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I totally agree with JT on this issue but I have not yet found a case in any state where a clamped vehicle or towed vehicle owner has gone to court over the issue. You’ve also got to be careful because as JT says it only applies to resident of the complex.
A total stranger could use your visitor parking bays all day if the parking happened to be next to a commuter railway station and you are totally powerless to stop them. It’s a crazy situation and the new NSW legislation will do nothing to address it as it stands.
You would need to read your bylaws to see if they have broken any of them but from the standard bylaws their is this:
17. Appearance of lot
Unless an owner or occupier has the written permission of the owners corporation, they must not keep anything within their lot that is not in keeping with the appearance of the rest of the building.So if this wreck is an eye sore visible from the common area you could ask the tenant to do something about it.
Strictly speaking it’s an improvement and so it needs a SR.
In the REAL world just pass a motion approving the cost at a EC or GM and it shouldn’t be a problem. The mailboxes are the Strata responsibility.
I don’t see how you can force people to lock their mailboxes unless the flap locks automatically when the flap is dropped. I don’t lock my mailbox but I have a PO box and nothing important goes to my home add.
@Whale said:
I assume that the contractor’s been paid? Mores the pity, as I’d be putting a motion to the next E/C Meeting to consider holding the Strata Manager responsible for that; if only to put the proverbial wind up him!
Totally agree with Whale the SM shouldn’t be spending ANY money (unless budgeted for in the admin fund) unless it has been approved by the EC or OC. Some strata give the SM discretionary spending for emergencies but this is obviously not one of them.
Put a motion at the next meeting to ask the SM to refund the cost as it was unauthorized.
@Colosus01 said:
that owners are allowed to attend this EC but cannot vote. She has since told me it is against the law not to allow them to attend the EC meeting.This is correct only the EC members can vote at an EC meeting but owners can participate as observers and can express their point of view.
I’d be concerned by why are you trying to stop owners participating in an EC meeting its their property as well and they are entitled to see how the EC are running it.
An exception might be if action was being taken by the EC against a resident / owner and then they could be asked to leave whilst that action was discussed.
Is this a question of the driveway being extended to the benefit of the owner who gains common property from the strata if so it is not a decision the EC can make.
A SBL would be required transferring this area to the owner and him accepting responsibility for the ongoing maintenance of this area which requires a vote of 75% in favor by the OC.
Also I’m generally against transferring common property to owners unless they pay the Strata a market value for the area transferred as it can significantly increase the value of the lot.
@zerotwoalpha said:
We are currently looking at mediation as the option to pursue.
I don’t quite see why you require mediation if their is no special bylaw granting him exclusive use of the area you can tell him to remove the structure from common property within 7 days or your contractor will remove it and send him the bill. Doing it this way he has then got to go to conciliation and adjudication to stop you and as their is no exclusive use registered he is on to a looser.
The document you require to reference are the bylaws (held by the lands dept of NSW gov) and in particular the SBL to ensure he has not got one registered for his structure. Although your SM should have a current copy.
A vague promise from 10 years ago is meaningless and the EC cannot grant owners exclusive use of common property anyway.
Take a look at this site and download LPI Circular 2011/08
As to your problem my feeling is that the shower tray is lot property and so your responsibility to maintain and any damage resulting from it leaking is yours to repair.
If the shower floor is leaking how do you know it’s leaking is it showing up as a leak downstairs if so it’s a Strata problem, if it is just seeping below the new tiles it’s your problem.
One problem could be how old is your unit because the waterproof requirements are those relevant when the building was built and maybe a waterproof membrane was not required in those days beneath the bathroom floor (just guessing as I don’t really know).
THE SM WORKS FOR YOU THE OC
and so if you want to hold an EGM to reduce the SF levy do so and so long as you pass a valid motion to that effect you tell your SM to levy the new rate.
The SM doesn’t have any choice unless they take you to conciliation and adjudication to get the decision overturned (even if they are correct which I doubt) and for this they would have to spend their own money (NOT strata funds with no possibility of a refund from strata).
Think of the SM as the Strata Administrator doing the bidding of the OC or EC who make all the decisions.
Does the SM have the power to authorize this work, if not it should have been approved by the EC by a vote. If the vote took place and their were at least 2 quotes to choose from you don’t have a case.
I don’t believe in ever accepting a single quote for any job especially if supplied by the SM, get your own quote to find out if it is competitive.
@JimmyT said:
Check the original strata plan and work from there. Either way, the Owners Corp could be better off buying or contributing to a new bathroom than trying to repair the old one to a reasonable standard.
How were fixtures and fitting denoted on the older style plans as common property because I must admit I’d be very unhappy if I had to contribute for a new fitted bathroom for an owner who asked for the strata to replace it. No way would I accept the owners quote I’d get the cheapest quote possible and give the owner a take it or leave it option.
I’m afraid I don’t agree with Whale on this the contents policy is not relevant as the damaged items are fixtures of the lot and are covered by the strata policy not the contents policy.
This is what insurance is for accidental damage caused by some sort of failure (the hose). I know these items belong to the lot (not common property) but they are still covered by the Strata building policy (just like the home insurance of a normal freehold house).
Your problem though is going to be the excess and you are liable for this (as it’s lot property that is damaged) so it depends on whether the cost of the repairs is greater than the excess or not.
If the cost is greater than the excess the Strata insurance should pay the balance (but the Strata might pick up this cost if not excessive to keep the premium down by avoiding a claim).
It’s the EC who decide whether to claim (not the SM) or not and so unless the cost is large your only choice is to fight it at NCAT with every chance of winning IMHO unless you can convince the EC to pay or lodge a claim.
@OverIt said:
Bathroom needs replacing, been told to replace at my cost blah blah and everything, strata scheme registered prior to 1974…. It’s not my responsibility, I am so tired of fighting the fight! Help please…….. What’s what!Yes the bathroom is your problem and you are responsible for replacing it with the exception of any pipework in the common walls or floor.
Get a quote for replacing the bathroom with an addendum for the cost of replacing the common property pipework as it will be cheaper doing it in one go rather than getting it fixed one bit at a time.
@just get on with it said:
Paint surfaces are considered within your lot space and are not covered by the owners corporation or their insurers.
I agree that for general repairs that is the case but here the failure of a common pipe caused the damage (through no fault of the owner) and as the insurance doesn’t cover this it is up to the Strata to pick up the bill.
@Phil said:
The executive committee has recently met and decided not to authorise the repairs to the cupboard. My insurance company is looking into it but so far has not got back to me. What happens now?
I agree totally with DaveB it is a Strata insurance responsibility as it is part of the fixture and fitting of the lot. Your contents insurance has no responsibility as it is part of the lot not contents.
Check your insurance Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) available online from their web site and then approach the insurance company direct and see what they say.
Also what sort of cost are we taking about because it could be within the excess (what is the insurance excess) and then the OC would have to pick up the bill form Strata funds.