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Contact Marrickville Legal Centre (MLC.org.au) who are (partially) funded by the state government to provide support to vulnerable people in strata across NSW.
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The first step in an NCAT action is compulsory but free mediation at Fair Trading. That should get the problem resolved and if it doesn’t then you have taken the necessary first step. In fact, just getting a notice that they are being invited to attend mediation gets most strata committees’ attention.
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I’m wondering if that breaches any local legislation or scheme laws.
Many local councils have laws requiring development approval if you change the layout of an apartment, to avoid people putting inadequately soundproofed bathrooms above bedrooms, for instance. That would be my first port of call to check if there had been any breaches.
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To vary the unit entitlements needs anew survey, a current valuation to apportion the unit entitlements and the help,of lawyers. Who is going to pay these bills ?
The law does allow for the adjustment of UEs but, as Kaindub points out, it is a complicated and expensive process. As a result, it tends to be the most egregious distortions – where one owner benefits to the disadvantage of the vast majority of other owners – that are corrected. An example would be where the developer has kept the UEs for a large commercial lot, or a penthouse apartment, low to attract buyers, meaning that all the other owners in the block effectively subsidise one or two owners.
It is not financially or micro-politically feasible to tweak UEs to make them a bit more fair for some owners.
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I think the principle of “buyer beware” applies here. I’m not a lawyer but I think in theory that the new owners should have realised through the property inspection that the bathroom had been renovated and through strata searches that the vendor had not received the appropriate permissions.
So you could ask them to agree to a by-law transferring responsibility for the renovations to them.
Or you could pass a motion declaring that there have been illicit renovations in the property and that the new owners will be responsible for any repairs and maintenance required moving forward. If there are any repairs required after that, then they can chase the OC for payment, rather than the other way round.
At least that way it will be on the record that the new and subsequent owners can’t expect the OC to fix the bathroom if repairs are required.
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If you are interested, this has been discussed on this week’s Flat Chat Wrap podcast.
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UPDATE: Under the proposed amendments to the NSW strata laws, any by-laws covering changes to common property must specify who has ongoing responsibility for maintenance and repair.
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I hate to say it but it sounds like you have serial and maybe even professional complainers as tenants. This small subset of renters sees the landlord as the enemy and therefore any financial gain they can get is worth pursuing. Perhaps you could invite them to leave on the grounds that you have to treat the apartment for mould. They could hardly argue, given that they claimed it sent one of them to hospital.
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A Notice To Comply IS a warning, it is not a fine, although it carries the potential of a fine if you ignore it and the matter is taken to the Tribunal. A warning that you will be issued with an NTC is a warning that you will get a warning.
Also the building manager can’t issue NTCs – only the strata manager or strata committee can do so, and only then after having discussed the issue at a properly constituted meeting.
Also, the NTC has to include a copy of the relevant by-law that you are alleged to have breached.
So my response to the building manager (if it is them and not the strata manager) would be to ask if they are actually empowered to issue an NTC.
If you have confused the building manager with the strata manager, then tell them that you will be interested to see the NTC to establish which by-law they allege you are breaching.
If you do have an NTC issued, you could just ignore it until such times as you are summoned to the Tribunal (in six to nine months) and argue your case.
If the Tribunal Members feels you have breached a by-law, they will probably tell you not to do it again or the next time you will be fined.
Or they might say that for health and cultural reasons, many people leave their shoes outside their homes and a blanket ban is unreasonable. Or that it’s just too trivial a matter to even deal with.
However, as a tenant you are a little more vulnerable as a breach of by-laws may be considered a breach of your rental agreement. I would check that out but I can’t see anyone being evicted for leaving their shoes outside their door.
Finally, there are many requests elsewhere on this site not to post in multiple places on the same topic and with the same text. I have deleted your other post.
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The law in Victoria is pretty clear on OCs’ responsibilities on common property.
Section 4 of the Victorian Owners’ Corporation Act says” An owners corporation has the following functions— (a) to manage and administer the common property; (b) to repair and maintain … the common property;
Section 46 says “An owners corporation must repair and maintain (a) the common property; and (b) the chattels, fixtures, fittings and services related to the common property or its enjoyment.
So you could go to your OC and give them an option – sell you the land with conditions attached that you will maintain and repair it or, alternatively, tidy it up and restore it to its former glory as required by law.
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I’ve never seen a by-law where the OC eventually takes back responsibility for work completed by an owner.
No but the responsibility for the work defaults back to the OC if there’s no by-law ascribing it to the renovator. The law requires that someone or some body is responsible, which is an incentive to get the renovator to sign on the dotted line.
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