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There are two overlapping concepts here.
For the purposes of maintenance, lot owners fixtures and fittings are owned and maintained by the lot owner. An example is built in wardrobes or kitchen cabinets.
For the purposes of insurance, some lot owners fixtures and fittings are covered by the OC insurance. The common determination is, if the building is turned upside down, anything that does not fall out is covered by the OC insurance. So built in wardrobes and kitchen cabinets are covered by the OC insurance.
I don’t recall thst this is legislated, but if you refer to the PDS of your insurance policy it will be explained.
On the complementary side, contents insurance for a strata lot does not cover the afore mentioned built in wardrobes and kitchen cabinets, because it’s covered by the OC insurance.
Its just one of the mysteries of strata.
Jimmy
i agree
Sometimes there are just nutters out there.
Thats the price we pay for strata living
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The inspection can all be legitimate.
Property owners are not permitted to drain water and sewerage across another property. To do so requires an easement.
Many older drainage systems cross properties and they could have been determining if this was the case.
As far as getting an easement on your property. Only in exceptional cases will a court force a land owner to be burdened with an easement. However you will be awarded compensation for this.
Usually an adjoining property owner will request an easement across your property. You can refuse it, or you can allow it again with compensation agreed between the two parties.
The requesting party pays all the legal and registration costs.
Jimmy
thats why the order of the motions is important.
if owners vote for motion 1 and nor 2, then they are saddled with stumping up some money.
And why would someone not vote to return money to them, though I guess you could find some crazy souls out there.
It worked in my case because all owners were aware of what we were doing, and the reasons why.
There is another way which I have used.
convene a general meeting.
first motion is to raise a special levy of $x for say the capital works fund payable in 30 days
second motion says if motion 1 is approved, $x from the admin fund is returned to the owners in 30 days.
second motion cancels out first. No money changes hands and one fund balance decreases and the other increases
To start with the easy answer.
Whos responsible.
Not the strata manager – they only act on the instructions of the owners. ( in the plural not the singular)
Not the council. The council is responsible for regulating the built environment. If the improvements contravene a council rule, they can require an owner to conform. Hedges and trees are a state government responsibility via the respective legislation.
Maybe the OC. Only to the extent where an issue is of general nuisance to the property. It seems that you are soLely affected by the neighbour, so you could be on your own here.
Generally properties are required to be fenced with a standard fence. I’d say a bamboo screen would not comply. However if the screen is entirely on the other property, short of court there is nothing you can do.
I think the action you are taking is correct.
good luck
Remember thst any contract is a mutual agreement between two parties.
in the extreme a court can annul a contract if one party Is disadvantaged .
I have heard of strata managers saying thst they can’t change the SCA contract so take it. Owners could then just refuse to sign such a contract and find a strata manager who is more amenable.
Despite their bad reputation, there are some very good strata managers who will align with the owners.
And there is more than the SCA contract out there. We recently resigned with our strata manager and they had their own management contract which was very fair.
This is not a strata issue
What you are seeking is damages for the trimming of the shrubs, which is a civil matter.
You mention thst replacement trees are $3200. You have to consider thst to clsim these damages you would need to go to court , unless of course the aOC admitted guilt and paid you out. If you go to a court you would probably need a lawyer. The lawyer would cost more than what you are asking for and it’s likely you would win, but the court would probably not award you costs because the legal costs exceeded the cost of the claim.
You could try to represent yourself, but your chances of success are somewhat less and you may be burdened with the OCs legal costs.
Its not fair.
Try to negotiate a resolution with the OC outside of the court.
On reflection, I dont think thst giving all functions to the strata manager is Carter blanche.
The act allows the functions of the chair, secretary and treasurer to be assigned to the strata manager. But the act is very specific of the functions of these positions and no way does it say any function has decision making power for the OC.
The act allows the appointment by the court of a compulsory strata manager. Under thst delegation , the strata manager has full functional control as well as full decision making control. Note thst this is court determined.
