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mrsmaker said:
Are there rules for a Strata Manager dealing with dedicated levies? We were levied, 2 years ago for carpet installation in the common areas.
We have been recently levied again, for the same amount, $5000, for the same carpet..it has never been purchased and laid.
The Strata Manager said that she used the previous levy funds to pay bills. No executives were informed or asked about using the dedicated carpet levy money.
Are there any rules for Strata Managers re the spending of dedicated levies?I fear we may be getting a wee bit off topic. The stuff from BB (previous posting) is interesting but it’s essentially about transferring money from the sinking fund to the admin fund and back. If the carpet money went into the sinking fund, then, yes, that would be relevant but I’m not sure it did.
The question is, was the Strata manager right to spend money specifically raised to replace the carpet on other stuff. I don’t think there are specific regulations that cover that except an umbrella principle that the strata manager should only do what the Owners Corporation or Executive Committee has asked them to do.
However, one of the things that the OC asks the strata manager to do is pay the building’s bills and it sounds as if there was a shortfall in the budget that required those carpet funds to be used for other purposes. That could be caused by anything from a sudden rise in costs to an unexpected drop in revenue (with more residents than usual getting behind on their levies) or both.
At the very least, there seems to be a failure of communication and the strata manager should have made it clear where the carpet money was going and why, at the time it was spent. There also seems to be an urgent need to review the building’s accounts.
If you are running your admin and sinking funds so dry that your sinking fund doesn’t even have enough in it to pay $5000 for a carpet, you may have much more serious problems that a non-communicative strata manager.
Do you have a ten-year sinking fund plan in place (as required by law)? Is it being adequately resourced?
Sounds like it’s time your executive committee and strata manager had a long chat about the finances of the building, where the money is going, where it’s coming from and a few more financial facts of strata life.
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The Act doesn't say much about animals except that they can be removed from a building if they are causing a nuisance or health issues for a resident (I think). Stuff like being carried on common property is the domain of by-laws for individual buildings.
Don't know if you can blame the “carer”. The dog's normal owners would probably recognise the signs that a) the dog needed to go walkies NOW!!! and b) it was already too late. Oops!
But have you ever tried to stop a dog in mid-dump?
However, the dog-sitter is responsible for cleaning up the mess. Not necessarily their fault but definitely their problem.
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The test isn’t whether or not the noise is offensive, it’s whether or not it “disturbs the peaceful enjoyment of your lot”. It’s about geography, not aesthetics or opinions, so her ‘survey’ is irrelevant.
Your husband should use his position on the EC to arrange a “site visit” and then, if he chooses, he can withdraw from the vote on whether or not to issue a notice to comply (although he doesn’t have to).
There are other options. The NSW Office of Environment and Heritage has issued a leaflet on noise pollution (which, ironically, has a drawing of a drum on the front). You can read that HERE.
It advises other options like contacting your local council (don’t take your neighbour’s word that they aren’t in breach) and seeking a Noise Abatement Order from the District Court.
There are other legal avenues open to you (like seeking damages for loss of amenity and stress) the threat of which might be enough to get them to stop.
There’s a pretty substantial list of good strata lawyers if you click on Essential Links at the top of this page.
By the way, your strata manager needs a kick up the backside if he or she can’t see that this is a clear breach of the by-laws.
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OK, that’s clear. The by-law certainly covers this kind of noise and all you have to prove is that this neighbour ‘s noise is disturbing you.
As a first step, if you can, get a couple of members of the executive committee to come round at one of the usual practice times to hear for themselves. Bear in mind that State and council noise pollution laws apply when the windows and doors of the affected unit are OPEN so there’s no need for you to lock yourself away from this noise. The EC members can then go back to the EC and ask that a Notice To Comply be issued to the other owner.
If they use the usual cop-out of “this is between two neighbours” your next step is to request a mediation at Fair Trading – download and print the form HERE. Meanwhile gather as much material as you can in support of your case (see below). This should include a diary that states when the noise occurred, how long it went on for, how loud it was and how many instruments were being played. Start keeping this diary NOW.
Your drummer’s mother may not even turn up for the mediation or will and deny there’s a problem. It’s usually a waste of time in a conflict like this but it’s a process you have to go through to get to the next stage. By the way, I wouldn’t be suggesting times when the kid can practice … that undermines your case and may suggest to some that it’s not really that bad.
