Forum Replies Created
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Replies
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Hi Jo,
I think the table you are looking for is on the Association of Australian Acoustical Consultants guideline which you will find on their website http://www.aaac.org.auMr S
Felix,
Technically the signature is the person witnessing the affixing of the common seal to the document, so the process should occur simultaneously. A document shouldn’t be ‘per sealed’ so to speak, but I have not encountered a situation when the document has been nullified because it was.
Mr S
Mini,
It seems… And this is only an assumption… That the by-laws have been established to be able to separate the two different components (so to speak) of this strata scheme, ie, the unit owners pay for their stuff and the house owner pays for theirs, making a user pay approach, which in some respects makes sense, but makes running of the OC complicated especially around the accounting.
You may want to explore whether this is actually how the OC is functioning, especially around effectively running the separate budgets and ‘exclusive use levies’
I have seen this also in mixed use properties where there is commercial and residential components of the building, making sure that the commercial owners who don’t use the lift don’t have to contribute towards the running of the lift etc.
Mr S
Leif,
I wouldn’t normally express this, but it sounds like you need:
A. To change the strata manager.
B. Seek to change the ECQuite simply it seems that the OC is not functioning correctly and those advising on how it should be happening are providing poor advice.
Yes section 71 of the act applies. Your OC should have a budget or plan for sinking fund expense for the year.
Yes section 75 and 75A applies and you should have a 10 year plan and it needs to be updated every 5 years.
Unless the strata manager has a proxy, they have no vote at the AGM or any meeting of an OC.
Whether the levies have gst or not depends on whether the scheme is gst registered. The scheme doesn’t need to be gst registered if the turnover is less than $150k per annum
Hope this helps.
Mr S
Paddy,
Normally a strata manager will rely on the EC authorising the Treasurer to approve invoices, however, the EC should be authorising the spend initially, making the decision whether or not to do the work or accept a quote.
Depending on how big a job or the nature of the issue, the EC may approve these works via a quick discussion or may require an ec meeting.
For example, fixing a leaking or burst pipe is something that hopefully the ec will move swiftly on while painting common property internal or external may involve getting several quotes and referring to an ec meeting or a general meeting depending on availability of funds.
This is in many ways dependent on the OC’s corporate governance and agreed approach and also any limitations the OC placed on the ec at the AGM.
A good strata manager should simply be the agent to act under the OC/EC instruction.
Mr S
Hi Felix,
The EC can’t grant exclusive use rights over common property, this can only be decided by special resolution at a general meeting.
Unless there is an exclusive use by-law, licence or lease passed by special resolution at a general meeting and registered within 2 years, the owner or resident bascily has no rights to use the space.
The EC’s decision is not final or binding.
The decision and action can be overturned by application for mediation/an order through Fair Trading.
Mr S
Suminy6,
Any good strata manager will first recommend to you to actually go meet your neighbour, after all at the end of the day, they will still be your neighbour and can either be a good friend or a real pain in the arse.
Scotlandx was on the money with the first post.
If your first interaction with this neighbour is a by-law letter from your strata manager, the neighborly relations will be very thin.
Great strata schemes are ones that establish themselves as a community encouraging neighbours to communicate and be part of an active community.
Mr S
Hi Ruffy,
It’s like any good political matter. You will need to ‘campaign’ the other owners regarding this. You need to be able to show owners that the pros out weigh the cons!
Mr S
Hi Loose Pavings,
It may be interesting to note that the Strata Manager will be one of the last to know about the sale of a property. In many circumstance it’s not until the s109 request is made that there is any indication that anything is happening.
Mr S
Hi Greens & Mattb,
Sorry to say, but your incorrect in your interpretation regarding balconies.
The air space of a balcony is typically part of the lot. You need to refer to the strata plan in this regard, but mostly you will notice the veniculum reflecting that the balcony is attached to the lot.
The structure of the balcony is considered to be common property, and I guess there is an argument of chicken and egg in this situation. It does sound like there is a bit of a design flaw with the current arrangement and it would be in the OC’s interest to rectify this situation, however it could be argued that some of this work is an improvement to common property, and requires a special resolution at a general meeting, but this is a matter of interpretation.
Mr S
Dear All,
I believe that you may find that interest is calculated from the due date of the levies, ie 1 April.
I believe that there has been plenty of legal precedent on this matter especially in relation to the collection of outstanding levies and from my experience interest has always been calculated on this basis.
Mr S
Hi Bomb Thrower,
This sounds like a very interesting situation. In most buildings the power boards will be secured by (in an old building) what is known as an NMB key or (in a new building) an abloy key. These are standard keys that a qualified licensed electrician or the energy provider will have a copy of.
This allows for an owner or resident to call Ausgrid to attend after hours and reactivate the power to the unit.
You may find that there could be a requirement in the BCA or Ausgrid standards to have the separate external main switch where the meter is located.
Mr S
Hi All,
There is mostly a very fundamental by-law in most strata schemes that says an owner or occupier can not damage common property. This is basic stuff and an EC decision to require permission to be applied for first in most circumstances is supported by this by-law.
Let’s get real about Real Estate signs though. Most of these are just advertising for agents, more so than the owners property. Good agents will be respectful to the OC and seek permission prior to erecting the sign.
Mr S
Stratacom,
Having a connection with a builder could seriously benefit the OC and may see some competitive pricing and a higher standard of work being completed, but it is important that in engaging this contractor it is done transparently, having a comparative quote at hand, comparing apples with apples, and their engagement being done completely above board.Mr S
Hi Stratacom,
It is mandatory to include a motion on the AGM to consider placing restrictions on the EC to make decisions on any matter or type of matter, so it would be possible to seek a resolution that spending over a particular threshold be referred to a general meeting.
One of the better solutions is to jump on the Committee, get involved.
Mr S