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Contact the Council – he can’t run a business from the garage.
Yes there have been NSW decisions, I noted that above.
Here is the link to one, again.
http://lawyerschambers.com.au/balustrades-and-bca-requirements-when-repair-becomes-upgrade/
No that is not correct – strata schemes are not registered with ASIC. They are legal entities by virtue of the Strata Schemes Management Act.
Do not open an account in your own name, that is asking for trouble. Aside from anything else, it is not your money.
I helped a friend with an issue in a company title building where they had purported to pass a rule that imposed a charge/levy on owners of lots that were rented out. Now I was not convinced that it was enforceable, but that was the way it was, and as far as i know, still is. Of course that is company title and different considerations apply.
Unless the Committee can produce a soundly based legal opinion to the contrary, you can take their view as incorrect. An owner voting against such a measure would not be liable, that is just nonsense.
There are many buildings out there that do not comply with the current Building Code – that is inevitable because the Building Code has changed in many respects over the years. An obligation to bring an element of a building up to Code usually arises where work is done which involves a change to the specific element of the building where it may not comply with the Code. For example, a few years ago we had to replace the back stairs of our building, and to the extent that it was possible, the replacement stairs had to comply with the current Code.
It may also arise where an expert gives an opinion that that part of the common property is a safety risk, but you could challenge that.
There have been a few cases on this type of issue, have a look at this one which is on point – and it may be worthwhile you reminding the Committee that the work they want to carry out is in all likelihood an upgrade, requiring a special resolution of the OC.
http://lawyerschambers.com.au/balustrades-and-bca-requirements-when-repair-becomes-upgrade/
Your strata manager is incorrect, Sir Humphrey summarises it well.
I don’t know why your manager is advising something that is contrary to what is stated in the Act, perhaps you should ask him/her?
No that’s not correct.
A special resolution will always be a poll vote. A special resolution requires 75%.
An ordinary resolution requires a majority, i.e. more than 50%, whether it is on a show of hands or by a poll vote.
A poll vote is calculated by unit entitlement – that is, where there is a poll vote, you calculate the result by reference to the unit entitlements attached to each vote.
For a special resolution any resolution is calculated by reference to unit entitlements, it is always a poll vote.
For an ordinary resolution you can vote either by a show of hands – one vote for each person/lot owner present and voting. Or any owner present and entitled to vote can call for a poll on an ordinary resolution, in which case the votes are calculated by reference to unit entitlement. If an owner or owners has/have enough unit entitlements, this can change the outcome of the vote.
No – I don’t think you are paying too much, it seems reasonable to me. As a comparison, I am in a two building scheme of 9 units, built in 1932. My levies are over $10K a year. Now this might sound exorbitant, but when a building is nearly 100 years old it needs a lot of work.
The agent fees don’t seem excessive.
You don’t say whether the owners have done a capital works plan to project what works may be required in the future. When you set the budget you should consider why the admin fund is now negative and whether you need to adjust the budget accordingly, and/or go through the admin amounts line by line and determine if they should be reconsidered.
As you don’t own the property you have no standing to make an application.
It does sound like the agent is being difficult, as there are preliminary things you could do to progress an application – have you raised this with the seller of the property?
Can JonH advise – what is the by-law, i.e. does it benefit a particular lot or lots?
Has the by-law actually been approved, if so when, and has it been registered?
If it makes you feel any better Miranda, all of the people on our Committee bar one are resident owners, and they are just as hopeless. At least you’re trying to do the right thing.
No it doesn’t – if the company is deregistered it doesn’t exist, you can’t be a proxy or a nominee for something that doesn’t exist.
To paraphrase Monty Python, the company is dead, deceased, it is no more.
So – who owns the unit? A non-existent company can’t own a property either.
Do you mean the company is deregistered?
Someone must own the unit, either a person or a legal entity. If the company that owned it has been deregistered, it no longer exists. So you could assume that the unit has been transferred to another person or legal entity.
Add into the mix that under strata law, a proxy cannot have effect for more than 12 months or 2 consecutive AGMs, whichever is the greater. That is, a proxy has to be refreshed.
If the company went out of existence some time ago, then the proxy wasn’t valid for both reasons.
I would say that you can challenge the by-law as not being valid.
I feel your pain Miranda, but be careful what you wish for. In our scheme of 9, we have 7 Committee members, 4 of whom do precisely nothing.
We had a Committee meeting last night, after a series of emails from outraged members as to why certain things haven’t been progressed. As it turned out two of the members were unfinancial so couldn’t vote. Two of the other members didn’t turn up, including the Chair (no show at the last one either).
So we didn’t have a quorum. When the AGM is held they will all insist on being on the Committee again, and nothing will change.