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@excathedra said:
The NSW standard by-laws state: “An owner of a lot must ensure that all floor space within the lot is covered or otherwise treated to an extent sufficient to prevent the transmission from the floor space of noise likely to disturb the peaceful enjoyment of the owner or occupier of another lot.”I think this would apply irrespective of whether the Owners Corporation gave you permission.
By-laws only apply where they have been adopted by the strata scheme (or if the scheme is pre-1996 and the standard by-laws have not been altered).
Even so, the standard by-law and the new Section 110 are not mutually exclusive. If an owner can get permission under section 110, it would still be subject to any by-laws that may be in place. But a by-law that specified the standards applicable to flooring would not necessarily imply that permission had been given.
By-laws can’t supersede the laws (although they can qualify them). However, I wonder if Section 110 supersedes any existing by-laws that prevent owners from laying hard floors.
You are right that the critical test is not the technical quality of the insulation but its effectiveness in situ. However, the lab test does provide an indication of how effective the insulation is likely to be.
That said, permission to lay a hard floor would not mean the lot owner was immune from action by a neighbour who was later disturbed by noise.
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@clau2077 said:
Does that mean if the strata committee passed a by-law then approval of a minor renovation like installing timber floorboards would not have to wait to the AGM in 2017?The strata committee can’t pass by-laws. That can only be done at a general meeting with a vote of 75 percent (of those voting) approving it.
This might be a sensible thing for the future but it’s not going to help you right now.
If you are in a rush, ask the secretary for an extraordinary general meeting right now (although you may have to pay the costs of sending out notices etc), or get the support of 25 per cent of owners to compel the calling of an EGM, as per the advice given by PS in item 2.
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This has less to do with strata law and more to do with basic committee procedure.
In the case of the paint colour, you would propose an amendment to include the original colour as as an additional option. The vote on this would occur before the vote on the colour. As you are not changing the basic intent of the motion – to choose a paint colour – your amendment would be valid (although it might still be defeated).
On the question of choosing a painter, it would be a matter of persuading the majority of owners to reject all three quotes unless you have a fourth quote ready to go and, again, you would propose an amendment that it be considered along with the other three and, if that got a majority, it would be put to a vote.
Amendments to motions at general meetings are permitted and can be voted on provided they aren’t changing the fundamental issue. Thus you can add another paint colour option to a motion to decide a paint colour but you couldn’t propose an amendment saying the paint should be replaced with aluminium cladding as that is a different discussion entirely.
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The greatest dangers in going ahead without permission are that your flooring will not be compliant with the noise insulation requirements and that you will be ordered to tear it up and start again. There is also a possibility that the owners corp could make it difficult for your installers to do their work.
The tribunal is unlikely to order you to restore the carpet just because you didn’t follow procedure (but they might if your timber floor creates a noise problem for your neighbours).
However, if you are sure of the bona fides of your medical certificates and you are utterly certain that floor will be compliant and not be a nuisance, write to the Owners Corp secretary and ask if you can apply for retrospective approval at the next AGM, promising to remedy any problem with the floor that becomes apparent in the meantime.
Just a word of caution, though. Claims of asthma and other allergies is the most common loophole used by owners who just want to put down a timber floor and have a friendly doctor prepared to help them out. So don’t be surprised if the strata committee views your approach with a level of skepticism.
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I had a chat with the Minister the other day about this and other examples of people deliberately creating a situation intended to subvert or circumvent the laws. He has asked me to provide details and he will get Fair Trading to investigate. meanwhile he has promised to keep an eye on how section 232 operates to prevent these abuses. Watch this space.
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@dingo said:
Thanks proudsceptic, would that include a request from a individual committee member or owner or does a request have to come from the whole strata commitee for a Notice?It would help a great deal if you were specific about the kind of information you are talking about.
The information specified in this section of the Act (Part 4, Division 3) is basically financial and is related to funds, commissions and other accountability issues. It requires a request in writing from the committee which must nominate a committee member to whom the information should be provided.
More general information – such as the contents of the strata roll and minutes of strata committee and general meetings – is available to ordinary owners through application to the owners corp and/or strata manager, attendance at their offices, and the payment of fees. This is covered in Part 5, Division 2, with the documents that must be provided detailed in Section 182 (see below).
182 Requests for inspection of records of owners corporation
(1) Persons who may inspect
An owner, mortgagee or covenant chargee of a lot in a strata scheme, or a person authorised by the owner, mortgagee or covenant chargee, may request the owners corporation to allow an inspection to be carried out under this section.
(2) Form of request
The request must be made by written notice given to the owners corporation and be accompanied by the fee prescribed by the regulations.