I believe that if there is no committee, then the decisions of the OC must be made at a general meeting. ( the intent of the committee by the legislators is so thst a small group can make decisions for the whole group).
So in the posters case, ANY decision must be put to all owners at a general meeting. The decisions can’t be made by the strata manager as the act only allows this where a compulsory strata manager is appointed.
Hang on. No SC. That means no strata committee?
So how is the strata manager getting instructions?
The strata manager can be delegated the functions of the chairman, secretary and treasurer but thst does not extend to making decisions of the OC.
Has a general meeting been held to confirm the lawyer.? To decline mediation at NCAT?
I think you have a strata manager that’s overstepping their authority.If you ever get to NCAT on this issue, I’d raise with the tribunal whether the strata manager or the lawyer isvauthorised to represent the OC.
You may find you are fighting no one and get a judgement in your favour because the other side did not turn up.
I agree with the guidelines you propose.
However the fires associated with lithium batteries in consumer equipment mostly due to poor charging equipment, usually bought with cheap products.
Do you think the people who buy such ( cheap) products are going to adhere to the policy?
Also where are you going to find the lithium cops? Whilst I understand a lot of the technical detail in your proposal, most lay people are not knowledgeable enough to make those distinctions.
I agree it’s a problem of concern.
Perhaps a better way to tackle this issue is an education program in your community.
Maybe back thst up with a site visit by a suitably qualified electrician to check the equipment people are using. I’m thinking of a work area in your garage where people can bring their batteries and charges and get an inspection for free.
Do you mean what are termed “Embedded networks”
Embedded networks are where an energy retailer or the Owners Corporation buys electricty in “bulk” and then on sells it to tenants
I cant think of any other way for a strata to “bulk” buy electricity
Embedded networks are a source of discomfort for many owners. There are good embedded network contracts and there are bad embedded network contracts
Its not easy to change from one to the other.
I think its unusual for an OC to hire a lawyer to represent them. Perhaps the lawyer is hired to provide legal opinion to the OC and it will be represented by a committee member or the strata manager.
Remember that mediation is NOT about determining who is legally correct. Its a process for two parties to come to a mutually acceptable resolution. If the OC wants to lawyer up, then they would be better to save their time and money; refuse mediation and go directly to NCAT
At mediation, the lawyer cant make agreements on behalf of the OC unless instructed at the mediation by either the strata manager or a committee member.
You may also want to look at S103 of the Act. Hiring of lawyers needs approval of the OC, unless its an emergency or the bill will be less than $10000.
You can find out all this stuff by asking for the lawyers cost agreement with the OC (lawyers must provide this at the start of the engagement in order to be paid) Its NOT a legally priviledged document and as an owner you can access it as its a record of the OC.
I think you miss some of the key aspects of what is going on here. The agent has fiduciary duties. There is a massive conflict when it comes to being Chair for this motion because the Chair has such a huge financial interest in the motion. The issue arises when the Chair is asked to rule the motion out of order. There is a whole lot more to being Chair than seeing orderly conduct and discussion.
It’s sort of unclear what you are looking for from this forum. If it’s to vindicate your view that the strata manager is acting in their interest, then that’s obvious. But being right does not make the problem go away. Something needs to be done.
Unfortunately for you , you have a do nothing committee. Unless the composition of the committee changes, then nothing else will. The toughest thing I have found in life is for someone to step up and “ fight the good fight”
It takes a lot of emotional energy, a lot of time, sometimes money. You make some enemies along the way. Most people are not prepared to take this on, in addition to the rest of their lives. It also takes a lot of political noise.
First step is to get on the committee. Second step is to be elected Secretary or Chairman. Are you the one to champion your cause?
Your committee and strata manager should be pursuing these defects with gusto,
I say this because if the defects are not paid by the developer, all the owners will be liable for the cost.
The owners corporation is required to repair and maintain all common property. There is no carve out for building defects.