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Council zoning sets out if the apartments can be leased short term or as residential tenancies.. Sydney City Council is now very clear on this.. Serviced apartments – NO RESIDENTIAL LEASES OR OWNER OCCUPIERS.. RESIDENTIAL- No Serviced apartments or stays less than 3 months on residential tenancies..
Google Sydney City Council Vs The Oaks Group
L&E court Orders shut down Oaks running serviced apartments in two Sydney City office buildings..
This is now getting enforced.. Also getting enforced as they move towards kicking owner occupiers out of serviced apartments..
unfortunately it is the satelite style serviced apartment operations who cause more trouble and are harder to police in comparison to large and reputable operators..
The debt recovery fees are an issue which I think could be getting out of hand.. whilst I appreciate that strata managers dont want to chase levies in arrears and they should be paid on time it is oh so common now that the managers hastly charge $30 (costs) for a letter being sent out for arrears (after about 2months this is about $450 of 'costs') 9/10 times the arrears turn out to be caused by a discrepency in the strata roll or an owner forgetting to update their mailing address however even with $450 of late fees at no time did anyone in the 'collections department' bother to pick up the phone and call the phone numbers listed on the strata roll which would have sorted the matter in 40 seconds..
Even worse I notice many strata managers are 'referring this to solicitors' whom charge $50 for referal to legal & $150 for an arrears letter every two weeks.. whilst in reality strata managers are printing these letters themselves in their office straight onto the legal office letter head.. a tidy profit made between the strata and solicitors for sending out a few letters say 200 apartments a month times 2 letters time $150 = $60k a month.. Banks are getting it at the moment for this sort of extortion on dishonour fees.. it wont be long till the strata managers do too..
thiss would need to be listed in your strata agency agreement to be charged and if you are being charged this then it sounds like jimmy said.. fingers crossed its for checking 30 suppliers insurance & licences and not for one only.. If they are keeping these licences and insurances on file its fair enough to charge if documented in the agency however I would guess they do well on this fee as they have the same suppliers for every complex they manage and charge this too..
I have seen a few instances when this is charged by the strata manager to the tradesman so they are a 'listed & verified tradesman' and are listed on the strata managers website also as 'verified' .. to me that seems like a rort and is a simple way of saying we want our kickback if you are going to do work for us it will cost you $3k upfront and there after we will use you for many jobs..
when you get a depreciation report completed by a quantity surveyor there is a section known as the 'division 43' for original plant and equipment and common property which you can claim.. I would suggest contact a quantity surveyor to confirm in regard to new items (google will show you a few main ones who will be happy to advise) however I expect that as these are paid for from your admin or sinking fund and you are already offsetting your admin and sinking fund costs against your income and claiming again would be double dipping…
whilst this has been solved a few options could be to contact Sydney Water and ask them who the Water Rate for the building (usually the strata management company) (will depend if you get someone helpful); or contact local council authority and ask them; google the building address find a for sale advertisement and ask the real estate agent (if doesnt know ask for a copy of the contract for sale, it will be on the front page) or final option walk into the foyer of the building and look for a notice board which is usually on one of the walls…