Forum Replies Created
-
Replies
-
I am concerned I am once again going to have no say on how its addressed
That’s a valid concern but the Tribunal is unlikely to instruct them to fix the problem in a specific way, although they may well be instructed to fix it. One thing you can do to propose a motion to the strata committee or even a general meeting that asks the OC to fix your issues by a proven method or explain to owners why they have chosen a different and possibly less effective solution which may result in more remediation bills in the future.
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.
- This reply was modified 1 month, 3 weeks ago by .
When I reported effloration on my balcony, our chair sent the building manager with a scrubbing brush. I told him to tell the chairman where to stick it. We ended up having our balcony retiled at OC expense. I would have paid for the tiles myself if the chair hadn’t been such a tosser.
By the way, efflorescence is the result of the sand in concrete having too much salt in it. It’s recognised as a defect under Australian Building Statndards and it must be fixed by the developer in new blocks and the OC when it affects common property.
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.
- This reply was modified 1 month, 3 weeks ago by .
Hi im in a very similar situation which lawyer firm did you go with and can i ask approximate costs?
Registered Flatchatters can DM each other with information like this. BTW, Flora used her real name on this and her other post related to this matter. I changed it.
By the way – and the lawyers hate me saying this – but if you suspect the other side might put up a fight, go with Bannermans, and if you want an amicable resolution, Sachs Gerace may be the way to go. Otherwise, both are excellent strata lawyers and get results.
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.
If this information is missing from the AGM’s Agenda, then this is a problem. The strata manager would be in trouble with Fair Trading, since many of these items are mandatory to include in the AGM Agenda.
A problem? Just ask Netstrata…
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.
As I pointed out to the SM and the comittee member who was most vocal – you cannot spend $3K+ without owners agreement and why should we pay towards this when it’s against us.
Are you sure about that? There’s a standard item that comes up at AGMs allowing the Owners Corporation to agree to a different limit on unapproved spending. Many if not most atrata scheme set a higher limit as $3k is nothing these days. Check the minutes of your last AGM before you head for the barrricades.
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.
- This reply was modified 1 month, 4 weeks ago by .
The issue may be that the OC is buying and installing shelves for some owners but not all (those that already have them). It might be easier to allow owners to intall shelves with a certain design and specifications, and arrange the installation at a discounted price – but they pay for it. That way everyone benefits and it doesn’t go through levies. Fire danger is the go-to excuse for saying know when saying yes would be too complicated.
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.
There is another option, but that requires both parties to agree, and that’s mediation. However, I have to be honest – the only person I know who works in mediation will deal with family and business disputes, divorce and battles over wills, but she and her organisation won’t touch strata because it’s too highly charged and requires such specialist knowledge of the law.
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.
A further option, that may de-escalate the situation is to refer the resident to NCAT and to make a formal complaint there, and encourage an NCAT mediation session.
An application to NCAT must be related to an aspect of strata law or a by-law that has been allegedly breached. In any case, applying for mediation is pretty much an escalation as it is effectively reporting the miscreant to the authorities.
To be fair, I think the OP may be kidding themselves if they think they can deal with the situation without escalating the tension. On the other hand, tackling it head on and reaching a solution may rip off the band-aid and allow things to return to normal fairly quickly.
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.
Please stop beating me up about AI. I did not seek an AI opinion, it was thrust upon me, and as I said before, I only took it as a hint that strata schemes like this are not very common. I still think that they are relatively rare here in NSW.
I don’t think anyone is beating you up about AI – it was just an opportunity to make the point that it can’t be trusted, especially when it comes to strata. I hear that strata managers are getting frustrated by owners who consult AI and then argue with them on the basis that AI is a lot smarter than the average strata manager, which may be true when it comes to history and geography but not so much on something as complicated as strata.
Good luck with sorting out the issues in your scheme. Generally speaking, an amicable consensus is going to serve you better than trying to interpret the letter of the law.