(3) Items to be made available for inspection
The owners corporation must make the following items available for inspection by the person who makes the request or the person’s agent:
(a) the strata roll,
(b) any other records or documents required to be kept under this Part,
(c) the plans, specifications, certificates, diagrams and other documents required to be delivered to the owners corporation before its first annual general meeting by the original owner or the lessor of a leasehold strata scheme,
(d) if in its custody or under its control, the certificate of title comprising the common property or, in the case of a leasehold strata scheme, the certificate of title for the lease of the common property,
(e) any applicable 10-year capital works fund plan,
(f) the last financial statements prepared,
(g) every current policy of insurance taken out by the owners corporation and the receipt for the premium last paid for each such policy,
(h) if a strata managing agent has been appointed, a copy of the instrument of appointment,
(i) if a strata renewal plan has been given to owners for their consideration under Part 10 of the Strata Schemes Development Act 2015, a copy of the plan,
(j) any other record or document in the custody or under the control of the owners corporation,
(k) if the duties of the owners corporation under this subsection have been delegated to a strata managing agent, any other records (including records of the strata managing agent) relating to the strata scheme that are prescribed by the regulations,
(l) if a building manager agreement is in force or has been entered into but has not yet commenced, a copy of the building manager agreement,
(m) particulars of any service agreement entered into by the owners corporation,
(n) particulars of any agreement entered into with a local council for a strata parking area,
(o) if the request is made within 5 years after the end of the initial period,
particulars of any orders made under section 27 and copies of any related
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You can now vote electronically, by phone or by mail. Ask your secretary or strata manager what arrangements have been made.
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Do you have a supporter who is a pensioner? It’s a lot cheaper if they make the application and you “support” them.
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I think you have to separate this from all the strata aspects and treat it the same as if you were neighbours in adjoining houses.
Strata law neither allows this kind of behaviour nor protects you from it. This is a civil (and possibly criminal) matter. So, the first thing may be to talk to a lawyer to examine your options.
Generally speaking, efamation is expensive and very difficult to prove. More important is the intent behind the statements and that is clearly to make your life difficult.
Verbal abuse is a form of assault so the first thing may be to take an apprehended violence (personal) order against this person telling them stop stop abusing you directly or indirectly through what they say or write to other people.
Then you might consider writing to all the owners in the building telling them that you have been subjected to unwarranted and unacceptable verbal and written assaults and entirely baseless accusations by one person (without naming them) and asking them to retain the letters as evidence for any future legal action.
And talk to the police. They are used to assault perpetrators claiming they were the ones assaulted. It comes down to “he said, she said” but they are not naive in this regard.
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@BondiG said:What rights do I have, considering it would be very difficult to deny access onto my property. Can I stop them “trespassing”? Can I force them to move the door? Can I request that strata rectify the issue? Can I issue a letter to either the strata or owners to get some action?Does your right to “peaceful enjoyment’ supersede their right to enter their apartment? I don’t think so, regardless of the detail of the strata plan.
The simplest way to remedy this is to renew the suggestion that you share the cost of moving the door with whoever has inherited the house.
If they are planning to sell and show any reluctance, tell them you are going to start lodging papers with Fair Trading and NCAT, seeking orders, that will make it very difficult for them to sell.
But hopefully they’ll see sense and it won’t come to that.
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Your only shot is to apply for an interim order delaying the meeting on the grounds you have mentioned, basically that the timing is to facilitate a decision that would otherwise be rejected. It’s a roll of the dice. Are you feeling lucky?
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Your upstairs neighbour doesn’t have the right to spray dirty water over your windows and balcony, regardless of how filthy theirs are. Some prior warning and their best efforts to contain the spray on their property would be a reasonable request. Sluicing water over glass balustrades and windows is like hosing leaves off a path – it’s lazy and wasteful. A little consideration and some added elbow grease would go a long way.
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I agree. Ask the owners corp to bring the balustrade up to code. If they refuse, and do nothing within two months hit them with a section 232 (in the new Act) for failure to fulfil their duties. Let NCAT decide whether the lettter of the law is more important than personal safety of residents and workers.
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The problem arises when someone is charging the Owners Corp for work they do as a member of the committee. Apart from the obvious conflicts of interest there’s the whole issue of why they are even on the committee in the first place.
In any case, the law is quite clear – committee members can be paid but only for the previous year through a decision made at the subsequent AGM. The OC can’t agree to pay them in advance.
Interestingly, under new laws, the chairman would have to recuse himself from the discussion of whether or not he should be involved in the discussion of whether or not he should be paid, due to an obvious conflict of interest.
But I would say that the fact that the chair has gone to the lengths of creating a false “arms length” relationship to subvert the intent and spirit of the law would be reason enough to vote him off the committee (tarring and feathering optional).
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