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When framing motions I keep these things in mind.
I generally will start with “ That the committee resolves to….”
Then there is a clause or clauses that describe what is being resolved. Remember that a clause contains a noun and a verb. It’s the verb part which is important as it describes the action.
In you example. “ That the committee resolved that the Strata Manager will Write to the resident of lot 9 asking to refrain from noisy parties after 9pm” ( or some suitable wording)
Remember that a motion can be amended at the meeting by a vote.
But without a suitably worded motion, how does anyone,committee or owner, know what the outcome one is voting on.
Also, having properly worded motions forces people to think about what they want to happen. It reduces meetings from talk fests and turns them into decision making meetings.
And as JT said, there can be discussion at the end of the meeting.
I usually minute the discussion for the record, and if there something that requires a resolution, place it on the next meeting notice.
Again this is good meeting practice as it forces the committee to be planning ahead, for the current meeting, knowing that a motion not on the agenda will be pushed out to the next meeting.
Just to clarify.
In a vote for a motion, if the motion results in a tied vote then the motion is defeated.
As JT says, one can call a poll vote where votes are then counted in relation to ones unit entitlements. But this is not a revote.
There is no provision in the act to revote a motion thst has passed or failed. It stands as it was voted on in the first place, unless the poll vote tips the result the other way.Any motion can be amended at the meeting. This is a powerful tool , in my opinion, in strata. Firstly anyone can move. Motion to amend a motion. So in this case the motion to amend the motion would be “ levies of X dollars”. You then get a chance to put forward your argument for the AMENDED motion. The only people who can vote on the amendment are the people in attendance at the meeting.
If the wording for the amended motion is passed, then the amended motion is voted upon.
Again the only people who can vote on this are the people in the meeting.It seems weird how I describe it,but that’s correct meeting procedure.
And as for the committee. Each candidate stands on their own at each election. A person currently on the committee needs to garner sufficient votes at the meeting to be elected to the committee. AND a candidate can not be voted out nor excluded from standing.
A candidate can be not elected if the number of positions to be voted for are less than the number of candidates.
My experience with small strata is that it’s unusual to have too many candidates, especially when so many lots are investment properties,where owners are not involved.
Fruitzebra
I would suggest to invest the $50 or $80 and take the online OCN course for committee members. It will give you greater clarity as to how strata works.
The certificate of title of the strata is the sole document advising lot property boundaries and common property.
You are trying to claim adverse possession, a form of squatting. Unfortunately adverse possession requires more than just using common property.
In a perfect world Your conveyancer should have pointed out the illegal use of common property. The reality is that conveyancers don’t physically inspect the property in order to compare the title deeds with reality.
When I purchased my first strata property, my solicitor places the strata plan in front of me and asked “show me what you think you are buying”. Great way to find out if what I was shown was on the plan.
As in all commercial transactions, never rely on the word of the vendor unless they are prepared to include it in the contract.
Sorry, you are out of luck.
Two points to consider.
As far as I can tell, like strata managers, there is no standard fee. It depends on what the building manager does.
So if their contract is up for renewal, go out to the market and get some quotes. Let the incumbent know that you are getting other quotes. Thst will force him to sharpen his pencil. Don’t be surprised if you get some good deals. The habit of yearly increases of CPI tends to make the current supplier overpriced. I’m sure the encumbering will be miffed. Strata managers and building managers are depending on the lack of inertia of the OC to stay employed.
Secondly, the OC is entering into a contract. By definition , in a non monopolistic market, the contract is an agreement between two parties, where the contract represents a meeting of the minds. You are not obliged to take the terms offered by the building manager. Get your best negotiator on the case and negotiate the conditions you are happy with. Remember thst the building manager wants to keep your business and will accomodate your requests, to a point. But he may not be happy about it.
Your building manager is an easily replaceable service. Don’t let them convince you otherwise.The act does NOT bar a person served a breach notice from nominating for the committee.
If there are more candidates than the number of places on the committee, one may find that the votes go against the candidate.
In my opinion, whilst it happens from time to time, the committee members should be setting the example, which means being compliant with the by laws.
I am not a plumber but I can use the internet.
I will assume that Sydney Water is your water supply authority, but it’s likely other water supply authorities would be similar.
Sydney Water states that the water meter is their property and they are responsible for it. There is no exclusion that I can see that limits them to repairing meters within a meter of the boundary.
(I had cause just this month to call Sydney Water to repair a leaking meter that they had installed. The building was 250 meters from the road and the meter was some 20 meters from the boundary. No problem with Sydney Water).
I understand, but I could be mistaken, that Sydney Water provides a courtesy service to customers for small issues near their meters. It’s free but with conditions.
According to Sydney Water the consumer is responsible for all pipework and isolation valves .
