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Thought I would add we are using a major insurance broker and major insurance company, so this has the potential to affect many others, as the National Construction Code and Australian Standards are a moving feast.
Now I have been told we cannot even carry out the relatively minor repairs, involving re-laying and repointing some barge tiles on one edge, and re-attaching sarking plus a few flashing laps on the other edge. The main part of the roof, including its structure are not affected.
To repair these items we have to replace the roof with a new roof, built to a new pitch, thus requiring a new structure. An alternative offered is to replace the section in question with metal, over half of one townhouse, whilst the rest of the townhouse and complex has a tiled roof.
How can it be that owners of buildings which pre-date current construction codes cannot maintain their buildings?
The first sentence by onedoordown indicates the neighbour could possibly be liable for the consequences of blocking the drain. Legal advice will be necessary and an assessment made whether the costs would justify whatever amount was recovered. If it is pursued, the neighbour may then decide 50/50 is an excellent deal.
The local council may be able to assist initially with an explanation of their stormwater drainage rules.
The addition of tiles would likely be covered by s108 SSMA as an alteration for the purpose of improving or enhancing the common property. A rooftop covered with tiles is a different thing to a rooftop with a bare membrane only, in a similar way that a rendered wall with pipework chased into it is a different thing to bare brickwork with pipes attached, as discussed in Qlenquarry Park Investments Pty Ltd v Hegyesi.
This would require a special resolution passed at a general meeting.
Your explanation, up to 300 words per item, should be able to be included with the meeting notice and thus no additional postage costs to the owner proposing items for the agenda.
if it is too late to do this, you could obtain addresses from the Strata Roll and distribute the information yourself. Strata managing agents will charge schedule fees as per their contract for each page copied, each envelope and each postal item which yield a profit to them.
Like Quirky, I am intending setting up a gmail account for all strata communications. In the case of the secretary and chairman, I think it should be sufficient for them to choose a preferred method of contact, phone or email or both, to be notified to the hub. There is a separate notification of an emergency contact person, and so it is not vital that phone numbers be provided to the hub for administrative matters.
How to campaign for an amendment to the regulations?
A call to customer service for the brand may be in order. The glass should be available as a replacement part. The induction coils and other workings sit below the glass. The economy of this would depend upon the after sales service of the particular brand.
This seems to be a landlord and tenant matter rather than a strata issue? Though I imagine Flatchatters who are investors/landlords would be very interested.
The strata committee needs to hold a meeting, and it can be a “paper meeting”, in order to appoint its nominees to attend the mediation on the owners corporation’s behalf, and give those nominees the authority to settle the matter. The secretary or strata managing agent responds to the mediation invitation from Fair Trading with this information, by the due date given, otherwise it is deemed non attendance by the owners corporation. The response could also be that the owners corporation wishes to decline the invitation.
Fair Trading issues a mediation outcomes letter after mediation which is unsuccessful or partially successful, to the mediation applicant to then include in their application to NCAT. There is a similar letter for when mediation does not take place due to absence of a party. These letters are the necessary evidence that mediation has been attempted.
An owners corporation that is unsuccessful in an action brought against it in NCAT by an owner cannot use the administrative or capital works funds to pay its costs and expenses. It may raise a special levy, but cannot levy a successful owner for a share of the owners corporation’s costs and expenses (s104 SSMA 2015).
TrulEConcerned should not be charged a share of the $880.
Mediation is not a dress rehearsal for NCAT. It is an opportunity for the parties to negotiate their own solution, on their own terms. Once they arrive at NCAT they will be subject to the solution imposed upon them by the tribunal.
If the matter is not resolved at mediation that does not mean the mediation has been a waste of time. Parties can learn useful information about the motivation of the other party, how far apart from resolution the parties are, and insights into the likely manner the other party will run their case. You can better understand which aspects matter most to them. This all helps with preparing a strategy for NCAT, or the possibility of reaching a settlement further down the line.
Have you checked the Strata Managing Agency Agreement? That will show what the strata managing agent is entitled to charge for representing the owners corporation at NCAT.
If the attendance at NCAT was within this current month (2 weeks ago?) the charge has likely not been fully processed through the accounts and into your scheme’s monthly statement. When it does hit the statement it will be lumped in under “additional services”.
Asking for a breakdown of the amount for “additional services” shown in their invoice in the relevant month should be easier for someone in the accounting department to find.
This is the dilemma owners corporations are caught in, when there is disagreement about how to proceed with remedial works. In many cases the person specifying the scope of works is also going to be the person conducting the tender process for a fee, then supervising for a percentage of the contract value. Little wonder some owners may be sceptical when this person has a pecuniary interest in the project. More so when they actually sell the equipment.
Owners can choose to “eke out” the repairs and maintenance if they have insufficient finances or other priorities. The law is fine with that, but how often are owners told this? It may not be the “best” course of action, and it is not desirable to encourage a race to the bottom, but it can help owners reach decisions if they have all the relevant facts, and maybe the sceptics are more likely to agree if they feel confident they are making their decision knowing all the options.
Was the Chairman chairing the meeting, or only step up when the motion regarding changing strata managing agents came up? As it is the Chairman’s role to preside over meetings and make determinations regarding procedure one would expect that whoever was occupying that role for the meeting should have called everyone to order, or adjourned the meeting to another date if the owners would not cooperate.
Many schemes only have an AGM each year, no other general meetings. If the strata managing agent is to be involved with organising an extra general meeting it can get quite expensive, particularly if there are many owners or a venue has to be arranged.
For smoother running in the future, in cases where it is proposed to change the strata managing agent it is better to obtain sufficient votes in favour beforehand and also have a replacement strata managing agent lined up if the agreement is close to expiring. The motions for the meeting could then include one to appoint the new strata managing agent, with a copy of their proposal/contract attached to the agenda.
Admittedly all easier said than done.
Yes there quite possibly is a “troublesome type” who already know better because they used to run BHP or similar.
However many downsizing boomers are buying expensive apartments which sometimes cost $multi million. When someone has a large amount of capital tied up in asset they are motivated to become involved in its management. With more money at stake the issues become amplified.
These “badly behaving boomers” may become the generation of strata owners and residents that forces changes such as the introduction of a Strata Commissioner?