Forum Replies Created
-
Replies
-
Doubter
You say the upcoming meeting is not going to be ‘face to face’.
I assume that to mean it is going to be electronic. You may need to double check the rules for electing SC members. I know the Act and the Regulations have had ‘Covid’ amendments in June, but am unclear where that leaves SC elections.
If the number of nominations is 9 or less and the AGM votes an SC number equal to or greater that the number of nominations, all nominated are automatically elected.
If however, a ballot is required, electronic voting is precluded, you must be present to vote. (Clause 10 Regulations)
Couple of thoughts.
There are many ‘pest treatment’ companies that I would think could treat you garage in a manner that it worse than ‘uninteresting’ and so alleviate your ‘thing’
Secondly, you could consult a builder to create a ‘temporary’ room within the garage that can be assembled and dis-assembled, which might not then contravene planning approvals and is in ‘your airspace’ and not affixed to common property floors or ceilings.
The need for a further reply may be agreement to hold an EGM. If 25% entitlement of owners request a meeting, it is a ‘Qualified request’ and the meeting must be held within 14 days.
Maybe this is what the Strata manager means. Ask him/her to clarify what/why/how one more person changes the outcome.
‘Repairs to boundary fence’ suggest maintenance to me. This would be paid for out of the Administrative Fund.
Section 79(1)(a) of the Act states the Admin Fund is to be used “(a) to maintain in good condition on a day-to-day basis the common property and any personal property vested in the owners corporation, and”
Therefore, if this is the case, I would conclude the Strata Committee can approve the works.
If the works were ‘to repair or replace’ then it must be funded from the CWF. Section 79(2)(e) states “to replace or repair the common property,”. Then it should have been in the budget. If not, an EGM may be required to approve the expenditure, and as such, the SC not be able to approve the expenditure.
Having said that, they may have been given delegated approval to expend a limited amount at an AGM. Size of repair then comes into play.
Wow
When do the contracts for the SM and BM expire?
Jimmy T
Did you mean between 5pm and 8am?
We had FTTC (Fibre to the curb) so existing phone lines used from nearest street pit to each apartment.
We had our lift service company upgrade the lifts, which involves I understand, putting in mobile phone connections. If your alarms are monitored, I would contact that provider for upgrade advice.
I would expect the strata plan to clearly show if this is common property.
Lady Penelope, I agree very hard to argue that to add or remove even a non structural wall, if it is attached to a floor, ceiling or external wall, is not a major renovation requiring a by-law. If there is any doubt, go the by-law.
I note the council’s advice they are only concerned with planning laws, so very important for the owner to realise this is not the same ass OC permission. We had a case of an owner wanting to carry out works that required DA approval and affected common property. Our SC gave permission to submit the DA (required by council) with a clear written statement to the owner that following council approval of the works they would still require a special resolution to carry out the works as permission to submit was not permission to construct. The owner was comfortable with that.
Our Strata has been fairly generous in compiling our Capital Works Plan which we do over 10 rather than 5 years. We could see shortfalls and agreed a 10% compounding increase each year in sinking fund contributions. Not all forecasts have eventuated on time but can’t be dropped, just slipped into the future. This approach works in our Strata. Hope this helps.
Couple of points. After a 10 year record of only very minor claims, and immediate previous premium having risen about 8%, we had a couple of claims totalling some $25K. This year, after much chasing, and 4 or 5 insurers declining to quote due to an unresolved claim, our renewal this year, which has been very reluctantly accepted due to the compulsory requirement for insurance, has a premium increase of some 30% PLUS a 10X increase in our excess. Our broker has put in huge hours both with the claims and the renewal.
Your deal sounds OK to me.In NSW, there is also time and costs involved in registering the approved by-law with the Registrar-General, plus fees. This must be done within 6 months. I’d be asking is the registration of the by-law included in the fee or is that on top.
Also, do specific owners benefit from the new carports. If so, all costs should be shared by them rather than the OC.
The answer is possibly driven by the floor plan, but before a fire, 1 might be enough, after a fire where an occupier doesn’t get woken by a single alarm, one isn’t enough.
Is this such a big expense to get too concerned about? Our building’s hard wired alarms have a 10 year life. Our strata has other much higher and more frequent recurring expenses to focus on.
In NSW, a relevant clause in Sch 1, 23 (8) states “Voting rights cannot be exercised if contributions not paid A vote at a general meeting (other than a vote on a motion requiring a unanimous resolution) by an owner of a lot or a person with a priority vote in respect of the lot does not count if the owner of the lot was an unfinancial owner at the date notice of the meeting was given and did not pay the amounts owing before the meeting.”
In our strata, we use our strata manager to issue levy notices and collect payments. Our treasurer can access on-line the accounting books for these dues and payments. At any meeting, the chair asks the treasurer to confirm all levies are paid, which he does based on the accounting record accessed that day.
The interesting question is, If someone is unfinancial when the meeting starts, and the meeting is adjourned for whatever reason, AND the unfinancial owner becomes financial before the adjourned meeting, can they vote at the adjourned meeting?