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What you describe is not strictly legal, but if it works and everyone is happy with it what is the probem. Far better to have everyone involved with the decision making than having none of them intrested (as in most strata) and having decisoions made by people with their own agendas.
To make it legal just have them declare the meeting General Meeting rather than EC meeting.
A couple of things
1) The SM works for the OC and cannot tell the OC what to do (they can only advise). Is it the EC or the SM fighting this, if SM tell them to stop, if EC get a OC to vote against further action.
2) So long as the lawyer has put in writing that it is unnecessary to create a bylaw he will know the law much better than the average SM.
3) Look on any plans you have to determine if the balcony is common property or lot property. Thick lines denote Common, thin Lot.
For an example of this see here
It show an example of a balcony as common and lot property and how it is denoted (Refer to the building format plan ONLY)
BEWARE THIS IS QLD RULES SO IGNORE THE DEF OF COMMON AND LOT PROPERTY AS THEY DON’T ALWAYS APPLY IN NSW BUT THE DRAWING RULES DO.
@ccbaxter said:
I fear an ambush at the AGM where we will have to approve by-laws allowing the building to have the infrastructure put in at the OC’s cost, regardless of how many owners want to be involved, and there won’t be many.
How can we keep the b
s honest?
Well to install PV systems it would be considered an improvement requiring a Special Resolution (75% in favor). The agenda has to state what sort of resolution each one is and this cannot be changed at the AGM. So if the agenda says it’s an Ordinary Motion you can ask it be ruled out of order at the AGM.
Also I don’t believe you can use the Sinking fund to fund improvements so a special levy would have to be approved as well. The exception would be if their is an entry in the 10 year sinking fund forecast to cover this (unlikely).
If their is a motion on the agenda to approve PV installation without a quote, obtain your own quote from a supplier to show everyone the likely cost. You are perfectly entitles to send a copy of this quote to ALL owners with your own comments attached.
Also will this PV system provide power to all units or just a few, or just power common property (common lighting, lifts etc). You cannot use Strata funds to provide a service to just a few units unless those units reimburse the Strata the full cost.
@alley cat said:
plasteckI think you should make alternative arrangements, such as leasing a garage off another resident, for your second vehicle.
alley cat
But initially Plasteck got a letter telling him to stop parking because he wasn’t a resident and that only got resolved when he informed them he was a resident and supplied his rego.
So these bays cannot be visitor bays and so he has every right to continue parking their on a first come first serve basis.
If they want him to stop parking their they need to provide a copy of the bylaw explaining what he is doing wrong and then he can comply. because they won’t supply a copy of the bylaw makes me suspect it dosn’t exist and so he is doing nothing wrong.
I’m no expert but I’ve got to agree with Jimmy here.
The only doubt I have is that I believe the meeting has to vote to accept proxies before the proxies can be exercised. But I have heard of Chairmen collecting proxies to dominate a meeting and bulldoze motion through.
I HATE this sort of gobbledygook language in legislation, why cannot they keep it simple so that the general public can easily understand it without resorting to expensive legal advise to understand what the legislation actually means.
I don’t believe the EC has the power to sack the old SM, because at the last AGM the owners voted to accept this SM. Only the OC can sack the SM and so you need to speak to this old SM and tell them that as far as you are concerned they are still the SM and not to hand over any documents to this new SM.
They should behave as though they are still the SM and organise an AGM ASAP.
You cannot blame generally the SM for lack of repairs because they can generally do nothing without the approval of the EC or the OC. A better description of them would be Strata Administrator.
The Chairman and Secretary should not be making any decisions unless a motion has beeen voted on by the EC and the resilt of that voted sent out to all owners as minutes.
Whales suggestion is perfectly valid but I consider premature.
Do you have a Strata manager or is it self managed.
The EC can consist of up to 9 members and the Chairman, Sec and Treasurer only have 1 vote each so they can be outvoted at an EC meeting.
If you can get 25% of owners to sign a request for a general meeting hand it to your SM with a motion to accept one of 2 quotes you will have to obtain prior to the SM sending out the agenda for the meeting.
Simple majority of those present at the meeting is enough for one of the quotes to be accepted. You can also nominate someone other than EC member who is to be key contact to manage the painting by just passing another motion nominating this person.
Any motion passed at an AGM or GM trumps any EC decision and so the chairman and rest would be out of the loop.
Suggest you nominate yourself and other like minded people to the EC at next AGM.
The pipes once they enter the wall or floor of common property are Strata reasponsibility, so if you extend the pipes to the new location of bath / sink within the lot (instead of sinking them within the wall) you are ok. The pipes within the air space of the lot are your reasponsibility.
