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The proxy allocation is per lot, not per person. The proxy holder is entitled to 5 percent of the total number of lots (or one proxy for schemes under 20 lots) for each lot they own themselves.
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@Whoopi said:
1. Is the five percent calculated on the whole of the Entitlements of a Strata Plan or just 5% of the people who bothered to vote? Big differenceThe five per cent is based on the number of lots, rounded down to the nearest whole number.
2. Does the 5% include you own entitlements or on top off and as well as your own entitlement.
The 5% is additional to your own vote. However, to be clear, it is not calculated on unit entitlements (unless there is a poll vote at the meeting). You don’t go in with an additional 5% of UEs. You can carry proxies provided by other owners up to a maximum of 5% of the number of lots.
3. When and who should be calculating them. Who is responsible?
The secretary and/or the strata manager, and they should be checked at the beginning of the meeting. A well-run scheme will have a registration period before the meeting to facilitate this.
4. How is this then advertised to the owners?
Advertised? It should be part of the minutes of the meeting – which obviously come out after the meeting.
5. How much % can a non owner carry?
Same as anyone else – up to a maximum of 5%
6. What happens to proxies given to people who don’t show up to meetings?
They are lost. But any prior proxy vote would be superseded by a new proxy given to someone else or by the owner turning up at the meeting and voting themselves.
7. If you give your proxy to the chairman ( strata manager) and clearly state your wishes and he abstains is that legal?
Not very. And if the vote would have made a difference to the outcome, it can be challenged at NCAT,
Our Strata guy is counting hands at meetings whether one has 5 lots or one lot.
Your “strata guy” being who? Your strata manager or secretary? My scheme issues a voting slip – a piece of A4 coloured paper for every lot and proxy so that when they take a show of hands multiple votes can be seen and counted
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OK this is what you get when a real journalist gets their teeth into the subject: Tough sell for new tax
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Would the vote make any difference if it was a ‘poll’ vote – i.e. counted by unit entitlements rather than a show of hands? That would surely make a difference – unless everyone is on precisely the same UEs.
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@Selton 123 said:
… one of the fences came down between two lots , we are told that it is common property by strata …“Strata” (whoever they are) are wrong. Look at the previous item – the fence is jointly owned by the two lots and they should pay for the replacement.
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Just to add a little clarity to both issues above, this is what the Who’s Responsible document says about fences:
If they are shown as a thick line on the strata plan then they are deemed a common wall and the responsibility of the owners corporation.
However, if they are shown as a thin, dotted or no line on the strata plan then they are treated in accordance with the Dividing Fences Act and are treated as follows:
1. Divides two lots. Each owner is responsible 50/50
2. Divides one lot from common property. The owner is responsible 50% & the owners corporation is responsible 50%
3. Divides one lot from an adjoining property that isn’t part of the strata. The owners corporation are responsible for 100% of its share
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It’s important to differentiate between strata law and by-laws (even the standard or model ones).
You can’t create a by-law that superseded Strata or any other law. For instance, you can’t create a by-law that says you don’t want to have strata insurance as that is required by law.
However, you can pass a by-law that establishes new by-laws or changes exisiting ones. A very good example of that is the recommendation that owners corporations accept (or modify) the “Who’s Responsible” guidelines for your scheme.
Section 106-108 lay out the Owners Corporation’s responsibility to maintain and repair common property and the parameters withing which that may be changed.
But in your circumstances, you would be advised to get it established by by-law who is responsible for what before someone buys the least-well maintained house and demands that everyone else pays to bring it up to scratch.
Regarding why you have raised this, I think we are all interested in what your motivation is – as in, what you hope to achieve – rather than what piqued your interest.
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I suggest you break it down. I would make it two or three motions.
The first to censure the committee for (e.g) their decisions.
The second to censure the committee for their minutes.
The third to propose a set of “standing orders” by which the committee must conduct its business in future. This does not require a by-law, just a majority vote. The committee has to do as instructed by the owners corporation, not the other way round.
If you put everything into one motion it makes it too easy for all your points to be dismissed through disinformation and obfuscation.
This you could lose the first two motions but still win the third.
Either way, you get to say your piece about the committee’s conduct
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@meaw206 said:
Before I thought my space is car space I complained with Strata manager but he said he cannot do anything because my space is only storage.
