[Nettie]

The screws are stainless steel so no problems there. They are removed when the nets are removed so no problem there. The screw holes will be filled professionally using the best possible product. We intend living here for many many years so we want to use the best possible products.  The screws are on the top of the hob next to the balustrade so I cant see how it would have pierced the waterproofing as the steel balustrade also is affixed there and would have pierced the waterproofing as well.

I have many photos to show the minimal and often no change to the appearance of the building as they are affixed to the inside of the balustrade and as MR STRATA pointed out there are screens on one part that hide the safety netting altogether. There is also a giant gum tree that also screens our balcony. However you only see the glimmer of the transparent screen in strong sunlight, only noticing them if you know they are there. We are responsible for all maintenance and repairs,  as said many times before. In fact all this information has been offered previously to the Strata Manager.

Why would there be problems with our specific product when the same product has been used for 7 years in NSW and Australa over hundreds of sites, with nets installed and by now, removed, installed by the same installer,  and no problems reported on other balconies? This makes no sense.

[Nettie]

exactly my thoughts….My husband is actually very uncomfortable with me seeing the the two of them without a mediator and he knows the whole story!

So I will ring Lady Penelope’s suggestion tomorrow to apply for mediation. .  I’ll just have to see if the other party is willing? 

I think I should also just pay the $1100 for some good legal advise. The nets cost a considerably more than that and children’s safety is worth a lot more than that!

[Nettie]

thanks…will do

[Nettie]

Am I allowed to post details about the product?  It answers so many questions.

I have given this info to my strata manager many times but obviously he hasn’t read it! 

here we go again….

1. The product is attached by screws to the inside of the ledge ( not the floor) and columns of the balcony. These screws are no bigger than those used to hold a pot plant. 

2. It has been specifically designed to cause no permanent damage.

3. It is widely used overseas and in Australia it is gaining popularlity. Some more innovative strata managers in Sydney actually suggest people with children in high rise install these nets. It haas been used here since 2011 with hundreds of nets fitted and no complaints so far, except this one!

4.  It clips off the fasteners so it can easily be removed or replaced. It is designed to be installed by a handyman however we got a licensed builder (recommended by the supplier) who has installed many nets over the years to install it specifically so we did have any of the problems he describes. Our manager has not asked to inspect  the nets. 

[Nettie]

Thank you
Will apply for mediation from community justice then re contact the lawyer and give her all the emails and details so far. 

Thanks again.

[Nettie]

Thanks so much for this.

Jimmy suggested not to go to Fair Trading for mediation. Is community justice a better option from your point of view?

I am not happy about meeting with the chair and the strata manager at all. i feel very ambushed by this and have sent them back an email requesting proper mediation. I will now suggest one from community justice. If they refuse what happens. Would the tribunal accept my request as a postive mood to solve the issue?

I do have a couple more quick questions. 

if it goes to the tribunal do you know what  are the costs?

Should I get legal advice . Ive been told it will cost me $1100 but I was referred to a good specialist in strata law by Dr Sherry if I needed it. 

[Nettie]

Sorry: it was Jimmy’s idea about the mediator.

I would love to have this mediated. At the moment the chair of the strata committee and the Strata Manager want to meet with me but i gather it is not mediation. I feel that would be extremely confrontational and difficult, as these are the tow people that I am having the issue with.I would feel much more comfortable with a neutral third party. Any ideas about how to make this happen/

[Nettie]

Thankyou

I am really sorry I thought using my first name would be ok. As i said i am new to this sort of thing. I am new to forums generally   and am not aware of the correct way to do such things. I did read the instructions but missed the bit about first names. 

To clarify, the council though our nets were bird nets. I have asked if there were further complaints once they new they were child safety nets but have received no reply from the strata manager. As far as I have been told it is the council’s original complaint that is the only complaint received. I have not been told of other complaints or at least been supplied with any details of them. 

Regarding the appearance these nets are made from a transparent structure ( like fishing lines) and can only be seen when they glimmer in the sun. They are affixed to the inside of the balcony in order  make them as non visible as possible. It is only on very sunny days that you see them at all. I have been taking photos over the past month in all conditions to prove this. Cathy Sherry knows the product and I sent her a photo of our installation and she could not see the netting in the photo. 

As requested i have found our exact by-laws. This is the bylaw they re quoting- or the first  2 parts of it in isolation.

I am very interested in Lady Penelope’s ideas of a professional mediator? Any suggestions?

Bylaw 7

7(1) An owner or any permitted person of a lot must not mark, paint, drive nails or screws or the like into, or otherwise damage or deface, any structure that forms part of the common property without the approval in writing of the owners corporation.

7(2) An approval given by the owners corporation under clause (1) cannot authorise any additions to the common property.

