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I am a big fan of washing lines. To me there is nothing nicer than washing dried in the sun and fresh air, rather than being tumbled around in a hot box. From an environmental and power use point of view, I don’t understand why people would opt for a drier, when they have a free alternative available to them that is kinder on their clothes etc. Of course not everyone has that option available to them, but we do have a clothesline and almost everyone here shares my view.
There is one person who doesn’t like the clothesline. They recently sabotaged it so when I was hanging the washing the one end of it came crashing down on my head. Now that is just stupid and childish and if they think this will convince us to get rid of the clothesline, they have another think coming.
I don’t think washing hung on a hoist for a brief period of time is offensive, provided it is brought in when it is dry, it is only washing.
I don’t believe you can prevent an owner dealing with their lot as they wish, e.g leasing it. In certain circumstances by-laws may prevent certain dealings but generally this isn’t the case. If tenants are breaching the general by-laws you can take action under those by-laws.
It seems to me that your issue is one of contract law, rather than strata law. You entered into a contract to purchase the apartment and specified as a special condition that the concrete remain unpainted. There may be other terms in the contract favouring the developer or there may not.
There may be a range of remedies available to you including specific performance and/or damages, but it is likely you will have to to take legal action to get a resolution, or at least start legal action. This costs money and takes time. Of course the developer is stalling, that is what they do. If you don’t want to rescind, don’t, but you will likely have some angst in settling the matter.
Your lawyer is in the best position to advise you. None of the above is legal advice.Two days or so is not a long time, and you can’t really say the works are making your place uninhabitable. So there are options such as sponge baths, using a friend’s place to shower, or asking someone in the building.
We went more than three weeks without hot water once because the boiler broke, now that was fun….
In my experience, advice from the Department of Fair Trading can be a bit wonky. Not that long ago they told me to apply for an order against a builder who had gone bust – I told them that wasn’t going to achieve anything as the company was insolvent, all it would do was cost us money. So I would take what they tell you with a grain of salt
Back to this issue – even if the OC had passed a by-law, and I doubt that they have, that by-law could not apply retrospectively. What I mean by that is that you paid the deposit for the keys under whatever rules applied at that time, and the OC (or the EC) cannot unilaterally change those rules without your consent. You paid them the money under specific terms, and those terms still apply.
For example, if someone was given permission to keep a pet, and the OC subsequently put in a by-law banning pets, the new by-law would not apply to that person and that pet, because they were given permission under a by-law that permitted pets. You cannot apply a new by-law retrospectively.
Jimmy’s right – it is very difficult to put in a new by-law and I doubt that the OC has done that. The EC can’t institute rules to suit themselves. One thing I wonder is where they have put the money, as it is trust money it doesn’t belong to the OC, so if they have moved it to the sinking or admin funds then that is a breach of the trust arrangement.
Another option would be to lodge a claim with the Small Claims Tribunal for the return of the money, that would probably be the cheapest option for you, refer link below. I do suggest you contact your landlord though and see what they have to say.
It’s the OC’s responsibility. The registration of the plan was the responsibility of the OC at the outset, the individual owners had nothing to do with it, therefore the OC has to correct the error.
At the extreme the owners could seek an order for rectification of the plan, as they can’t fix it themselves, only the OC can do that, at its expense.I don’t know a thing about smart meters, but assuming the electricity meters are common property:
– the tenant can’t change the meter, because he isn’t an owner. Or is the tenant an owner? Sorry am a bit confused there. If the person isn’t an owner then they can’t change anything.
– the owner could apply to the Owners Corporation for approval to change the meter to a smart meter, and agree to a by-law giving him responsibility for that meter going forward.
The meter services that lot, so the owner can ask to change it, provided they take on responsibility for it.
Why do people have to be so sillly. Not you sunjoy, the OC. Yes there is something you can do, well actually two things I think.
The trust deposit you originally gave them was security in the event of you losing keys. You haven’t lost any keys. They decided to replace the keys, so under the terms of your original agreement you are entitled to that deposit back, or to apply the deposit to the new keys. It doesn’t matter what they may have resolved between themselves, you haven’t agreed to that and you are one party to that trust arrangement, in a trust situation one party can’t change the terms unilaterally. It is actually quite a serious matter to appropriate trust money, however small the amount might be.
So I suggest you send them a firmly worded letter stating that you paid that money under a trust arrangement and that they have no grounds to vary the terms of that arrangement, therefore you expect the return of the money forthwith. If they don’t, you will contact Fair Trading and make an application to the CTTT.
Another option is for you to contact your landlord and/or the agent.
I agree with Whale. A plan of subdivision should have been done to reflect what happened, as the strata plan would be incorrect.