The next stage is an adjudication at the CTTT. This is done on paper so that’s when you have to have all your ammunition ready to go. Finally if one or other of you disputes the adjudication, there’s a hearing in front of a Member of the CTTT – again, your paperwork has to be watertight.
Here’s what you need to present your case.
A copy of your by-laws
Statements from friends and neighbours saying that they have heard the noise. Preferably Notarised by a JP.
Recordings of the noise (you can probably do this on your mobile phone if you don’t have a recorder). A handy 12-year-old will tell you how to transfer this to your computer and then burn it on CD.
Your ‘disturbance” diary.
All the correspondence from the other owner that acknowledges that her son is indeed practising in their garage.
One final thing, the CTTT presents itself as a “low-cost” adjudicator that doesn’t require lawyers. However, they are incredibly pedantic and legalistic and the slightest excuse – like one missing piece of paper – and they’ll dismiss your case.
I would be talking to a specialist strata lawyer about this right now if I were you.
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pinkpurple said:
I want to ask strata if i can have permission to park on common property in front of my front door.. Not permanently , not trying to own the space but sometimes when i need to without getting a letter of warning for a fine.
It sounds like the Owners Corporation is clamping down on illegal parking and they have an active owner who's probably driving the campaign. I doubt very much if the OC will give you permission to park there as it will cause them all sorts of problems and parking will soon become a free-for-all.
Firstly, though, you need to send them a polite letter saying you reject their warning as it is not your car and not your house.
Then you need to start a campaign with the help of all the other drivers who park there to get the OC to create a couple of drop-off zones where people can park for no more than five minutes at a time to allow them to do exactly as you described.
But you won't get the OC to sanction parking on common property so don't even go there. And, yes, if you are breaking by-laws you are in breach of your lease so try to do the right thing.
Ask your landlord to pressure the OC to create a drop-off zone and leaflet the other owners who park there to get their support. It might take a while but it makes sense for all concerned.
Is he allowed to take photos of peoples cars and number plates without permission of the owner of the vehicle?? Thankyou !
He can take pictures of anything he likes. This is, in fact, recommended procedure when there's a parking problem in strata. Shame he couldn't get the right car for the right owner though – it kind of undermines the process.
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The name of the original poster had to be removed because she used her real name which could lead to the identification of her neighbours.
Well, the drummer is still driving me crazy.In response to my last letter the mother has now advised me in writing of the following after seeking advice about my complaint of drumming practice 7 days a week:
1.She is not in breach of any council regulation2.Interpretation of the by-law is subjective
3.She reserves the right to conduct any lawful activity in her own home, at her own discretion, this includes music practice to take place any time during the hours stipulated by our local council.
Fair Trading took two weeks to get back to me with a definition of the noise by-law,their answer was they couldn’t define it & to call the Strata Schemes section & ask them, which I will try to do today (Executive Committee won’t do anything until I know the by-law definition).
Our Strata Manager cannot define the by-law either so can any of the forum specialists help me please.The drumming practice is continuing most weekday afternoons (sometimes with electric guitars as well) & as of yesterday, Sunday afternoon again, when I especially requested peace & quiet.I had to shut all my doors & turn on the TV so I could listen to something other than drumming for an hour.Am I hitting my head up against a brick wall or can I stop this legally?
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CAN said:
The roof is common property, can the Strata Corp. approve such work without consulting and voting on it by the unit owners?
At the risk of being pedantic, if by the Strata Corp, you mean the Owners Corporation, then that IS all the owners, including you. If you mean the Executive Committee, then they have even less right to make blanket approvals than the Owners Corp at a General Meeting.
I take Billen Ben's point but I wonder if it's possible to apply a by-law that allows work to be done on the roof with certain provisions attached – size, acceptance of responsibility for maintenance etc etc PLUS the approval of the EC. For instance we have a by-law that allows storage boxes of a specific design to be placed in parking spaces , subject to the approval of the EC.
That said, the last thing you want is half a dozen air-con units chuntering away above your head when you're trying to sleep. A BB-inspired preemptive strike is well in order.
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Yes, a simple majority decision by the EC or, failing that, the combined written and signed request by owners holding at least one quarter of the unit entitlements in the building.
This is what the Act says:
Division 3 Special provisions relating to procedure for meetings other than first annual general meeting
31 When general meetings of owners corporation are required to be held
(2) A general meeting of an owners corporation (in this clause referred to as an extraordinary general meeting), which is not an annual general meeting, may be convened by the executive committee at any time.
