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@JimmyT said:
Assuming you are in NSW, under section 62 of the Strata Schemes Management Act, the Owners Corporation must maintain and repair common property – no excuses and no exclusions.

I would be telling the strata manager to get this sorted NOW or your next step will be to go to the CTTT where you will be seeking an order to have the work done and possibly also asking for compensation for the loss of tenants.

I would also, quietly, be wondering about the competence of a strata manager who doesn’t understand this most fundamental of strata laws. 

If you are not sure how to go about seeking an order, click HERE and scroll down to the section on CTTT Orders.  There you will find a description of the processes involved and links to the forms required.

 

I don’t know about that. We have an old house attached to our strata and the owner admitted she new of the defects to the house when she purchased it, and used this information to lower the offering price on the property, and then expected strata to pay for the defects after she bought it.

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@Whale said:
ccgirl – further to KP’s post, I support his advice that your Executive Committee should first check the “contract  details”, because not only will that Strata Management Agency Agreement (in NSW) between your Owners Corporation (O/C) and its current Strata Manager detail if they’re required to arrange site inspections such as the one by the plumber, but it will also detail the circumstances under which that Agreement may be mutually terminated; usually with three (3) months written notice.

That will answer your question about the legality / ethics of what the Strata Manager has done with regard to delegating the task to the Executive Committee (E/C), and also your second question about the E/C insisting that the Strata Manager do the job that they’ve (maybe) been contracted to do.

In NSW both the Strata Manager’s activities and the operation of their Agreement with your O/C is governed by the provisions of the Property, Stock, and Business Agents Act (2002) and by a Code of Ethics developed by their peak industry body, Strata Community Australia (national), through whom your E/C can also lodge a complaint.

A word of caution though. There is always two sides to a story, so before your E/C jumps into the deep end, it should just make sure that it’s appraised of all the facts, lest your O/C finds itself paying for a new Strata Manager and the current one, and also be in the middle of an otherwise unnecessary quagmire as one Strata Manager (slowly) hands-over all the O/C’s records to another.

Is it mandatory for a Strata Manager to be a member of Strata Community Australia? If not, then the E/C cannot lodge a complaint. 

Part 12, 191 of the Property, Stock, and Business Agents Act (2002) states: “Disciplinary action under this Part can be taken against a person who is or was the holder of a licence or certificate of registration on any one or more of the following grounds:

 (c) the person has, in the course of carrying on business or exercising functions under the licence or certificate of registration (this includes Strata Managers) acted unlawfully, improperly, unfairly or incompetently.”  Fair Trading advised me they do not take complaints for customer service issues. I wonder what they consider improper, unfair or incompetent.

 

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The Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (DDA) was an act passed by the Parliament of Australia in 1992 to promote the rights of people with disabilities in certain areas such as housing, education and provision of goods and services. Guide dogs, hearing dogs, companion animals and other other assistance animals should be welcome in all Body Corporates and Strata Schemes. Tenants living in Body Corporate properties are entitled to maintain therapeutic animals as sanctioned under Section 9 of the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 covering guide dogs, hearing assistance dogs, and other trained animals, providing documentation indicating the need for such assistance and the training/qualification of the individual assistance animal can be provided. This has been tested in Queensland. I personally have a companion animal for my depression and I live in NSW. I am awaiting testing of this Act in NSW based on my doctor’s prescription that the animal is contributing to my health and well-being.

@JimmyT said:
A court decision allowing a “hearing assistance” dog to stay in a pet-free apartment building could lead to the strata equivalent of the disabled parking permit rort, says a leading strata lawyer.
Beverley Hoskinson-Green, a partner at lawyers Makinson d’Apice, said the case was a “road map for anyone wishing to get around legitimate by-laws banning pets from strata schemes.”

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@scotlandx said:
Yes – strata managers have to have a licence and are governed by the Property Stock & Business Agents Act, refer link below.  The provisions that relate to strata managers are pretty general and are primarily regarding accountability re money held on behalf of the OC, and things such as records.

I have thought for a long time that there should be some more specific laws governing strata managers.  You don’t want to go overboard but from my experience there are some naughty ones out there.

 

https://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/fullhtml/inforce/act+66+2002+FIRST+0+N

I think there should be a forum just entitled “Strata Managers.”

Our Manager does not answer our emails, calls or queries, so I sent him a registered letter and quoted the act as follows:

I refer you to Part 4 division 3 sec 37 of the Strata Schemes Management Act 1996 No 138
“37 Procedure for requiring information from strata managing agent”

When he still did not answer, I went to Fair Trading who informed me that they do not get involved in customer service issues between the managing agent and the o/c – that the above part of the act only refers to financial matters. I can’t find anything on ethics under the  Property Stock & Business Agents Act. You would think if someone had to be licensed, there would be a code of conduct somewhere. What do you think?

 

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