BTW, and don’t tell anyone this, but I use AI all the time … but I always double check the “facts”. When it comes to NSW strata, AI can be about as reliable as a bloke who’s a friend of someone at your brother’s work who used to rent a flat in Melbourne.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.
Section 29 of the SSMA allows secret ballots:
29 Secret ballots(1) Voting on a motion or for an election at a meeting may be carried out by a secret ballot if—
(a) the strata committee determines that the motion or matter is to be so determined, or
(b) at least one-quarter of the persons entitled to vote on the motion or election agree that the motion or matter is to be so determined.
(2) The regulations may make provision for or with respect to the procedures for a secret ballot.
I couldn’t see anything in the Regulations relating to secret ballots but regs may exist elsewhere.
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.
Go through your by-laws and see which of them have been breached. Then hold a committee meeting with the breaches on the agenda for discussion and action. Then send the miscreant a Notice To Comply (on the official form) for each of the by-law breaches you allege. If they refuse to stop, go straight to NCAT for enforcement – no mediaation required.
NB: With the strata manager absent, you need to go through the process diligently: agenda – meeting- NTC. And you don’t need to send a warning. A notice to comply is a warning.
The model by-laws include:
1 VehiclesAn owner or occupier of a lot must not park or stand any motor or other vehicle on common property, or permit a motor vehicle to be parked or stood on common property, except with the prior written approval of the owners corporation or as permitted by a sign authorised by the owners corporation.
4 Obstruction of common propertyAn owner or occupier of a lot must not obstruct lawful use of common property by any person except on a temporary and non-recurring basis.
6 NoiseAn owner or occupier of a lot, or any invitee of an owner or occupier of a lot, must not create any noise on a lot or the common property likely to interfere with the peaceful enjoyment of the owner or occupier of another lot or of any person lawfully using common property.
Just be aware that your by-laws may be differnt.
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.
Floor coverings and the floor/ceiling structure are critical elements in the transmission of noise, for sure, but so is the behaviour of the residents. Or to put it another way, your apartment with its creaky floor may not be suitable for “the normal sound of [two young children] walking, running occasionally and generally living their lives.”
In the old days a tribunal Member would tell the downstairs neighbour “suck it up – you chose to live in strata – apartments are noisy.” These days you are just as likely to get one who asks what you’re doing raising two kids in an older, noise-prone apartment and tell you to take whatever measures are necessary to cut down the noise.
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.
1 user thanked author for this post.
But if you have a water ingress problem, and you have reasonable evidence about it, it is the Owners Corporation’s responsibility to investigate and fix it. They should arrange an engineer or expert to investigate and report.
There are a lot of ifs and buts in the above response but the line quoted here is key. If common property is causing a problem, then the OC must pay to fix it. If they want you to arrange an engineers report, you have to make it clear to the committee that the OC will have to pay for it, ultimately. Take it as a positive – they are going to allow you to choose your preferred engineer – and they will pay, whether they want to or not.
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.
Upgrading the building’s common property requires a special resolution (under section 108 of the Strata Schemes Management Act) at a general meeting.
Two points.
- It’s a lot easier to get approval for by-law changes if you can convince the committee to get on board with the idea before you go looking to pass by-laws. Convince them that it will enhance the value of everyone’s homes.
- Does it really require a 75 per cent vote? Under Section 5 of the Act, “Resolutions of owners corporations”, a resolution of an owners corporation is a special resolution if… the resolution is a sustainability infrastructure resolution—less than 50% are against the resolution.
Under Section 132B (2) “Financing and installation of sustainability infrastructure”, sustainability infrastructure means changes to part of the common property (which includes the installation, removal, modification or replacement of anything on or forming part of that property) for any one or more of the following purposes—(a) to reduce the consumption of energy or water or to increase the efficiency of its consumption,(b) to reduce or prevent pollution,(e) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,(f) to facilitate the use of sustainable forms of transport.
Surely all of a,b, e and f apply to a bicycle rack, which means all that should be required is a 50 per cent vote in favour at a general meeting. Worth pursuing from that point of view.
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.