[Jimmy-T]

FYI: This is a reference to the benefit principle in the Victoria Owners Corporation Act

49 Cost of repairs, maintenance or other works

(1) An owners corporation may recover as a debt the cost of repairs, maintenance or other works undertaken wholly or substantially for the benefit of one or some, but not all, of the lots affected by the owners corporation from the lot owners.

(2) The amount payable by the lot owners is to be calculated on the basis that the lot owner of the lot that benefits more pays more.

(3) The works referred to in this section may be to the common property or a lot.

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[Jimmy-T]

I assume you are in Victoria. Correct?  The reason I say this is that the Benefit Principle – whereby owners who don’t benefit from items or work paid for out of strata funds, don’t have to contribute towards them – applies in Victoria but not in NSW.

Also, you posted the same question in two different threads in this Forum – that’s not allowed and your other post has been deleted.

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[Jimmy-T]

If the other owners won’t let you participate, apply to NCAT for the appointment of a statutory strata manager who will take over the running of the whole building.

Otherwise, you and your neighbours (as a strata committee)  need to register with Project Intervene and get the Building Commissioner’s help (or his office’s) in sorting this mess out.  Listen to last week’s podcast to hear exactly what that means.

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[Jimmy-T]

Peyronnet wrote:

Who would be responsible for the damage to the laminated floor? The OC? Or should the owner of the unit submit a claim to their insurance?

It depends who was responsible for the initial leak – i.e. if the leak started in lot property, and was the lot owner’s responsibility, and only passed through common property, it probably isn’t an Owners Corp responsibility.

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[Jimmy-T]

kaindub wrote:

Firstly they [strata managers] are not an owner, so do not have any voting or speaking rights.

If the strata manager is asked a question then they are entitled if not expected to answer.  The only reference to “speaking rights” that I can find in the NSW Act refers to owners who attend meetings but must get the permission of the committee before speaking. Also, if the strata mangers are holding proxies, they are entitled to vote except on matters relating to their contracts or remuneration.
Conflicts of interest do not negate votes – they simply have to be declared.

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[Jimmy-T]

The original post was in March last year so don’t be holding your breath waiting for a reply. Also, you have raised your issue in another thread.  Please pick a lane and stay in it.

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[Jimmy-T]

Pancho wrote:

Do you know if a pending VCAT application will make it difficult to sell or rent out my property?

It might make a potential buyer hesitate.  A tenant will be none the wiser but you are required to tell potential buyers and  renters about issues that might affect their comfort and safety etc.

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[Jimmy-T]

tina wrote:

My guess is that it was a candle.  People light candles when they remember the dead.

Oops.  Not familiar with that tradition in relation to Anzac Day.  Makes my comment about bottle rockets seem a bit insensitive.

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[Jimmy-T]

OPERAKAT wrote:

Here we go again, I don’t want to sound precious but why use another headline attacking Victoria …

“Victoria” doesn’t appear in either headline.   Not precious but a wee bit parochial. Should I not mention the state in the stories I write?

… ending with “Could this happen in NSW? Yes, probably. Would the developer get away with it? I very much doubt if the new block would avoid the kind of forensic scrutiny that would put them out of business”

I think the comparison is valid.  Things are far from perfect in NSW but at least the government is trying to fix things, hence the programs that will catch phoenixers and drive repeat offenders out of business.

The scrutiny applied to your “new development” wouldn’t help the poor owners of the original property,

The young woman concerned realised this but wanted to get the story out to warn others.  The developer’s name will be made public eventually, rest assured.

by the way, there are another four states and territories you might complain about

And I do, particularly NSW, Queensland and to a lesser extent WA and Tasmania.

good luck with your new book I will look out for it at the Hill of Content.

Great bookshop, if it’s anything like the one in Balmain. My partner and I were there just a week or so ago when she was signing copies of her new book “That Bligh Girl”.

And with regard to me writing about Victoria, someone has to do it or nothing will change.  Mainstream media seems very reluctant to touch apartment stories and the government agencies are collapsing under their own weight.

I am no Andrews-basher, but the Victorian government seems to have a blind spot when it comes to strata and the media is letting them get away with it.

 

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[Jimmy-T]

Flame Tree (Qld) wrote:

I’d think the flip the apartment upside down and see what doesn’t move

I think I’d go with Scotlandx’s answer which is pretty much on the money and is based on the “actual legislation”.

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[Jimmy-T]

andyj wrote:

My neighbor set fire to her bedroom curtains earlier this year during an Anzac Day display.

Okay, I give up. What is the significance of the Anzac Day display?  Was she firing bottle rockets out of her window?

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[Jimmy-T]

Anyone can raise a complaint about a strata manager  but the strata committee would have to hold a meeting before doing that as representatives of the strata scheme.

As for the spoiler motion, it’s only a conflict of interest if the strata manager used proxy votes to vote on it.  And if  by indemnity you mean that it refers to costs being charged back to plaintiffs in a case against the strata scheme or managers, then it is probably invalid.

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[Jimmy-T]

It strikes me that a Special Sustainability Resolution is the easiest way to get an agreement that obliges the installer to agree to maintain and repair the windows and doors as need be.

Just go to the meeting and ask that it be amended to a Special Sustainability Resolution – which only requires a 51 per cent vote in favour (like any other)

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[Jimmy-T]

Sir Humphrey wrote:

As people try to be more energy efficient and reduce costs, you might find demand for open air drying goes up, not down.

I would wait until the increases in energy costs kick in, then take a poll among all residents – owners and renters – and see how they feel about losing a free laundry drying facility.

By the way, according to strata lawyer David Bannerman in last week’s podcast, bans on laundry on balconies are gradually being phased out in many strata schemes.

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[Jimmy-T]

OPERAKAT wrote:

… going by the act you have quoted it’s straightforward and achievable.

Achievable, for sure, but straightforward? I don’t know how many people usually turn up at general meetings in Victoria – or hand in proxies or postal votes – but 75 per cent of all owners or unit entitlements is a massive threshold.

Even 50% of all owners (not just those present or voting at the meeting) is hard to achieve.  Then there’s the whole 29 days “cooling off” period while you wait to see if the opposition can garner 25% of the votes against.

Compare that to NSW where it takes 75 % of votes in favour by the unit entitlements of lots represented at the meeting. If it passes, it passes; if it fails, it fails. Now that is straightforward.  It’s not perfect but it’s easy to understand.

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