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Ooops. I just realised you are a tenant. Much of what I wrote still holds but as a far as official meetings and minutes go, you might have to get one of your owner friends to make you their proxy and even nominate you for election to the committee.
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We can’t comment on the tradesman issue without further explanation. However, if a motion was passed at a properly constituted meeting of the executive committee to issue a Notice To Comply with a by-law, then the strata manager should have done that. If they haven’t, they need to explain why not. But if there was just a semi-informal request to the SM to chase an issue up, they may have felt a less aggressive approach was appropriate.
If the SM is refusing to comply with a reasonable instruction, you have a problem. Either way, it’s time for a “please explain” meeting.
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If I were in your shoes I would call a meeting of all your owners and explain to them how they are being ripped off. You don’t need to make it an official meeting but if you did, you might as well go the whole hog and sack the executive committee and its self-interested chair.
You should be able to stop the passage of the by-law by raising the 25 percent of the votes required, but even if you don’t, this owner would be guilty of a fraud against the minority.
There are well-established principles for the transfer of common property to private ownership, including the payment of funds to the Owners Corp, and this owner has ridden roughshod over them.
As an interim measure, I would put a motion to the executive committee to declare the chair of the committee open and elect a new chairman. They can do that, although they can’t remove her from the committee entirely (that requires a 75 percent vote at a general meeting).
I would put up another motion to invite the strata manager to a meeting to explain her actions.
Privately, I would talk to the strata manager and remind her that this owner is not likely to be in power much longer, so she has to decide whether she is working for the chairwoman or the owners corporation (with the clear implication that the wrong choice could mean she won’t be working for anyone soon).
I would also contact council and tell them that there are serious misgivings about the way the EC approval was given and that approval may be rescinded soon.
And get yourself elected to the chair, at least for as long as it takes to sort this mess out.
One final point, people run around threatening legal action all the time but rarely ever follow through. The best answer is “go ahead – and my lawyer will make sure you pay full costs when you lose!”
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I would seriously consider paying a small amount of money to a strata lawyer to send the committee and all owners a letter telling them that they have no grounds for this continued harrassment of you and, while you have no wish to buy into a long-running feud that is not of your making, they need to back off and leave you alone or face the potential legal consequences.
But maybe that’s just me …
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@kiwipaul said:
I disagree it depends on whether it’s common or lot property. If it’s lot property they have every right to have a table and chairs in the courtyard (and the worm farm if it doesn’t smell or appear an eyesore). Also a rotary clothes line in a courtyard to dry clothes would generally be acceptable.
That’s simply not true. Maybe in Queensland, KP. But here in NSW you can create and enforce by-laws that cover the appearance of your lot from elsewhere in the strata scheme or even from outside. For instance, some buildings insist on a certain colour of internal blinds so the building has a uniform appearance from outside. That’s private property on a private lot. So, certainly as far as NSW and Victoria are concerned, you are wrong.
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It would probably help if the original poster stuck to the facts and didn’t exaggerate their claims. They have not been denied access to their backyard, they have been told to remove certain items.
The by-law (if it is in any way similar to the one cited) does not cover garden furniture or other equipment – unless they have been dumped in the yard and are unsightly. A composting bin doesn’t seem to breach the by-law – a pile of compost might.
However, the underlying attitude of the EC is typically “renters have no rights”. Obviously, someone objects to the worm farm and the composting bin but they don’t have the necessary by-law to force them to be removed. In which case I would sit tight and tell them that if they try to remove the items you will call the police.
The reduction of the fence size is an issue of privacy and loss of amenity and should be raised with the landlord, possibly with a view to getting a rent reduction.
This is not a case of false advertising – that is absolute rubbish. It’s a case of someone not liking what you have on your terrace and complaining to your strata manager. It has zero to do with your real estate agent. If the ad had said “perfect for worm farm and composting bins,” then you might have a point.
While we’re on the subject, there is nothing to be gained by overstating your case, especially when you have reasonable grounds for rejecting their demands.
Let them issue a proper Notice To Comply, ignore it or reject it, take the issue to NCAT and if NCAT says the stuff has to be moved – which I believe is highly unlikely – then either move it or cop the fine (which will be nothing like $550).
Chances are, however, by turning the heat on this up to 11 as an initial response, your lease will probably not be renewed and the problem will cease to exist because you will be living somewhere else. And in the meantime the Owners Corp will probably pass a more comprehensive by-law that covers the kind of things they allow on their terraces.
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@kiwipaul said:
Their are too many unknowns to start with. The main one is whether it is common property or lot property and everything else depends on the ans to this question.Not true. The Owners Corp can still issue and enforce by-laws that relate to the appearance of items on lot property. That’s how, for instance, owners can be prevented from drying laundry on their own property but which is visible from outside.
But you are right about it being significant what the by-laws say. That is the ONLY thing that matters.
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@larnie482 said:
I live in a block of 5 units and top floor. I want to use the ceiling space either for storage or convert to office .space. can you do the conversion uf you had exclusive use or is it best to purchase from body corporate?use orFirst of all you will need a special resolution by-law for the owners corp to sell the common property airspace and to establish that you now undertake to maintain and repair it. That will require approval of more than 75 % of owners voting at a general meeting
Then there is a formula for compensating the Owners Corp which was established in the High Court (I think).
Basically, it’s x = a – (b+c) where
x = the amount you pay the owners corp.
a = the value of the property with the renovation added (from an independent valuer)
b = the value of your property before the renovation (ditto)
c = the cost of the renovation including plans, legals and by-lawsYou can try other ways of getting this done but they could come back to bite you on the backside if they aren’t kosher.
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@kiwipaul said:
Strata building insurance doesn’t cover carpets within the lot, these should be on your contents policy.The only time that the Strata would be liable was if the damage to the carpets was due to a failure of drainage infrastructure or lack of maintenance of the said infrastructure.
Whether the damage was due to extreme weather (contents policy) or Strata negligence (Strata) would depend on who pays.
Not strictly true. The home & contents insurer could say that the failure of common property (the windows) caused the damage so the strata insurance should pay. This would apply if there were windows that didn’t leak.
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Well, you are adding to the confusion by saying one thing, then another, then starting another thread saying another thing again.
So we have windows in your apartment that are leaking and carpets in common property that are soaked?
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Is this the same problem as in the post headlined: Windows frames leaking bad Sydney weather …?
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jpaoloni, the Owners Corporation has to repair common property regardless of any other considerations, such as defect claims. In many ways, they may be able to progress the defect claim by showing they chose the best or least expensive repair option. If they refuse to do anything until the defect claim is resolved, you can take them to NCAT for orders under Section 62 of the Act. Explain that you are prepared to do that and they may get moving on this.
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I have to agree with Whale, Just at first glance there are so many elements in place in the various by-laws and agreements that all that’s required is an independent arbitrator with a sophisticated understanding of strata law to untangle all the claims and counter claims and come up with a mutually acceptable solution. The best person to do that would be a strata lawyer.
I also sense that you are rapidly moving to a position where you wan to “win” rather than get a workable outcome. That’s a natural response when you feel frustrated, but it’s not a sound basis for happy community living.
Agree with the lift owners to pay for an independent lawyer to mediate rather than litigate and then sort it all out.
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The owner can only demand this if it is in the rental agreement. Sounds like this cheapskate is happy to take your rent but no pay a few dollars a week for someone to look after the bins. Doesn’t your building have cleaners?
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Unless there was a special resolution by-law passed when the previous owners installed the windows, they are still common property. If there was a special resolution by-law passed, it should state who has responsibility for their ongoing maintenance. If that is not stipulated, then responsibility reverts to the owners corp.
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