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Hi Paula,
Very interesting situation. The first thing that needs to be sorted out is fixing the cause of the leak, an initial step would be to visit your neighbour up stairs and see if you can find anything evident in their unit that may be leaking. It is likely that there is an issue with the plumbing in the unit upstairs, and this may not be an OC responsibility to fix. Take for example if it is the sink waste in the unit upstairs, this is the lot owners responsibility to fix.
The repairs inside your unit may be covered by the OC’s insurances, but not the internal paintwork inside your apartment, this may be covered under your contents insurance.
I would suggest calling in a licensed contractor to inspect and quote (giving an itemised quote) for the works needed and proceed from there.
Mr S
In NSW, this comes down to simple democratic process, in that it is down to what the majority of owners want to do, ie, if the simple majority of owners (those that want to get involved that is) all agree that they want to keep the lighting on for particular times, then this is the decision of the owners corporation.
I know that in Sydney particularly there is at least two good reasons to keep the common areas well lit. 1. Security – most security advisers indicate that the first thing you do to reduce security issues is keep a building well lit. 2. Safety – if your building was designed and built with specific lighting to comply with particular BCA requirements, then the OC is taking a massive amount of liability in altering this lighting. This could cause problems with the oc’s public liability insurance cover.
Maybe it may be worth looking at the block out blind option or similar?
Mr S
People,
Can we please apply a bit of logic. A strata managing agent should be considered to be just that, not an expert arborist, building engineer, lawyer etc. A strata manager should be able to guide an owners corporation where to obtain the right advice on any particular matter so that the OC can reasonably rely on that advice before instructing the SM as to what they want done. Alternately, if OC’s are wanting strata managers to be experts in all areas, than be prepared to pay the appropriate cost for this.Consider the rates that accountants, lawyers and doctors charge, and they are typically focused on a particular area, then consider the diversity of the skills and knowledge required for a strata manager, and ask, would you do it for what you pay them. Break it down to what you pay individually as an owner, typically this may be in the area of $150-200 per annum. Compare this with how much you pay your accountant to complete your tax return, once a year.
In the above scenario I believe that the owners corporation has been let down by the arborist, they are the professional in this field and should have known and advised the SM that a council application was required for the works being requested by the OC.
Apologies for the rant, but a little perspective on things may help.
Mr S
Davidt,
These shutters on balconies are a serious problem with many of the new strata buildings, in that the are typically accessible through the individual apartment, may be inside the lot as defined by the strata plan, or outside the lot, but are affixed to the building so mostly are deemed common property, but you need to check for any exclusive use by-laws.
A lot of the time the suppliers of these louvers don’t stay in business for long, so getting parts for them is a real issue. The companies in many instances are not licensed for doing residential building works, per the home building act.
Any warranties on these louver systems contain conditions regarding regular periodic maintenance being carried out, and if it’s not done, the contractors deny any warranty claim, even if they have failed to complete the maintenance under a contract with them, due to the issues of access into individual apartments.
If the louvers are not working as they were when they were originally installed, they are broken.
In most instances these louvers are considered common property, so that they are kept well maintained, preventing issues with the external appearance of the building.
Mr S
Billen Ben,
Being part of SCA NSW and particularly being involved in these matters, it would be good to have feed back on the EC training course.A section of the Strata Living booklet has recently been brought to my attention and this is also on the OFT website. OFT have a who’s responsible section which seems a bit incorrect. Most noticeably they are stating that recessed (ignoring the spelling error) lights within a lot are common property and the OC’s responsibility. This would seem to create a major cost liability for a large number of strata schemes. How would an OC be be able to access all apartments to replace the light globes in these recessed lights, let alone what this exercise would cost??
Mr S
Hi Jimmy & KB,
Sorry to correct your above post, but per s183 of the strata act (in NSW that is), you can only get an order to vary the units of entitlement in accordance with a market valuation of all lots, as at the date the strata plan was registered.
But i do question how all lots will have had equal market value to start with?
Mr S
Dear all,
You can not add motions to the AGM agenda once the notice of meeting has been issued.
The OC must provide 7 clear days notice for a general meeting which means that you must also allow 4 working days for postage to all owners.
The best thing to do if you want to have a motion included on the AGM agenda is forward the motion to the strata manager/ secretary and requesting it be included in the agenda of the next general meeting.
Mr S
Urban Spaceman,
Best solution would be to give a couple of builders a call and get them to quote, put the two quotes to the ec/ SM, requesting a motion on the agenda of the next general meeting to accept a quote for the works that are required.
You may also wish to contact a pest control company in the first instance to get the seagulls removed otherwise you could end up with bird lice inside the roof void, again grab two quotes and refer to ec or general meeting.
Mr S
Dear all,
There are at times reasons to address matters informally between committee meetings however there are still statutory requirements contained within the act regarding how an Owners Corporation and also EC make decisions and this all stems back to allowing proper democratic process to occur.
An EC must formalise any decisions they want to make via a committee meeting, giving 72 hours notice, either by placing notice on the notice board (if the by-laws for the scheme require the scheme to have a notice board and the scheme has a notice board), or sending notice to all owners. This is to allow owners (1/3) the opportunity to object to a decision the EC are seeking to make.
It is good to have discussion and a lot of this can occur via email/phone prior to the meeting so that the decisions at the meeting can be simple yes or no decisions on the detailed agenda that is distributed before the meeting, making the meeting efficient, but still allowing healthy debate on any matter required.
If the EC enact a decision without proper process any individual owner could object to this, taking the matter to the CTTT and have the decision and action overturned, which could prove costly to the OC.
Mr S
Dear all,
I have been exposed to this very issue in many situations. I have had clients advise that someone else has parked within their car space and asking what I will do to rectify this. I have explained each and every time that unfortunately as a strata manager, we only manage the common property, not the private property of an owners lot, and essentially the issue is a matter of trespass, which last time I checked, the police have a responsibility to address, just the same as if I were to set up camp in your lounge room.If the local police are not willing to assist, a short call to the Commissioner’s office seems to have an almost immediate effect.
Good Luck,
Mr SHi Peter,
Interestingly there is no requirement for the minutes to be stamped with the common seal of the OC.
I would also suggest serving the SM with a notice under s105 of the strata act (see link below)
https://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/maintop/view/inforce/act+138+1996+cd+0+N
Mr S
Hi Lexi,
Further to Chris’ post, the owners corporation must obtain all lot owners affected written consent to the passing of the exclusive use by-law.Mr S
Unit owner,
I am a big believer in getting it right. Just because your fellow owners haven’t done the right thing previously doesn’t mean that you sholdn’t.
From my understanding of the situation, you should seek OC approval (via an ec meeting) to lodge a DA and also you should seek a special resolution at a general meeting for the addition to common property and also an exclusive use by-law.
This will best protect you should an issue arise in the future.
I have had a client that had created an additional room inside their unit, without the correct consents, council was made aware and issued them with orders to remove the additional walls. I understand that the owner may have been fined by Council also.
mr s
Thoughts,
I anticipate that this would be possible, but would depend on the local council zoning/planning limitations.Mr S
Bpositive,
Your best bet is to call Workcover as they are the policer’s of OH&S compliance.It is my understanding that the OC has a responsibility to ensure whoever is working on common property is aware of the risks and ensures that they work safely.
There is also some changes to the act and regs,and from memory the changes to the act will be in place from January.
Mr S