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There are two questions here.
1. Can a lawyer be sacked. Yes. The client can sack the lawyer at any time. You will need to pay out their outstanding bills in order to receive gour file , which you will need to for your next lawyer.
2. In a strata, who can sack the lawyer. In my opinion, and it’s sketchy, it’s usually through the committee that legal action is conducted. If the committee resolves that the lawyer is not progressing their matter competently, then the committee can sack them.
The standard agreement for lawyers is that they work on an hourly basis, and hen e can be sacked at any time
But changing lawyers mid stream is a risky move that the courts do not look on favourably as it disrupts the flow of proceedings.
It’s not what you think is right, it’s what the landlord considers right.
You are correct in saying that the stovetop has a depreciated value. That’s what you would be expected to pay if you took it to NCAT.. You need to do your research. How much is a new stove top that’s equivalent (not some cheap brand). How old is it? Calculate the depreciated value. Put that to the landlord and see what he says.
If the landlord does not agree, at the end of your lease you can dispute this through NCAT.
Don’t buy a new stove top because it’s unlikely you will get your money back unless the landlord agrees to some payment.
Unfortunately you have damaged the stove top and are liable to reinstate it to the previous condition.
It’s a fine line to tread.
The SSMA says that the OC must maintain the common property. If that’s the case then a committee cannot vote to not do a repair. So in effect a committee decision is redundant.
The standard strata management contract says the strata manager can authorise repairs up to $500 without referring to the committee. It’s a form of expediency ( and common sense).
Above $500, it’s assumed that the strata manager will get some quotes and the committee d3cides which to accept. In my experience the committee is polled by email . Remember thst repair is mandatory, so the decision is whom to use to do the repair. Again common sense needs to prevail as one would not do this where repairs ran to thousands of dollars.
The above decisions can be noted ( retrospectively) at the next committee meeting.
This informal approval process ensures thst repairs are done in a timely manner. The alternative may be to be calling weekly committee meetings.
The strata lawyer is sort of correct. The act does not say when or how many committee meetings are required ( unlike the AGM). But good governance would dictate some committee meetings , even if just to discuss things. ( it’s always a surprise to me that people will bring up issues in a meeting but remain silent otherwise)
From my recent experience, NCAT seems to either treat the case as simple or complex.
I know in a complex case, it took about 3 weeks to get to the first hearing. This just sets up a timetable for the evidence. The to and fro of putting on evidence and rebuttal, was scheduled for 4 months. The other party discontinued the proceedings during this period, so I can’t provide commentary of how long it took to get to court.
My opinion is that it’s not a fast process ( as most court cases are). I think it’s entirely possible that in the process of putting on evidence the situation can change entirely.
One needs to be prepared for a long emotional process, so be sure you want to pursue your case.It may be too late, but the OC seems to have taken the cheap route in terms of a fix.
Having worked as a project manger in the past, we often came up situations where we could not shut the whole shop down. So we developed plans to do staged work.
Each project is different, but usually the builder can find a solution to ensure less inconvenience. But this comes at a cost ( to the OC)
Truleconcerned
Read the NCAT website as it speaks about costs orders.( don’t remember what the url is)
You can’t ask for costs long after the case is closed
The time to ask for costs is either in your initial pleadings, or straight after the judgement is handed down.
When asking for a costs order, you don’t need to quote the act. The courts know what it is.When asking for costs, you need to b3 prepared. You need to understand what costs can be asked. You can’t ask for payment of your time preparing the case or payment because you missed work. You can ask for lawyers costs, even if they did not represent you in court.
You can’t get costs at mediation UNLESS the other party agrees to pay ( unlikely) as part of the settlement agreement. However if a settlement is not reached and it goes to court, your costs of attending/ preparing for the mediation can be considered.
Costs are purely at the discretion of the judge, and it has been known for a party to win a case and yet get no costs awarded, or to have to pay the other party.
The strata management agreement will list the fees for them representing the OC.
The rules of NCAT allow the OC to be represented by the strata manager (use of lawyers is not usually permitted).
Most committee members would not be comfortable representing the OC in court, and hence use the experience of the strata manager to do thst, even if to just sit in court.
Since you were the applicant, you would have been excluded from all correspondence from the strata manager to the OC in relation to this matter ( it’s usually referred to as the principle of legal privilege).
It’s also a lesson to “ cover your bases “ with the orders you request. You could have included an order that the costs of the OC are paid by all owners except you. If you don’t ask, you don’t get.
I was an owner in a strata property many years ago. I also rented out my property
At the time I was the chairman and treasurer.
A tenant got the proxy of his landlord and got sufficient support to roll me and to lead the strata committee.
I have to say that this tenant did an excellent job in leading the strata (we were self managed then).
I was bummed at the time, but on reflection I had gone stale and the committee needed a new direction.Its sometimes more beneficial to have someone who will take an interest in the property, rather than whether they are an owner.
BTW I am chairman of two strata where I am not an owner. I consider thst because of my experience and the time I have available, I make a significant contribution to these strata.
My one experience with SCA is dismal.
The OC sacked the strata manager, a well known Sydney company.
We then lodged a complaint with SCA. It was supported by good proof. They gave the complaint to the strata manager (that’s reasonable ).
It took a long time to get a reply, after which SCA replied that no breaches of their rules had occurred. However they would not release to the OC the response from the strata manager, nor the minutes where the SCA board reviewed the case.
No justice there.
Take the owner to NCAT under section 132.
NCAT can then order the structure to be removed, but the astute owner would accede to the OC and be more compliant.
Truleconcerned
what you have described is that the OC limited the powers of the strata manager.
Thats a pretty easy thing to do.
Sacking a strata manager is very difficult. Firstly their contract will dictate the conditions that they can be sacked for (and incompetence is not one of the conditions). Secondly they can be removed by a court if found guilty of some criminal offence (eg fraud) but the OC has the burden to prove their case, which is time consuming and expensive.
Pamster
the section of the act you are looking for is 132
rectification of works by an owner
don’t wait .
the first thing the OC should do is issue a notice to comply . Look at your bylaws but there will be one about damage to common property.
The condition of the lot owner getting approval should br
a) a bylaw for the addition
b) approval by the council. Any such structure requires approval by council, irrespective thst the OC has approved.
Hopefullythe owner plays along, but if the owner is reluctant you can take it all the way to NCAT.
An interesting situation.
Firstly examine whether you can do anything to reduce the noise, even if you believe you are right.
Secondly, if you believe that you are reasonable, wait for the next step from the OC. They can ask for mediation, in which case a compromise may be agreed.
The OC may decide to take it further. It’s up to the OC to prove you are a nuisance. The neighbours diary is one piece of evidence, but they would need additional reports such as police records and acoustic reports to solidify their case.
The problem may just be the neighbour and thst could be flushed out at mediation.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not suggesting it’s impossible.
However the days when you could register a bylaw for some $130 is passed, since we went to PEXA.
it’s now nearer to $500 and if you get a lawyer to draft the bylaw you’re over $1000.
I think it’s irresponsible for the OC to spend money on bylaws which are mere paper.
If I recall correctly, Amanda Farmer suggested that there was a way to write a bylaw that referred to a schedule of rules. Since the schedule of rules is unregulated, the schedule can be changed even by the committee without requiring registration.
Maybe if Amanda reads this she can confirm or deny.