[Small strata wiz]

That was a very interesting discussion, thanks. Blink’s approach is very innovative.

I’m not a builder or designer. As a Strata owner, resident and committee member, I’m always interested in the importance of how maintenance is managed.

Future-proofing must be a design challenge. All buildings age. Does Blink have guidelines for the future operation and maintenance of the buildings? Some examples:

• The airconditioning needs to be replaced, or the property decides to install solar and batteries. Or it’s time to replace the roof. These are all things that potentially impact on the precision of the build geometry and integrity of the interface joints.
• Humans being what we are, many new owners buy in and then decide to renovate. Cut a wall, shift the plumbing, change the flooring and so on. Those activities are very capable of changing water and acoustic pathways etc. Is it possible for the initial design to build in capacity for future activity?
• Similarly, can a pre-fab bathroom (eg a moulded shower unit) be easily removed without demolishing a wall and doorway?

[Small strata wiz]

Recently I looked at alternative quotes for our Strata Insurance. Some friends recommended a company, well known, but only new to strata insurance. They sounded competitive, and they only insured strata complexes with 10 or less units. Perfect for us.

Then I saw, very clearly highlighted on their website, the following statement:

“WE DON’T COVER: We don’t cover your building if the building, or a unit, is used for short term rental, holiday rental or house sharing. This includes if a unit is available through Airbnb or Stayz.”

That should ring a few alarm bells.

[Small strata wiz]

Hello Danny D

Not sure what sort/size of block you live in, but it sounds like multi-storey? If so, then you may not be the only person affected by the renovation. Have you spoken to residents living in other units adjacent to or above/below the works?

It may also pay to find out from the Strata Committee or Managing Agent what conditions attached to the approval, and to ask them to step in on your behalf. (OK, I know, but it’s worth asking though.)

I recently did a kitchen reno. While there were only minor conditions attached, I took the trouble to speak to neighbours to work out ways to reduce noise eg no power tools at certain times of the day when their toddler was sleeping, finding out when they would be away working (health workers) etc. Are the workers doing the upstairs reno approachable?

Hope it works out for you.

[Small strata wiz]

Three thoughts (with a lot of maybes in them):

Is the unit effectively being treated as a short-term let as opposed to a series of problematic, but longer-term tenancies? If it’s short-term letting, does that give the OC some means of dealing with it via By-Laws?

When the residents are there as part of an agency’s help program, that might mean that the lease is not a genuine residential tenancy. It’s possible that an accommodation assistance program might actually require a Development Application to Council, in turn requiring community consultation before approval (eg one I know of for recovering drug offenders – it was rejected). However be aware that most Councils are pretty sympathetic to such programs.

Lastly, if the Lot Owner is not interested, perhaps an approach to the organisation concerned might help. While they usually make sure that the lease is in the resident’s name, they do have some duty of care to inspect the dwelling and to meet with their clients. If the OC has documented complaints about behaviour and damage, that might prompt (and help) the provider agency to take more interest – at least in vetting the clients who end up there.

 

[Small strata wiz]

I have a similar query to Alas’ question, which appears not to have been answered previously. This is for a small to medium NSW strata property. Our Strata Manager states that they submitted our revised By-Laws for registration by the required deadline.

Recently, we went to get a copy of the By-Laws, only to be told that we were required to use the Government’s privatised brokerage companies to get them. We did this – at considerable cost – only to discover the words “Nil Transactions”. It took a long time to find a government agency contact to query this (obviously the brokers can’t do this). The outcome is that the By-Laws have never been registered. The SM says they submitted them; the agency says they haven’t. Both statements are followed by (it seems) shoulder shrugs.

My questions: Where does the Owners Corporation stand if the By-Laws (and common property definitions as well) have not been registered? Do we have to start the whole (huge) process again? If there is an issue that needs to be resolved, can we simply call on the clauses in the State legislation (eg Clause XX no parking on common property etc) to request a resident’s compliance? Do the Regulations’ pro-forma By-Laws become our de-facto By-Laws and can they be enforced?

Thanks for any suggestions.

[Small strata wiz]

If it was NSW, I’d add that the law here has a get-out clause. The (state) law about having no more than two adults per bedroom does not apply if the adults are all related.

Also of interest re water supply. We started to investigate separate meters, and the local water authority was happy to supply them. Now we’ve started to hear that water authorities in other regions will happily supply meters – but will only read and bill one meter, leaving the OC to try and apportion the bills to individual units.

In NSW it’s also illegal for an owner to pass on to the tenant either a standing fee (strata properties) or some water-related charge, unless the property is individually metered.

And yes it’s annoying that one unit can use such a large amount of water and expect others to pay for it.

[Small strata wiz]

Hello David2708

Sir Humphrey gave you a good way to test the level where the collective owners feel comfortable in terms of levies. However that solution will give you breathing space for the first year. Perhaps it would be better to propose a scale of increases – is it legal to say 25% this year, then to 50% the next year, until the works are fully funded? Or can you only vote on the first year?

Most people hate the unpredictability of special levies, especially new owners who may not have the forewarning. Obviously unfunded works deter new buyers.

My understanding of the capital works plan is that it highlights all likely future works. It is up to the OC to agree the urgency and the order in which the works are done. Owners may find the levy increases more acceptable if they can see that works are actually being done, and the plan being sensibly reviewed each year.

[Small strata wiz]

Hello Jimmy

I am curious as to what is meant by the phrase “any personal property vested in the owners corporation”? Could you give an example of what property might come under that term? 

Thanks!