(3) The secretary of an executive committee or, in the secretary’s absence, any member of the executive committee must convene an extraordinary general meeting as soon as practicable after receiving a requisition for such a meeting signed by one or more persons entitled to vote in respect of one or more lots, the unit entitlement or the sum of the unit entitlements of which is at least one-quarter of the aggregate unit entitlements.
'As soon as practicable' means given enough time to send out notices and agendas and organise somewhere to hold it. It doesn't mean when it's convenient for the secretary, chair, or strata managers.
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You could ask around local real estate agencies who may have handled a sale in the building recently. Even better, if there is a property for sale in the building, ask the agent for a copy of the contract.
But remember 50 percent of strata buildings in NSW don’t have a strata manager. Also a huge number of strata plans (even some with managers) are non-compliant with strata law.
Worst-case scenario, it is possible in a dysfunctional building to have no strata manager, no executive committee and just someone who collects levies and pays the bills. You might even have a strata manger who has been instructed by owners not to respond to any correspondence.
I'm not sure if Strata Managers have to register the buildings they look after with anyone. Maybe one of our SM Flatchatters can advise on that.
Failing that, I’d be talking to a strata lawyer or your strata manager about getting hold of the strata roll (maybe from the Department of Lands?) and sending all the owners letters telling them they can’t avoid their responsibilities and that you will, if need be, take legal action to recoup the costs of pursuing this case, as they have neglected their duties as owners.
The fact is that the end of the day, the responsible entity is the Owner’s Corporation – that’s all the owners in the other building, whether they like it or not. The message you need to get across to them individually or collectively, is that they can do this the easy way, which will cost them money, or the hard way, which will cost them even more money.
Sometimes it’s too easy for owners to do nothing – you have to tilt the balance and make that a much less attractive option.
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This is a new one on me but I'm no longer surprised at the schemes, scams, rorts and gouges that builders and developers get up to.
OK, without seeing the by-laws, there's a fair chance that this rule isn't legal. Also, unless it's a special by-law – one of those that requires agreement with the beneficiary of the by-law – it can be changed with a 75 percent vote of the owners.
What you really need to do, as a strata plan, is to talk to a specialist strata lawyer right away (there's a whole bunch of them listed HERE). They will tell you what you can and can't do and what the best way is to do it.
They will charge you for it, of course, but if it means you and your neighbours saving 10 percent of the value of your home, then it will be well worth it.
I'm not sure what you mean by “first mortgage” but the advice doesn't change. Talk to a specialist strata lawyer.
By the way, this is a perfect example of the kind of contract that would have been struck down by our Federal Fair Trading laws – if they hadn't specifically excluded strata from them. Why did they exclude strata? Because vested interests persuaded the politicians in Canberra that if they weren't allowed to rip strata owners off with impunity, then they couldn't afford to build apartment blocks.
This is, of course, self interested nonsense. The best developers are building communities that people want to live in (and therefore they have no problem selling their properties). But too many of the others are greedy, heartless robber barons whose morality is based on the notion “if I can get away with it then it must be OK.” Here endeth today's spray.
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Obviously, Teys Lawyers who support this website would be worth considering – not because they give us support, per se, but because I wouldn't have them on here if I didn't think they were good operators.
Grace Lawyers are also good, Bannerman's and Suzie Broome have good reputations. But, as was pointed out by strata building consultant Chris Mo'ane of IBC in an article I wrote for the Herald recently, it depends what kind of strata lawyer you want.
For instance, my old friend Stephen Goddard of Goddard Solicitors is particularly good for mediation and conflict resolution. On the other hand David Le Page excells in a good toe-to-toe stoush.
So think about the outcome that you want and then call a couple of people on this list HERE and see what they think.There are others but I don't know them so I can't recommend them.
Maybe some of our readers have their own recommendations.
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If the tradesman is doing work for the Owners Corporation you can ask him (or her) to help with the blinds but you will have to pay extra – it's not part of the OC's work.
You need to check your by-laws to see if there's any restrictions on the type and style of blinds that you are allowed to install. If there isn't, you can do what you like as long as you don't damage common property.
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Check your by-laws to see if there is any restrictions on the type and style of blinds or curtains you are allowed to have. If there are no restrictions, you can do what you like as long as you aren't damaging common property. Fixing fittings to your walls is normally OK unless you have really strict by-laws.
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And I should have expressed myself more clearly. Hug?
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