The other factor is that if OC approval wasn’t obtained, then I would say it is highly likely Council approval wasn’t obtained, and it is very probable you would need Council approval for that kind of work, i.e. removing a wall between two units. I suggest you give the Council a call and if necessary, go there and do a search to see if any DA was put in and approved. If Council approval was not obtained, then at the very least retrospective approval needs to be given. The Council would have to be satisfied that it is structurally sound and the integrity of the building is not affected. At the extreme the Council can order the wall to be put back, although I am not suggesting that.
Note that when someone puts a DA application in to Council, it usually requires the common seal of the Owners Corporation.
One thing OCs need to bear in mind – if they become aware that a lot is being used in an illegal way, for example outside the scope of council approval, and they condone that use, or are wilfully blind to it, then a number of things may follow.
“Acceptance” of the illegal use may void the strata insurance, either wholly or in part. So for example, if there is a fire, the OC may find they are not covered for damage to the common property, i.e. the insurance company will reject the claim.
Similar considerations apply if an owner alters the common property in some way such as installing wiring that doesn’t comply with standards. If the OC does nothing, and there is a fault in the wiring, then they are likely to be liable for any damage that flows from that.
It is difficult but turning a blind eye can have serious consequences.
I suggest your best and most effective option would be to contact the Council and lodge a complaint regarding possible illegal use of the property, i.e. that the owner is using the premises in a way that has not been approved. With the recent publicity surrounding the tragic fire in the apartment block in Bankstown this is something that is very topical.
The Council has powers to enter and inspect properties, they may find quite a few concerns.
Whatever you decide to do, in the mean time I would help myself to the vegetables in the garden, because they are on the common property.
Taking this step by step:
1. The Strata Manager can’t order the OC to reinstate the garden (unless he has extensive delegated powers and is standing in the shoes of the OC).
It is up to the EC and/or the OC to decide what they want to do about it. They have a number of options – they could decide to do nothing, or they could decide that it is a breach of a by-law (refer below) and issue the owner with a notice to comply telling them to reinstate the garden. As a formal complaint was made, the EC does have a duty to consider that complaint and make a decision about it. The OC doesn’t necessarily have a duty to reinstate the garden.
2. Under the standard by-laws, the owner ripping up the common property garden and planting vegetables is a breach of by-law 4, you should have something along those lines.
4 Damage to lawns and plants on common property
An owner or occupier of a lot must not, except with the prior written approval of the owners corporation:
(a) damage any lawn, garden, tree, shrub, plant or flower being part of or situated on common property, or
(b) use for his or her own purposes as a garden any portion of the common property.
3. Why is everyone too scared to hold the person who did it accountable? Does it not bother anyone?
4. Yes, you can retrospectively grant exclusive use. What you would be doing is asking the owners corporation to approve what the owner had done, i.e. the damage to the common property, and then approving a by-law giving that owner exclusive use of that area, which would include that owner being responsible for the upkeep of that area, most likely in perpetuity. Any costs associated with drafting and registering the by-law should be met by the person benefitting from the by-law, i.e. the owner who pulled out the garden.
There are some things you need to consider if you want to go down that path. Essentially you would be giving the owner a part of the common property that is currently owned by all of you. That property has value. I wouldn’t agree to that unless the owner paid an amount of money representing that value. You would also need to consider where the area is and if others need to pass through it or access it, because if that is the case and the owner has exclusive use, that makes things difficult.
Personally I would not agree to something like that because essentially you would be rewarding somebody for doing something that is wrong. Following that logic someone else could come along and do the same thing, and expect to be given another piece of common property.
5. There is another option which is probably the simplest. The OC can reinstate the garden, and bill the owner for the cost of reinstatement. This would likely follow after you have issued a notice to comply, if the owner failed to reinstate the garden. If necessary, you could then seek an order from the CTTT, which may include a penalty for the breach.
As a general observation, it puzzles me why owners feel reluctant to pull owners up when they breach by-laws, specifically those relating to damage to common property. We are currently dealing with someone who has done quite a lot of damage to the common property, despite being told 3 times that they must not. Some of the owners feel that we shouldn’t rock the boat, and it will cause disharmony. To me that just means that the owner is likely to do it again, when they are the one causing disharmony.
The owner of the property has to be on the strata roll. The strata manager can’t refuse to tell you who owns the property, i.e. the person listed as the owner on the strata roll. Taking an example, if there were a breach of a by-law by the owner or occupier of of the lot, then you would have to be able to communicate with them. If the agent is listed as the registered address for the owner, then that is who you serve notices on.
Unless there is specific provision in your by-laws, you can’t tell an owner not to use a specific agent. If they are renting to undesirable tenants you would have to determine if there has been a breach of the by-laws and serve a notice to comply.Those plans may not show it, the important thing is to know what is registered with the Department of Lands. All strata plans are registered there and will show what property forms part of a lot and what is common property.
I suggest you go to this website and contact the Department re getting a copy of the strata plan registered with them, if the stairs were there when the plan was registered then they should be there.