[Small strata wiz]

Here’s a recent case in our block:

• Vacant unit advertised as “pet friendly”.
• Leasing agent asked to correct ad (pet OK with OC permission, reasonable conditions etc).
• Leasing agent said it’s all OK – unit owner is OK with pets, so the ad’s OK, and pets are OK.
• Strata agent informs leasing agent of by-laws.
• Leasing agent says unit owner is OK with pets, so it’s all OK. What are by-laws? (Really.)

No need to reply – just saying that sometimes tenant residents can get inadvertently caught up in issues because their agent doesn’t care/understand how strata properties work.

[Small strata wiz]

My only thought is to ask if the furniture is private furniture placed on common property. If it is, has OC permission been given for that, and if so, under what conditions?

I recall a similar Flat Chat question where someone’s car damaged common property. The OC wanted to pay for it. Eventually it was claimed on OC insurance, but the insurer then claimed against the car owner (a resident) who caused the damage. (Sorry can’t remember the reference or the full context).

[Small strata wiz]

Thank you for the info. As always, Flat Chat is helpful!

[Small strata wiz]

I live in an 8 dwelling property, with only the lots and unmarked common areas shown on the strata plan.

• Each unit – even the 3 Bedroom ones – has a single garage within the lot.
• Two lots (2BR) have sufficient room inside the lot to park a second car.
• The DA did not mention marked car spaces (or any parking).

One of our most common parking issues is the owner or occupier who arrives with multiple vehicles. They think the Strata Committee and strata managing agent are stupid for trying to restrict parking on lawns, in front of garages, on concrete and in other common areas. 

Following an AGM years ago, the agent & Committee met (informally) with Council. Their planner said that 1990s DAs often didn’t mention parking but a developer’s plans weren’t approved until they complied with Council’s code. At that time, this meant sufficient room on common areas for one visitor space for each two lots, plus one. In our case that meant five. They did not have to be marked.

So we painted five spaces of the required width to meet Council’s then-code for parking. Each was labelled as “visitor” parking. We were told that we didn’t need a Council consent for this work, and that standard by-laws controlled any mis-use.

Just to complicate it, one tenant has requested that one of the marked spaces be formally allocated to them (and has offered to pay rent for it).

Your responses suggest that we might not be able to enforce the arrangement we already have, let alone any exclusive use arrangement?

Thanks for posting.

[Small strata wiz]

Jimmy, I was interested in your response. Going back a decade or so, I called an electrician to deal with a faulty room light. He was surprised to see old-style fuse blocks in the 1990s building, and suggested I upgrade with circuit breakers and ELDs. (He showed me the the burnt and melted wiring around the light.)

The then SM agent advised me that although it was common property, it was my responsibility and cost to fix, and I could do so if I wished.  I saw it as a safety issue, so fixed it at my cost, then gave all the new certification documents to the SMA. (These days I know a bit more about strata matters.)

So I don’t believe I acted improperly. I wonder if the residents at David2708’s property had similar experiences to mine?

It also begs the question as to why, if there was a central meter box for David2708’s property, why its inadequacies hadn’t been raised in a routine electrical inspection?

Thanks

[Small strata wiz]

Wow! Thanks everyone for your comments, and I really appreciate the effort you’ve gone to, to back up comments with experience and case principles. I hadn’t realised that there were so many issues involved in these type of leases, and that the leases could actually be illegal.

Most of the medical visitors are quite decent people. The issue is that they see their stay as motel accommodation ie I park anywhere in the “motel” grounds and someone else worries about everything else.

Health sees it as an easy way to accommodate staff with minimum cost & responsibility. The owner receives higher rent income than a traditional tenancy, and with lower (perceived) risk. Unfortunately they also assume minimal responsibility.

The possible insurance risk to other owners is something I hadn’t thought of.

Millie – special thanks for the material that you provided. Your use of the term “visitor” is interesting, since “visitors” have rights to use visitor parking that the rest of the residents don’t have….

I’ll be using your helpful comments to:

• (1) educate our exec committee and strata management company (who think Health is just another tenant) – I’ll see if there is any resolve to pursue the owner & Health.
• (2) frame the correspondence next time we raise a property issue with Health.

As for Council, that’s a little trickier – at least two of the Councillors have rental properties in town that they lease to Health. 🙂

Thanks again

[Small strata wiz]

Hi Jimmy T

In one of your above posts, you said “NB: this only applies to owners and tenants.  Visitors can’t be clamped because they haven’t signed up for the by-laws, even by default.”

All of our spaces are properly linemarked, each space has our street number painted in it, and there are signs identifying it as our parking area.

Residents from an adjacent strata property drive into our place and thieve most or all of the parking. Because of the layout of the property, and the position of the entrance at the end of a no-through lane, there’s no easy way we can secure the access or boundary.

Our strata agent manages both properties, and has spoken to the people concerned (as have we, politely), and this worked for about a day. It’s simply more convenient for them to drive 5m into our place than 30m up to their own visitors’ park (at least then they’d be breaching their own by laws). One stated that they have a “right” to park there as their garage is used is for storage…

They’re not only taking the marked spaces, but parking on other common property such as lawns. The irony is that they could legally park in their own garages, or along one side of the public lane.

You seem to be saying that we have to put up with this, at inconvenience to our own residents, and potential risk and liability for the owners. Surely some sort of fine applies if polite requests don’t work?

The only way that I can see is to allocate all the visitor spaces to our own residents (one per lot not on unit share) and then bollard the spaces.

Any thoughts? Thanks.

[Author]

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