7(3) This by-law does not prevent an owner or person authorised by an owner from installing:

(a) any locking or other safety device for protection of the owner’s lot against intruders, or

(b) any screen or other device to prevent entry of animals or insects on the lot, or

(c) any structure or device to prevent harm to children.

(d) any devise used to affix decorative items to the internal surfaces of walls in the owner’s lot, unless the devise is likely to affect the operation of the fire safety devices in the lot or reduce the level of safety in the lot or common property.

7(4) Any such locking or safety device, screen, other device or structure must be installed in a competent and proper manner and must have an appearance, after it has been installed, in keeping with the appearance of the rest of the building.

7(5) Despite section 106 of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 ,

a) the owner of a lot must maintain and keep in a state of good and serviceable repair any installation or structure referred to in clause (3) that forms part of the common property and that services the lot.

b) repair any damage caused to any part of common property by the installation or removal of any locking or safety devise, screen., other devise or structure referred to in clause 5 that forms part of the property that services the lot. 

[Nettie]

Cathy Sherry sent my a copy of the bylaws which referred to the child safety bylaw you spoke of.  I will find it tonight and send it to you. She specifically looked up my bylaws and the architectual code and was of the opinion ( academically)  that I was in the right. 

Please note that I said in the beginning it was a new building. 

[Nettie]

This is simply not true.

I have offered to have a building inspection to check if has been installed in a way that causes damage to the water proofing…or not.

I have offered photos of the installation on many occasions.  The temporary child safety netting was attached to the ledge not the floor as the strata manager suggests.

It had also been attached by the suppler’s recommended licensed builder who has  experience in strata developments who has been the main installer of these nets over many years.   He has not once replied to my offer of photos or of an inspection.

I have  asked for some sort of evidence of damage but received a ‘you cease writing such comments in your emails as this is not being received well by your fellow owners/The Committee Members.’  This was a the reply from a list of questions i sent….not comments. The supplier has assured me that at no stage since these nets began to be installed has there been any reports of damage to the fabric or structure of the building. 

I have supplied a long letter from the supplier about the product, the installation and other addresses locally it has been installed.  

I have requested mediation and discussion but get few responses. I have requested that I want to talk to the committee and seek mediation.

I don’t know what else I can do to facilitate a good settlement to suit all. 

[Nettie]

The notice is hand written onto a typed form.  It just states Bylaw 7 (which I think is the same as bylaw 5 in the new strata laws) It states “Installing unapproved netting to the balcony of unit 401 causing damage to the common property”  Our building is a new building. We moved in last April. 

Any more information I have supplied is only from the ( somewhat surly) emails from the strata manager as replies to my many emails since then. 

here is what the strata manager has since supplied:

in February:

7:1 An owner or occupier must not drive nails screws etc etc

and            7:2 an approval given by the owners corporation under 7:1  cannot authorise any additions to the common property 

You have breached by-law 7 –

And you have also breached the Architectural Code for the Building as set out in the Strata Management Statement.

And you have breached Section 108 of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015.

 

and last friday: 

1. I understand that it is the Committee’s position that the Balconies comply with the relevant BCA as to balustrade heights and the is no need for the netting to have been installed.  Similarly, it was the Council that raised concern regarding the installation as it breaches the Architectural Code for the Building.  Lastly, the main concern of the Committee is the penetration through membranes and the structure of the building, which in accordance with the Strata Act, requires a prior special resolution and by-law to permit this type of work, detailing the obligations for the ongoing responsibility for maintenance.  The last instructions we had received on the matter was to seek the removal of the netting.

[Nettie]

They say it’s against the architectual code as well…They say that I have damaged the common property but have not seen it. I feel very bullied actually. I have just now received an email saying the chairman of the committee is prepared to meet me. I have replied asking if this is an attempt at mediation and asked what the purpose of the meeting will be. This has been going on for a few months now. When I noticed the failure to comply on the strata committee meeting agenda, I emailed Dr Cathy Sherry who gave me a lot of help…. I passed on her academic opinion to the strata manager re the by-laws …he( or the committee) ignored it and organised the failure to comply at the strata committee meeting due that night.  

[Nettie]

Great. I have already stated many times that the nets are not permanent and that I will repair any damage should it be required when I take the nets down. I take note of your use of the word proven..Good point. I have just now emailed for evidence of the damage they say I have caused by installing the nets. I am new to strata living so I am not sure about what happens next. So i have some questions

1. If i don’t comply will they then take me to the tribunal

2. Will the tribunal fine me if they find me in the wrong ( which I don’t think they will)

3. Should I apply for mediation or do they do it.

4. What happens if they go straight to the tribunal without mediation? 

5. I was told that  you can’t apply for mediation with fair trading if you’ve already been issued with a failure to comply. Is that right is has the fair trading wedsite been misinterpreted? 

Thanks for your help

ps. the architects are an international company so don’t like my chances there.

[Author]

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