Strictly speaking hammering a nail into a common wall require Strata approval and a bylaw but common sense says to use your comon sense.
My view is that so long as you agree to reasonable conditions you should be allowed to keep a pet within the complex. Typical conditions are:
1) Must not be allowed to enter common property (or other lots (cats)) except under control of owner (some adjudicators have ruled animals must be carried across or transported in a vehicle across common property) but I consider a leash is adequate.
2) Must not disturb other resident by causing a noise (Barking) or smell.
3) Must not attack of injure native wildlife.
If you agreed too and complied with these condition the strata would have little hope of banning your pet.
A lot of SM will email (post) you a copy if you just ask at no charge. (well ours did anyway).
Seems to me this accountant / lawyer you are talking to is in league with your problem owner and is trying to undermine you. Total cost should be in the hundreds NOT thousands.
Here are some of the details that your SM MUST hold:
Financial records and statements
The owners corporation must keep accounting records and financial statements for at least 5 years [s. 103].
These include:
• receipts consecutively numbered
• a passbook, a bank deposit book, or a statement of deposits and withdrawals in order of date, that are bound or kept in a loose-leaf folder
• a cash book
• a levy register.
The owners corporation must prepare financial statements:
• for the period beginning on the date the strata plan was registered and ending no earlier than 2 months before the first AGM
• for each period beginning on the date the last statement was prepared and ending no earlier than 2 months before the next AGM [s. 106 (1)].
And if you go to CTTT they will ask for these which he will not be able to produce thus showing he is incompetent and make the decision just a formality. Get hold of the document Strata living it’s online and make sure you prepare a list of ALL his failures.
What strata fees do you pay because they cannot issue strata fees without a budget for the year with estimates of expenditure.
@Kangaroo said:
Plasteck, by all means post a copy of the By-Laws, but I don’t think the answer lies therein.
The bylaws state the rules that govern the complex, if the ans doesn’t lie in the bylaws where does it lie.
Also if Plasteck complies with the EC they have no incentive to provide any information and they can just let the matter drop. Asking for a copy of the bylaws is quite reasonable if they want the tenant to comply with them. If he continues parking within the complex the next step is to issue Plasteck with a Notice To Comply which has to contain the bylaw he is breaking. Then he can comply and no further action is taken.
A lot of Strata have 2 sets of rules one for the owner / occupier and one for the tenants and I’m totally against discrimination and their should be one set of rules for all that should rigorously enforced against all.
I’d love to read the bylaw that this strata is trying to get Plasteck to comply with.
Section 35 of the tenancy agreement requires the landlord to provide a copy of the Bylaws within 7 but doesn’t require the tenant to comply with them which to me is weird.
So how do you take action against tenants when they haven’t agreed to abide by the bylaws
@Boronia said:.
I would image that removing the storage lockers (steel framework with chain wire “walls”) to provide parking would also require a Council DA?I doubt it, this could be within the power of the OC to remove. The thing about Visitor parking is that it is a statutory requirement for the development and I very much doubt that applies to storage lockers.
Most items of common property can be changed providing the required vote is passed and as this owner holds 70% of the entitlements he is in a domineering position.
Agree with what Jimmy says and if you did get a managing agent in it would cost a lot more than a normal manager and your friend would be up for 70% of these costs.
Until we know what the bylaws say we cannot advise you. The SM or OC cannot demand that you obey their rules unless they are included in the bylaws. Add hoc rules given to you by the SM or others are unenforceable unless they are based on the bylaws of the complex.
Tell them that you want a copy of the relevant bylaw that applies and you will comply once you have received it, otherwise continue leaving your car in the parking areas until you receive it, and it clearly indicates you are in the wrong. Your Property manager should have given you a copy of the bylaws before you signed the tenancy agreement as one of the conditions of the contract is that you comply with the bylaws.
They cannot apply the bylaws selectively (without a good reason), so if others are breaking the rules you are entitled to as well. Take note or photo (rego and time) of other residents leaving vehicles in the parking areas to give you ammunition if this goes further.
You yourself can obtain a copy of the bylaws for about $20 by just going to the NSW dept of lands.
I’m afraid I’m anti solar panels (but not solar hot water) as I think they are a big con, especially when the gov was giving massive subsidies to owners via an inflated feed in tariff, which is having to be paid by those who don’t have solar panels.
Solar panels don’t reduce the requirements for power stations as when the sun doesn’t shine everyone still wants their life to go on unchanged, and so the gov has to build power stations just in case the sun doesn’t shine.