on behalf of the owners corporation, can spend whatever it wants on whatever it wishes and face the consequences at the next AGM.
So I am going with Waratah’s mate, but not for the reasons specified. The 10 per cent rule would not apply to expenditure that’s not in the budget or discussed at the AGM – because it never applied in the first place.
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There is a two-year time limit for claims of non-major defects and a six-year time limit for claims on major defects (structural, waterproofing etc).
Once the claim is lodged and verified, I think the developer has to either fix or pay for the defects in a reasonable time. There may be legislation covering that time period, but I have never seen it
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@brownbag said:
Yes, most are ads for flatmates, but they still say bills included. In these situations, who pays the bills and how do they work them out?The head tenant or owner-occupier would pay the bills. The rent would include a guesstimate of the amount that they expected to pay for utilities. If they are on the premises, they can monitor excessive use.
If you are looking to rent rooms in your flat to different individuals, and you will be there, then that’s what you should do. If you are nervous about this, let the unit to someone as a whole and let them worry about the bills.
There is no simple formula for this, although the rents you are seeing on flatmate.com.au would be a reasonable guide.
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I think you may be confusing ads for flatmates with ads for tenants. The Flatmates rate would have included an averaged-out gas and electricity bill. Long-term tenants would be expected to make their own arrangements with the energy providers or, in say the sub-let of a granny flat – pay according to a separate meter for their accommodation.
If you are renting rooms to students while you are still there, then that’s a different matter and you could ask them to pay the difference between the bills before and after their arrival, at least until you had worked out a reasonable cost.
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@Stevecro said:
The number of members allowed on the SC is between 1 – 9. So in response to Jimmy’s answer, the minimum number is 1, you cannot have zero members on the SC.Well, exactly. I think you’re being a bit pedantic in correcting what I said. A committee with zero members on it doesn’t exist so there has to be a minimum of one.
My point was, there is no minimum in NSW, unlike some states that say there must be two or three, depending on the size of the strata scheme.
Sir Humphrey, if there is no SC, the OC does not become the SC. One cannot become the other, they are two different groups.
Not so. In fact Section 29 (4) says this: “If there is no strata committee of an owners corporation, the strata scheme must be administered by the owners corporation, but nothing in this subsection prevents a strata managing agent appointed under this Act from exercising any functions conferred on the agent.”
Also, they are not completely separate and distinct bodies. The Strata Committee can act as the owners corporation, provided those powers have been delegated, and many SCs do in matters that don’t require a special resolution.
Also the OC can rescind any decisions made by the strata committee and the chair of the committee is automatically the chair of the OC. They may be different but they are closely intertwined.
There are plenty of small strata schemes where the committee comprises all of the owners so the OC and SC are one and the same thing.
FYI, Section 29 (1) says: “An owners corporation must appoint a strata committee of the owners corporation in accordance with this Act.”
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@Papou said:
I have a couple of vexed questions I can’t find the answer to in the forums:Sorry, I missed these questions the first time around
(1) What happens if only one of the lot owners turn up to an AGM?
You wait 30 minutes and then declare those present as a quorum.
What if none show up? Does this allow the current strata manager to take over the Owners Corporation?
Until such times as the owners get themselves together and hold an election, yes. Once there is a committee, they can decide what the Strata Manager does and doesn’t do.
(2) If only one lot owner is interested in being on the Strata Committee, what happens to the status of the SC?
It has a committee of one. There is no minimum number on the committee in NSW.
(3) Does the role of SC chairperson automatically roll over if there is no new committee elected at an AGM for the following year?
Answered above.
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@Papou said:
What happens to the post of SC chairperson if there is no new committee elected at an AGM for the following year? Does it automatically roll over and continue as is?The basic principle in NSW is that all the seats on the committee are vacated at the AGM and a new election is held. That committee then elects its office-bearers. There is no “rolling over” even if in most strata schemes most of the time, the same people get elected year after year.
If there is no election, there is no committee. If there is no committee, then there are no “chairs”. People may assume these roles but would only be because no one has challenged them.
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@Paddy said:
Can we propose a by-law, to be voted on at the AGM in 3 weeks time, which states that any previously unauthorised additions to common property are now the present owner’s responsibility to maintain or replace? It would seem possible provided 75% approval.Not really, at least, not without the written approval of each of the owners concerned.
