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Self-appointed people can do what they want, but they have no legal standing.
There needs to be a bit more detail and a bit less florid language for anyone to be able to give a sensible answer.
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And if I can ad my two cents worth, while it may seem unlikely and illogical, the “working locks” scenario could conceivably be considered dangerous if someone, in a panic, was trying to unlock a lock that wasn’t locked to begin with.
For some reason I am reminded of a colleague who was staying in a hotel in Sweden and called down to the concierge desk because he couldn’t get his room door to open, no matter how hard he tugged and pulled and fiddled with the lock. A porter arrived and opened the door with ease … outwards.
The guest had arrived exhuasted the night before and hadn’t noticed what any fan of Scandinavian TV drama will tell you – doors open the other way there.
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Your real problems arise with an unmediated forum (which Twitter is) when someone uses it anonymously to harass or bully someone they name.
I would set up a basic website that allowed people to comment easily but where the comments were only published after they had been read by a moderator (as they are here).
That only requires a box to be ticked in the back end of the platform (WordPress). You could even provide a password for residents only, to help cut down on spam and avoid complaints about airing your dirty linen in public.
I’m thinking of doing the same in my building where the committee has already started trawling for proxy votes in an effort to subvert the new anti proxy farming laws.
Most domain name sellers and service providers will give you a basic website for not much money
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The owners corp should pay the cost of essential relocation (and make sure there are penalty clauses in their building contracts to cover any time over-runs).
Anything damaged during the repairs also has to be restored to its previous condition by the owners corp.
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The issue of visitor’s parking being used by residents goes all the way back to your planning consent which would have established how many visitor spaces were created and used as such.
Then you have to look at strata law that allows owners’ corps to permit use of common property, provided permission is given in writing.
A good building manager will look at the actual use of the visitor spaces overnight and if they are sitting empty could easily suggest to the EC that they arrange for temporary permission to be given for residents to park there, provided they don’t park before, say 6 pm or after 7.30 am (depending on the business hours).
OK, now let’s have a reality check. Some managers think preventing anything that helps tenants and even marginally disadvantages owner residents is a good thing. They seem to forget that tenants make up more than half the residents in strata.
Some managers also think that anything that requires a little thought and imagination is, by definition, a bad thing. That’s what ‘too hard’ baskets are for.
But if your visitor parking is sitting empty and you can come up with a trial plan for its temporary use by residents who have written permission, then that would be a good thing for your strata community.
And as long as it’s temporary, council won’t care. By the time anyone had struggled through complaints, mediations, adjudications and appeals, the streets would be clear and it would not longer be an issue.
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If the paint is wrong because the painters screwed up, then they should fix it.
Even if it is an unavoidable error – change of available colour options, for instance – the owners should be informed. I would be telling the EC to let everyone know what is going on – with paint samples if need be – to avoid problems before it is too late. Most owners won’t care unless you are changing from cream to pink, and even then…
If they refuse, and you feel strongly enough about it, you could apply to NCAT for an interim order to halt the painting until such times as the majority of owners have been give a chance to object or otherwise.
Having said that, it’s probably not an issue you need to go to the barricades over. However, your chairman needs to read up on strata law. Informal decisions can be made by “ring-around” and chats but they have to be confirmed at a properly constituted meeting as soon as possible thereafter.
Otherwise the people making the decisions at these off-the-books meetings could find they are personally liable when things go wrong.
SCA-NSW offers a great, free online training scheme for EC members. Sounds like your chairman needs to do it as a matter of urgency.
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You will find there are two kinds of strata management agreements – one that is apparently low cost but with lots of “Schedule B” charges that can trap the unwary. If you think you might be consulting the strata manager every day or have a resident who is likely to do so, this is not for you.
The other kind is an all-in charge which covers all possible eventualities. If you are only likely to contact the strata manager once a year around AGM time, this is not the best use of your funds.
It sounds like you have found one of the former type. Ring around and see if there is anyone doing the latter and see which is more likely to suit your needs.
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Provided it’s not in a public bar where everyone else can hear and there are all the usual distractions, it’s not that different from holding it in a private residence with beer and wine on offer.
And on that topic, I know of schemes that don’t allow the wine to be opened until the last item on the agenda has been voted on. Not only does it maintain the calibre of the discussion, it makes the meeting shorter.
How about raising that as a point of order: Alcohol may not be consumed at the meeting until the last item has been discussed.
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I’m going to look ahead to the laws that come in in NSW on November 30. But first, there are no penalties attached to not creating an estimate or, indeed, not funding the estimated amounts.
However, ECs and owners corps leave themselves open to individuals taking action at NCAT if neither is done. Those actions could range from seeking orders to comply with the law to seeking the replacement of the EC and Owners Corp with a strata manager.
OK, here is the legislation as it will apply from November 30. NB The “sinking fund” will thenceforth be known as the Capital Expenditure Fund.
80 Owners corporation to prepare 10-year capital works fund plan
(1) An owners corporation is to prepare a plan of anticipated major expenditure to be met from the capital works fund for a 10-year period commencing on the first annual general meeting of the owners corporation.
(2) An owners corporation is to prepare a plan for each 10-year period following the 10-year period to which the first plan applied. The plan is to be prepared for the annual general meeting at which the period covered by the previous plan expires.
(3) An owners corporation may, by resolution at a general meeting, review, revise or replace a 10-year plan prepared under this section and must review the plan at least once every 5 years.
(4) A plan under this section is to include the following:
(a) details of proposed work or maintenance,
(b) the timing and anticipated costs of any proposed work,
(c) the source of funding for any proposed work,
(d) any other matter the owners corporation thinks fit,
(e) any other matter prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this section.
(5) A plan under this section is to be finalised by the end of the next annual general meeting of the owners corporation after the annual general meeting for which the plan is prepared.
(6) An owners corporation may engage expert assistance in the preparation of a plan under this section.
(7) An owners corporation is, so far as practicable (and subject to any adjustment under this section), to implement each plan prepared under this section.81 Owners corporation to set contributions to administrative and capital works funds
(1) The owners corporation must determine the amounts to be levied as a contribution to the administrative fund and the capital works fund to raise the amounts estimated as needing to be credited to those funds.
(2) That determination must be made at the same meeting at which those estimated amounts are determined.
(3) The owners corporation must levy on each person liable for it such a contribution.
(4) If the owners corporation is subsequently faced with other expenses it cannot at once meet from either fund, it must levy on each owner of a lot in the strata scheme a contribution to the administrative fund or capital works fund, determined at a general meeting of the owners corporation, in order to meet the expenses.
(5) A contribution is, if an owners corporation so determines, payable by the regular periodic instalmentsIf 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.
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