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It’s possible the agent is trespassing.
On private property, you can only be there is you are invited or you have a lawful reason to be there.
perhaps the committee can write to the agent noting his actions and the spevefically limiting what he can do. You need to make it clear that neither in the capacity as an owner nor as an agent are his actions necessary for his business.
Effectively what you will be doing is uninviting him from the premises, which would support any future legal action of trespass.
Jimmy has addressed the legal side.
But I think you need to rethink your business model.
Commissions are usually paid when a sale is made.
Your model pays a commission for an introduction. There is nothing to stop the SM from “introducing “ you to hundreds of properties but you never or rarely make a sale.
In my opinion your business plan is likely to fail by the drain on the commissions paid.Remember any commissions paid needs to be perceived by the receiver as justifiable for the effort expended. A $10 commission won’t attract any takers.
In my experience I’ve never heard of such a thing as a glass audit. But then I don’t know everything either.
Firstly I’d ask the Strata Manager which act requires this glass audit and then which clause.
I doubt he’s going to come back with anything.
Secondly certain glass in residential buildings is regulated. That is particularly do with shower screens and sliding glass doors. However, the current regulations are not retrospective, unless a major upgrade Ie a bathroom renovation, is being carried out, when the new installation has to comply with current regulations.
Thirdly, unless such an audit is prescribed by a law, the owners can tell the Strata Manager to bugger off.
I suspect he’s been on a training course and this came up, and he thought it was a good idea, which it’s not.
Whilst owners and certain interested parties have unfettered access to the strata roll, the use of the strata roll information is limited.
Under the privacy act, personal information can only be used a) with the permission of the owner (ie the lot owner) and b) only for the purpose intended or stated.
Since the lot owners probably did not sign up to receive advertising material, the agent is breaching the privacy laws.A sternly worded letter and followed up by a lawyers letter if they don’t comply should be the first steps.
The situation described is one of the holes in the legislation.
Whilst the OC can obtain the title documents to a lot (at a small cost), the legislation prescribes the method of entering such information on the strata roll. It requires a notice usually from the purchasers solicitor. Remember that the information on the strata roll contains not only the owners name, but the address for serving notices. The address may not always be the same as the lot address.
By second guessing this information the OC may expose themselves to the risk thst the true owner argues that notices were not served on the correct address.Ive been in this situation of not knowing the new owners details. It usually resolves itself when the old owner continues to receive levy notices. The old owner is on the hook for these charges until the strata roll is updated.
it’s surprising how quickly the old owner gets the new owner to get the details changed.
The outstanding debt is the responsibility of the executor of the estate, not the beneficiaries. You can search the Supreme Court probate documents and find the name of the executor. Then lodge a claim of debt to them. The executor is required by law to pay out ALL debts before the estate is divided.
Some executors, particularly if they are related to the deceased fail to recognise the difference between estate assets and the legacy of the beneficiaries. It’s not a legacy until it’s properly distributed by the executor.
I’m from NSW so bear this in mind.
The strata roll is not a record of ownership. The records of ownership are held by the government land title office .
The strata roll is a record of who can vote, where notices are to be sent and where levy notices are to be sent.
It’s not up to the secretary to chase up the notices of change of ownership. That’s the purchasers responsibility, usually done through their conveyancer.
Since the levies seem to be paid, let it be.
The owner is the one who is penalised because as they are not on the roll they can’t vote on motions nor stand for election.
Lot owner property is the air space between the walls and the ceiling and floor, plus internal walls. Any other space is considered to be common property. So the roof void is not in the lot owner space so it must be common property.
Are you qualified to determine who is an expert?
The tribunals order is to command the committee to get someone to investigate the problem and find a solution. It’s reliant on the committee to engage an appropriate person because unless the cause of the leaks is found and repaired the problem still exists and is a pain point for the committee.
Clearly the tribunal is on your side and the expectation is that the committee will fix the problem. Otherwise you and them are just back in front of the tribunal.
Stratus
the bylaws can be obtained from LPI attached to the certificate of title of the property. There is a fee.
Otherwise the strata manager or secretary are required to have a copy of the bylaws which they can give you.
And if you do not do anything then the problem is not going to go away. Just mention to the committee thst you will be starting action under section 232 of the act. If thst doesn’t peak their interest then apply to NCAT. There again is a small fee and lawyers are not required in thst court.
If you say thst the payments are in the bylaws then it’s likely you will win without much effort.I think we need some more information to help you
Was it just a membrane before or was there some sort of tiling over it?
Is the deck your lot property or is it common property that you are using?
What Australian standard are you referring to. Just because there are non compliance’s with some standard does not make it an OC responsibility. The Building Code of Australia changes periodically, but buildings built to an old standard are not required to be updated unless substantial works are being carried out (and changing a membrane is not substantial works)
Its a bit unusual to have gates between courtyards. But it is what it is.
Generally fences between strata lots are not ommon property. So any repair or replacement costs are shared by the adjacent lot owners.
However if on the strata plan the fence line is drawn as a thick line like the outline of the building, then its common property. Its usually obvious the difference in line thicknesses.
Strata managers have as part of their agreement the right to charge fees for doing certain things. Have a look at the agency agreement. However the fees are charged to the OC and not to the individual owner.
If the SM is being diff I cult, just stump up $34 or so and do your own strata search. You then have unfettered access to all documents and its harder for them to hide stuff they don’t want you to see.
Its hard to gauge whether there is anything wrong with the payment to the committee member. I make it a point that if I do any work for the OC like maintenance , I provide a quote and a statement of work and get prior authorisation from the committee.
However sine there appears to be no committee meetings as evidenced by the lack of agenda and minutes, you could argue that there was no appropriate and hence the payments should not have been made.
Why aren’t you on the committee and ove r seeing this?
Additionally you can contact the local council and enquire about the requirements for home based businesses. Certain businesses are regulated by the local council and need approvals, one of which would be required from the OC.
I should add that some committee members consider themselves to be above the law. They intimidate other owners and often have the strata manager in their pocket.
I would not be surprised if you get labelled the crazy owner because you stood up to them. Get other owners who feel disenfranchised on your side and throw out the old committee.