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Meters installed by developers are called check meters, and are not acceptable to (say) Sydney Water for billing purposes.
Sydney Water, upon request, can change out the non compliant meters ton their own . They do it at no cost to the OC, provided certain conditions are met.Have a look at your bylaws, and see whether they mention embedded networks. Water can fall under embedded networks and is less regulated than electricity. If embedded networks are allowed then the OC may be able to read the check meters and charge on a usage basis.
The by-law I refer to is by-law 7 of the model by laws from the 2016 act. It was bylaw 6 in the model by laws for pre 2016 buildings. And it existed in the model by laws in the 1973 act.
In my building we have the standard by-law for “Behaviour of Owners , occupants and invitees” Used it a couple of times for good effect.
The other tactic that one strata manager uses is to hold committee and general meetings off site ie in his office. When the troublemaker starts trouble, the strata manager gives a warning and the next outburst uninvites the troublemaker from the premises. That then makes it a trespass and the police can be called to remove the troublemaker.
JT
(to put it in context I live in a stand alone house)
Consider he council worker who comes and takes my garbage. yes he is doing work, but the street is not considered to be a place of work under the act.
One needs to read the act and the definitions of a workplace . Otherwise everything would be a workplace.
BTW your apartment is your workplace since you work from there. Do you have an evacuation plan? I mean one thats documented and then tested?
One needs to take the advice of WorkplaceNSW with a grain of salt.
The WHS act has a definition of a workplace, and generally strata buildings don’t fall in that category.
The act is in place to protect workers .If someone is pushing this barrow in your building, I’d put it as a motion at a general meeting, with arguments for and against so that the owners can decide whether to go down this path.
Remember that these plans need to be documented, which has a cost, and then the next step is having fire wardens. Which requires someone to volunteer for this and then get trained. And then you need to have occasional fire drills to make sure your plans actually work.
In this case you need to pick your battles as they say.
Pick an important issue that was not implemented and go to NCAT. The mere thought that you stand up to the rusted on ones may make them have a rethink.
Justbsittingnon the sidelines and doing nothing will never change anything.
JT advice to set the ground rules for communications is a good strategy, especially if you can get it minuted.
How is this person able to get a voice. Remember that a strata is a democracy, where the decision of the majority rules. Just tell them that whatever decision they don’t like has been voted at a correctly convened meeting, and the decision stands.
Point out that schedules 1 and 2 tell him how he can get decisions changed (provided he can gain enough support)
You do not need a long list of abuses in order to file an Apprehended Personal Violence Order. You do not even have to have a medical complaint. Just one well documented incident is sufficient.
The grounds for seeking an APVO are pretty broad and when you file it (you do not need a solicitor but I would recommend you get one once court appearances start) the registrar will look at your application and give general direction whether an APVO is appropriate.
The interim order you get initially is as good as a final order, being that if they break the interim order it’s a criminal offence. But you need to go to court to get final orders.
It cost me around $2000 in solicitors fees in order to get a final order. We didn’t get to court and the other party consented to the order. And this was strata related.
If the culprits are ignoring the terms of your tenancy agreement, do you think they will be more inclined to obey any by law?
Your issue is really a landlord tenant issue , and whilst many people object to AB&B in apartments, you’re literally dragging a non interested party into solving your problem.
Apart from vigilance on your part, there is no solution to the problem you describe as the culprits are gone well before the legal system can react.
How about including a clause in your tenancy agreement that for any subletting they split the profits with you . At least you have a means to hold back their bond in lieieu of the split of profit.
I agree with most of JT reply.
My stance in my first reply was to try and say that whilst by-laws are an effective tool In strata, they need to be used judiciously.
If a non by-law way can’t be used to convince owners to fit working smoke alarms, then the application of bylaw can lead to lawyers at 20 paces. For me its just common sense to have them fitted and working. But sense is not so ommon sometimes.
And yes some strata managers propose bogus by laws
If using section 122, one needs to be careful that the action is lawful, even if there is a bylaw. Trespass is a serious offence.
The obligation of the OC is to create a 10 year capital works plan. There is no definition of what it needs to cover, so the plan quality may be good or bad.
The OC can review it at 5 year intervals.BUT the contributions to the sinking fund (which are to support the capital works plan) are voted at each AGM. There is no requirement that the sinking fund levies match the capital works plan. The amount levied can vary depending the desires of the owners.
I personally believe OC should maintain a healthy sinking fund reflecting the capital works plan. There is nothing worse than being presented with a special levy. Particularly as payment of it is not optional and may come at a difficult time for the owner.
This is my personal take. I accept that others may vehemently disagree.
Firstly there is no Insurance issue. I hear people too often site this to justify their actions.
Since the building is. Class 1a it’s up to the owner to install smoke detectors. There is no legislation commanding the OC to take this on. It’s an offence to not have a working smoke detector installed in a rental property, but that comes under a different act. If the property is not rented it’s recommended to have a smoke detector, but retrofitting them to older properties is not required.
Since the maintenance of smoke detectors in this building is out of the control of the OC, there is no effect on the strata insurance. And in any case smoke detectors are there to save lives not property. Therefore the risk to property is neither less nor more, without a smoke detector.
Secondly, the Bylaw proposed by JT could be unenforceable. One of the take outs of the Cooper dog case, is that the OC cannot regulate the use of an owners lot. What one does behind closed doors is owners business.
Thirdly, you want to consider whether you want to start yearly fire inspections. Being an older building, there may be aspects of the build which met the fire regulations when built, but may need upgrading . That can be a very expensive exercise . For what? satisfying your pet peeve?
I’m sorry to hear about your troubles.
From what you tell us, this does not appear to be a strata problem. Since you are renovating your kitchen the costs of this are your responsibility.
The issue you are having are common when doing building work. You should try and talk it out with the plumbers and kitchen people, and if you can’t come to an agreement then consider taking it to court.The lack of any prior documentation will probably go against you.
In order to have an exclusive use by law like you described, the affected owners(s) must specifically agree to the by law. That means that not only has the by law pass a motion , but the OC has to obtain (written) consent of ant owner affected.
It’s unlikely in the circumstances you describe that this by law would pass.Remember that the OC is responsible for maintaining the building. If the committee comes up with a reasonable plan for the replacement of the windows and doors, the owners are obliged to endorse the plan .
If it’s a reasonable plan and it’s rejected by the majority of owners, the committee could take the plan to NCAT and get a judgement to effect it.
Perpetrators like this work on the fact that they can talk down the victims. As you say gaslighting.
It takes a strong person to stand up to them, but thst eventually makes them go away. It’s also helpful to call out their behaviour. Tell them they are a bully and thst the actions they display are unacceptable and need to change.
Its sort of using the same tactics as they use, but is forces them to defend themselves rather than attacking the victims.
Just keep telling them that the behaviours they use are not acceptable. Tell them thst you will not engage with them until they change.
Easier said than done but set the boundaries you want, not their boundaries