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You need to be mindful of the intent of the motions.
If it’s to improve the common property, then it’s purely optional according to the act. Yes there can be a motion to do something but that’s just an agreement between the owners
If the motion is to repair common property, then according to the act, it’s a non negotiable duty of the committee and OC. In that case a special levy needs to be raised.
If the owners are reluctant to do so, take the next steps which are mediation through fair trading and then a visit to NCAT.
A committee can fill a casual vacancy.
To do this requires a motion on the SC meeting agenda. The act does not specify that nominations need be called, nor a vote taken of any nominees.
That leaves the committee to appoint anyone they see fit to fill the position.
But the motion needs to be on the agenda. and the secretary sets the agenda.
The act also does not compel a committee to fill a casual vacancy, so the position can be left vacant. The only problem this raises is that there may at some time not be enough people in attendance at a committee meeting to form a quorum.
Unlike for a general meeting of the OC where proxies are allowed, there is no provision for a proxy for a committee meeting.
However the committee can agree to another owner standing in place of an absent committee member.
As far as standing down goes, neither the OC nor the committee can remove an owner or a committee member from exercising their rights to attend meetings and vote. Only an order from NCAT can do this, but owners cannot under any circumstances be denied a vote at a general meeting ( unless they are unfinancial)
You have been singled out.
If your AC was approved then that’s its. The committee can’t take a second bite. If they missed something then it’s their problem .
Id sit tight and see what they do next. They certainly can’t remove your AC. They would need an order from NCAT to do anything.
let them instigate the fight, which seems they will lose.If you are in Stdney Water distribution area, your pressure is within their specifications, but well on the low side.
Contact your water supplier and ask if they intend to upgrade the pressure in your area.
Your strata manager is incorrect.
to register a by law requires access to the title document. In the electronic age one has to prove one is the owner of the title. So it can only be the secretary [or] the strata manger.
i think your strata manger is trying to cover up their incompetence.
There are two questions here
1) All you need to do is ask the SC is fix the problem. They are obliged to maintain and repair common property. If they don’t do anything, as it seems, you can go to NCAT and get an order for them to fix it.
2) the process. I’m not familiar with the remediation process, but what you describe is my understanding of the process. It’s up to the SC to follow the required steps not you.
Personally, I’d go the NCAT route. The reason is that the orders can specify a date by which this needs to be done. It’s an enforceable order. If you negotiate with the SC they can drag this on for a long time citing various real or imagined delays.
I believe the appropriate course of action would be to ask the visitor to leave the meeting. If they refused to leave the meeting, then the meeting is adjourned.
The installation of the stairlift requires an exclusive use bylaw.( it’s exclusive because it’s using common property, not for the exclusive use of the owner)
In it ( the act says) you put in who owns it, who maintains it, who removes it and anything else that you don’t want the OC to cover.
You should get an experienced strata lawyer to draw up such a by law.
Also check that any access and fire regulations are met. It’s up to the owner to ensure compliance.
Here is an analogy. I like to use analogies
If you are a house owner and you want to renovate your house, You can talk to the council town planner and get an idea of what is and is not going to fly. They will tell you that this meeting is just informative and you need to submit plans for final approval
You then have to spend money , and lots of it, getting a site survey and drawings done to then submit these to council for approval. It may not be approved the first time, so back for round two and more
What is the difference in strata? I think none
No one wants to spend money needlessly, but sometimes it has to be done.
One cant make an informed decision without adequate information. the source of information in the building industry is drawings and specifications
You say you have permission from the OC (or committee)
Is this in writing? Do you have a copy of this correspondence , perhaps go back to committee meeting minutes (they have to be kept indefinitely so ask the strata manager if you can search them.)
You’re likely to succeed in any forum if you have been granted permission and you can show it.
(To rescind any such permission given in the past would require you to consent)
One cant approach a lawyer, in this case Marrickville Legal Centre on behalf of another party without the approval of the third party.
So thats not an option.
Its clear this woman requires third party help. However having been through a similar situation, though not as nasty let me tell you the system is broken
Unless one is a member of the clergy, a doctor, an immediate relative or a policeman, one cant alert the appropriate help centres of this persons plight. I tried many avenues and was shown a closed door. (it was resolved when the woman got pneumonia and was hospitalised and the doctors would not let her return home)
We all try to be kind to one another, but I feel in this case that legal action to recover the money is the only way to go.
There are two thing to consider
- is someone willing to actually do the administrative work. Is someone knowledgeable about the strata laws.
- Do you want someone else to take all the “hassle” out of managing your strata
Self managing a small strata is not very difficult, but if there are personality clashes, an independent referee is sometimes helpful
There are many strata managers who are willing to manage small schemes
Why not change strata managers. But in doing so interview the prospects and see how willing they are to manage a small complex.
Personally I would steer clear of the bid strata firms as a small scheme wil just get lost in the noise. Also the large strata managers are driven by process (do it our way) when small schemes want more flexibility than that.
The answer is in the legislation
As you quote S216 says “may”. That denotes that its not compulsory
To answer the second part of yur question. The secretary is just the post office correspondence goes through. They would refer a mediation request to the committee for a decision.
What I believe the legislation is aiming to promote is for owners corporation to sort out their internal differences in house. Thats never easy when there are opposing views.
I think the internal mediation is a good idea, but in the wrong place. You see these processes in larger firms who hav resources to draw up a process and then usually to engage independent arbiters.
Thats probably not going to happen in strata, so we use NCAT to solve all the internal problems.
Firstly, is the builder an expert in roofs or is he just giving an opinion.
Speak to the strata manager to get the committee to engage a footing expert for a report. If that fails you may need to engage your own expert.
With the experts report, raise it with the committee that based on the experts report the roof needs to be replaced.
Give them two months do do something.
If after two months nothing is happening then got to NCAT under section 232(2) and seek orders for the roof to be replaced. Section 232)2) is the clause that the OC has failed to carry out their duty.
The other order you want is that a special levy is raised to fund the roof repair