What your strata manager means is “I can’t be bothered and the committee hasn’t told me to do this, so you’re on your own…”
If your neighbour is parking over the line he is breaching by-laws that don’t allow people to park their cars blocking common property.
Your problem is the potential tit-for-tat complaints. As I said before, try to do a storage for parking swap.
Meanwhile you could apply to NCAT to get the Owners Corp to allow you to do whatever is necessary (See Lady P’s post) to make that an official small car parking spot.
By the way, the solicitor who didn’t check the sales documents properly owes you a favour. Maybe you could get them to investigate your options and send a couple of strongly worded letters.
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Your strata manager either has only a slender grasp of strata law or a poor ability to express what he does know.
For a start, you can’t have an EGM at which only the committee votes – it wouldn’t be a general meeting then and it certainly couldn’t fulfill the requirements of higher level decision making.
Minor works have to be approved by the Owners Corp but this can be done by committee, representing the Owners Corp, if a general meeting has previously agreed to that via a by-law.
Major works have to be decided at a general meeting.
Here are the relevant sections of the Act and Regulations. The references (below) to section 108 refer to the part of the Act that requires special resolution by-laws to be passed for changes to and ongoing maintenance of affected areas of common property. My emphasis in bold.
109 Cosmetic work by owners
(1) The owner of a lot in a strata scheme may carry out cosmetic work to common property in connection with the owner’s lot without the approval of the owners corporation.(2) Cosmetic work includes but is not limited to work for the following purposes:
(a) installing or replacing hooks, nails or screws for hanging paintings and other things on walls,
(b) installing or replacing handrails,
(c) painting,
(d) filling minor holes and cracks in internal walls,
(e) laying carpet,
(f) installing or replacing built-in wardrobes,
(g) installing or replacing internal blinds and curtains,
(h) any other work prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this
subsection.(3) An owner of a lot must ensure that:
(a) any damage caused to any part of the common property by the carrying out of cosmetic work by or on behalf of the owner is repaired, and
(b) the cosmetic work and any repairs are carried out in a competent and proper manner.(4) The by-laws of a strata scheme may specify additional work that is to be cosmetic work for the purposes of this section.
(5) This section does not apply to the following work:
(a) work that consists of minor renovations for the purposes of section 110,
(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 that detrimentally affects the safety of a lot or common property,
including fire safety systems,
(e) work involving waterproofing or the plumbing or exhaust system of a building in a strata scheme,
(f) work involving reconfiguring walls,
(g) work for which consent or another approval is required under any other Act,
(h) any other work prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this
subsection.
(6) Section 108 does not apply to cosmetic work carried out in accordance with this section.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.FROM THE REGULATIONS
28 Minor renovations by owners
Work 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.If you want to be alerted when anyone replies to your posts or responds to this topic, please register and login, then you will be able to subscribe to the topic. The opinions offered in these Forum posts and replies are not intended to be taken as legal advice. Readers with serious issues should consult experienced strata lawyers. NB: Longer threads may spill over to additional pages - look for the numbers on the bottom right, under the last post.
@Lady Penelope said:
The committee cannot approve a Minor renovation unless a by-law has been passed by special resolution at a General Meeting to permit this to occur.True … but they only have to pass that by-law once, not every time.
However, if you want to bring that forward, before the AGM, then, yeah, the OC will want you to pay for the meeting.
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This is the second discussion, and from two different people in the past week that has used they phrase “ultra vires“.
As I am a bear of little brain, I had to look it up to be sure it mean “beyond their legal remit or capacity”.
It’s good to know what it means, but I don’t think we’ll be seeing it again.
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@gwyn said:
The stratum statement says: “The stratum of each garden area extends from 3m below to a height of 5m above the upper surface of the floor level of the respective adjoining residence, except where covered”. Not sure what all that means …That means that your lot extends to 3 m below ground level to 5 m above it – unless it has a roof over it … like your house.
I’m not sure what it is that you want, here. Do you not want to pay for the upkeep of your house and would rather the owners corp did that?
If so, be careful what you wish for … you could end up getting a bill for your share of all the other work done around the scheme when the other owners agree that that Owners Corp should repay them for theirr work.
If you merely want to formalise a verbal agreement, get a by-law drafted to that effect – but make sure it contains a clause that requires everyone to maintain the external appearance of their lot to the committee’s satisfaction.
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