Under section 108 “a special resolution that … provides that the ongoing maintenance of that common property … is the responsibility of the owner has
no effect unless … the owners corporation obtains the written consent of the owner to the making of a by-law to provide for the maintenance of the common property by the owner …”In other words, you can’t pass a by-law imposing responsibility for the maintenance of a privately owned property, currently on common property, without the owners concerned agreeing in writing.
So you could get them to agree first, then pass the by-law required to make it official. Or you could, possibly, in theory, pass a catch-all by-law and then get owners to sign up for it (with the threat of losing the installed property if they don’t).
Either way, you don’t have time to do it before your AGM – but you could pull something together and have an EGM once all your ducks are lined up.
I think you need to talk to a lawyer, either way.
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@Flame Tree said:
The meeting Motions need to be out within a minimum period so owners who won’t be at the meeting can still vote on them. That’s how it is in Qld so I assume there will be something similar where you are.Technically in NSW motions can be submitted up until the agenda is published. However, the reality is that the Strata Manager or secretary needs enough time to include them in the document (and that depends on the size and complexity of the agenda).
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@Paddy said:
Jimmy, I have just noticed a comment which you made on 13 June 2018 in reply to a post on “Common property or not?”. The post concerned a cupboard which was attached to a wall in a shared garage. You stated “…if it’s not on the plan and there are no by-laws about the strata taking it over, then it isn’t common property”.
Yes I have just revisited that comment and I had overlooked the part about the owner having inherited the “unofficial” cupboard from a previous owner. That said, the resolution is simple – if the cupboard now belongs to the OC and the lot owner doesn’t want to pay for repairs, then the OC can remove it. It’s either their cupboard or it isn’t.
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@Paddy said:
Thanks Jimmy. As you said “Installations that are left on common property without permission become the responsibility of the OC when the owner who put it there sells and moves away.” That was my understanding also and therefor the Strata Manager was correct in paying for the replacement.Not necessarily. There were other options, such as the strata manager saying that unless the lot owner resumed responsibility for the water heater, then the owners corp would remove it. The lot owner can’t have their ownership cake and eat it.
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Mr Sensitivity here. Just a wee joke. Like you, I always recommend talking to an experienced strata lawyer for anything other than the most minor issues.
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What you need is a new committee and one of the best ways to achieve that is to get enough like-minded people to agree on an agenda and put themselves forward to take over at the next AGM.
There are many ways to do this but communication is the key to all of them. I suspect Stratabox works best when it is run by the committee. The trick is to become the committee and then install Stratabox so that you can keep the good guys in power for as long as they are needed.
Conversely, being a constant iritation to the committee doesn’t work. You have to give people a reason for voting you in – and that usually comes down to showing them how their money is being wasted and how the value of their property is being harmed.
Anything else is just politics and most owners couldn’t care less about what they see as purely personal conflicts.
So, yes, form your government in exile, but make it a force for good and not just a convocation of carpers.
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@Flame Tree said:
You need more professional advice than just in here.You mean in your post or in this website? Thanks for the vote of confidence.
But seriously, the strata manager needs some counselling on what they should and shouldn’t be doing with strata scheme funds. And one of the things they shouldn’t be doing is repairing private property, regardless of where it is situated.
Installations that are left on common property without permission become the responsibility of the OC when the owner who put it there sells and moves away.
But the smart thing for the OC to do is to tell the new owner to either take it back, have it removed, or come to an arrangement with the OC (via by-laws) to take over its care and maintenance permanently as well as compensating the strata scheme for the use of common property.
The strata manager clearly doesn’t understand how strata works … which is a bit of a problem, you’d think.
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Contacting Fair Trading is fine but they won’t give direct advice on specific problems – they’ll just refer you to the legislation and leave you to work it out for yourself … even when your complaint is that the legislation either isn’t working or isn’t being observed.
Also, you will often get a politically expedient response. For instance, Fair Trading has been telling people that by-laws that block short-term holiday lets (like Airbnb) are invalid.
This is patently flawed information, according to every strata lawyer I have ever spoken to, but it suits the department to say otherwise as they cozy up to Airbnb for their own political reasons.
So don’t take Fair Trading’s response as the be-all and end-all in anything.
By the way, I would say the same about this website, but at least we TRY to get the right information out there.
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