In a strata property, the OC will be responsible for all pipework and isolation valves on common property. The lot owner is responsible for pipework and taps within their lot.The above statement is somewhat simplified and may need a mutual understanding between the lot owner and the OC as to who is responsible for what.
First thing you need to do, if not done already, is to get the title document to your lot and study the wording of the right of carriageway. Youmay need to get the help of a lawyer. Rights of carriageway are not cookie cutters, but can be different shades. It depends on how it is written.
You also will need the title document of the strata scheme, in order to satisfy yourself that they have the right to use the carriageway.
The documents may specify the circumstances under which your land can be crossed. You may be able to prevent the building manager from crossing your land if these conditions are not met.
Rights of carriageway are extremely difficult to extinguish or modify. They need the consent of both parties.
once your land is burdened with a right of carriageway, you have little recourse except to permit the benefitted party from using it.
Another tactic you may want to consider: The change in use of the room from generator to meeting room/office would probably require a DA. Demand that the OC submits a DA and then object it to the council that the room does not have suitable access , since it passes your car.
Additionally raise the issue that as the room will be used as office/meeting room, egress in the case of fire would be limited because your lawfully parked car will impede free access.
The appeal judgement in the Cooper case will be remembered well into the future. In my opinion, and I am just a bush lawyer, it’s principles extend far further than just pets. Watch this space.
What the judgement did say was that a man’s home is his castle. It raised a persons right to do what they pleased in their lot above the ability of OC to regulate this via by-laws.
The OC may enact by-laws that place certain reasonable restrictions on an owner of a pet. And I am certain that some buildings will try and make It hard for pet owners. But in my opinion these by-laws are likely to fail.
The wording of the judgement was very clear and was extensive in blocking out the counter arguments.
Pet owners should be thankful that Jackie Cooper had a large enough pocket to take the matter as far as she did. It will likewise require OC and pet owners to have the determination and money to argue against having pets in strata.
For many people this is a very emotional issue – on both sides.
Certain people are not comfortable with being around animals. And other people consider their pets as children.
But consider this. Should the OC create a bylaw to ban children? Whilst for some residents this is tempting, the reality is that bringing up children is a fundamental right, not to be interfered with by any person or court.
So what if we reset our paradigm to say, all pets are beautiful creatures, until proven otherwise. Once one accepts that, it should become easier to respect the need of others to keep pets in strata.If one reads the new laws, anyone can petition the tribunal to remove a disruptive animal.
Lets give the animals the benefit of the doubt before casting them all as evil.
I can hear in my mind “ be careful what you wish for”
These old blocks were built to different fire regulations. It’s not required to upgrade these buildings to the current regulations, unless ordered by the local council. Most of these buildings don’t need annual fire inspections.
I think that once you start the “ upgrade” process, every owners pet project will become a security or fire risk.
That may cost the OC a lot of unwanted expense in the long run.If there are people lobbying to get the milk boxes removed, just say that it’s a cosmetic renovation, which is probably the real reason anyway.
The strata manager is correct, according to the act
You may think why can’t they just accomodate my request. The answer is that the software that most strata managers use to manage most aspects of strata don’t allow for two addresses.
Its a bugbear of mine thst when I self managed a strata complex things like this were easy to do. When we went to management by a strata manager, there was less flexibility in any aspects of the management. If the software didn’t do it, there was no exceptions.
I concur with JT.
We had a similar problem in a building that I am chair.
A lot owner had damaged flooring from pipe leak. She got the details of the insurer and made a claim directly. The OC and the strata manager were unsure who was responsible, but we did not discourage the lot owner making a claim.
The insurance company paid her claim. The OC was not out any money as we had already made a claim and paid the excess for damage to OC property.
In the end it was a satisfactory outcome, particularly that the lot owner liased with the insurance of company in regards to the repair and scheduling to suit her.
DP is not the common vernacular us mortals use. We use strata title, company title and torreNs title.
However every parcel of land is stored in LPI as a deposited plan – DP.
Firstly I think that you would have difficulty enforcing these requirements on individual lots if they are engaging people to do their private work.
In any case you would need to vet every cleaner, plumber, electrician, ironing person,dog walker . It’s just not practical let alone reasonable and dare I say legal. (The OC does not have jurisdiction of people’s private property).You could make a bylaw requiring wearing masks on common property, but every person in the block would need to comply( bylaws can’t be discriminatory).
For the common property, who’s going to vet the contractors? As you say, it’s likely that if the conditions are too onerous, your strata will find it hard to get timely repairs.
Since most businesses are conscious of keeping COVID safe, how about asking them if they have a COVID plan. Don’t use the ones without a plan but let the ones who do self regulate.
If you are still concerned ask for their COVID plan, and then do a short audit when they attend.