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Your committee should look at something like the Ready Steady Plug solution;
http://www.readysteadyplug.com
As it controls the load it will prevent your buildings power supply from being exceeded. It also allows an easy means to recoup the cost of the power from those charging.
We are in the process of commissioning one of these systems, it can connect to 36 EV’s (we have 9 connecting from the start) and in our instance those wanting to connect will have an outlet installed in their carspace.
I’d suggest you make a claim on your landlords insurance, they will likely ask the owners corporation for what is called a proof of no coverage under the strata schemes insurance. If the strata schemes insurance does not cover the loss of rent (as an example) then you claim through your insurer and you have a valid reason to seek your excess from the owners corporation. If it does however it forces the owners corporation to either raise a claim or if its less than their excess pay it from admin funds.
We have had a few instances where water damage to floating floors has initially been refused by the strata manager but when pressed by a lot owners insurer for a no coverage letter they quickly change their tune.
If you don’t have landlords insurance then a properly worded letter from your lawyer should also do the trick.
Depending on your evidence you can file with NCAT without a lawyer, especially as mediation didn’t resolve the issue.
We did, OC had lawyers (whom I wont name) charged owners a small fortune, but we won. The same lawyers are now earning good fees from the Strata Manager trying to reverse the licence cancellation by Fair Trading,
You need to get in contact with as many owners as possible to gain their support, so if/when the OC puts a motion forward to approve lawyers it gets voted down, then you are on a level playing field and if the basis for your claim is valid the tribunal will generally do the right thing.
Happy if you send me PM to give you some advice off line.
Taking photos does not help if you don’t know who owns the vehicle. “Catching in the act” was meant to refer to actually sighting a driver, and matching them to an apartment.
100% this is the hardest thing to do, matching a car to an owner.
The second thing we have found is what is the definition of a visitor? Our strata manager seems to think anyone not on title or a lease can be deemed a visitor, which means essentially the OC needs to define that specifically in the By-Law which obtaining agreement is sometimes problematic.
For the Bathroom – Vanity, toilet bowl, shower screen,
Can you do all that without moving tiles? Move the tiles and you probably affect the waterproofing. Mess with the waterproofing and you need a by-law.
Yes move tiles and waterproofing is needed with a registered design, new by-law and all that stuff.
But these 3 items are fixtures and generally sit on top of the tiles so should not affect the waterproofing. They are also the responsibility of the owner and don’t need OC approval to change.
Hi All, Update 2
There’s no structural change to the building for the reno. Pretty much everything is cosmetic. If the floor is unable to be wooden board, I’m happy to change it to the carpet flooring (currently it’s carpet) For the Bathroom – Vanity, toilet bowl, shower screen, and paint. Kitchen – Cupboard, benchtop and stove and rangehood. and then paint for the rest of the rooms. The electrical work and plumbing is just disconnect the exhaust fan and bowls and put new one in.
Unfortunately, looks like they’ve booked in the EGM for April 3rd. There has been no dialogue and so I cannot negotiate with anyone in the OC. and also the SM will be away for most of the month from 12/03/25. Looks like there’s no point dragging this out on NCAT, if it takes that long, but it’s just really disappointing that the members of the OC has to be this vindictive . Although would still like to go through NCAT as a backup in case they keep pulling rabbits out to delay, is that a possibility or just a waste of resource. There’s no option to explain myself for a reduced fee online, unless i have concession or pension.
None of those items are major renovations and need any approvals. The only item you realistically need approval for is the flooring. Get the acoustic report for the floorboards and send the strata manager a renovation request (they will have their own form). If the OC does not respond in the required time you can go to NCAT but I’d see no reason for that.
Hi Smokeye,
Yes the tribunal can issue orders under s237 to give a compulsory manager specific duties, but it’s not common.
Keep in mind s237 orders need to show significant disfunction within the entire Owners Corporation (or a default judgement debt if you are getting a slam dunk) which normally means a dysfunctional committee and a strata manager that isn’t doing things by the book.
We obtained such orders where PSMG were removed and a new manager compulsorily appointed with just the powers of a regular strata manager; I call this “compulsory management light”.
This has worked very well for us but please keep in mind we had applied for full compulsory management and were able after our hearing (and before our final submissions in reply) to force an AGM to elect a new committee. At the AGM we also had a motion approved where owners essentially said “we wish that NCAT in appointing a compulsory manager gives them just the duties of a standard strata manager to allow the new committee to run the scheme as normal”.
The tribunal member took the election of a new committee and the resolution from owners and granted us compulsory management light (in light of the overwhelming evidence of dysfunction and breaches of the SSMA by the Strata Manager.
Had the new committee not been elected then we would have continued down the path of full compulsory management as having the old committee with a new strata manager would have not fixed the issues we faced.
Cheers,
Stuart
The front door key is the primary level of security for the building and protection of occupants’ property.
I think the OP was referring to the front door of their unit, rather than their block. In the latter case, your observations are totally valid. Electronic is the way to go – that way you can cancel keys when residents leave and do an annual audit to make sure there aren’t too many spares floating around.
Electronic locks on apartment doors need to be suitable for the type of fire door you have installed, your fire company will need to see the lock has been fire tested so as not to have you fail your AFSS.
I can recommend chris@electroniclocksaustralia.com.au if you are seeking advise for what electronic locks are suitable for your type of fire door.
If the OC chooses to engage a lawyer then those costs are born by all owners, if your action is successful then you would be excluded from contributing to those costs. The OC can only put all costs on you if the tribunal makes a costs order, which is rarely done by the tribunal (but always a risk).
I have a different view on this, as the intercom will service multiple lots and I consider it the OC’s responsibility to provide a working doorbell / intercom to my apartment. Likewise the wiring is generally run within the common spaces of the building so again not technically a lots responsibility. Additionally you get no choice on the brand or features of the equipment as it needs to work with the OC’s system. Finally you have a right to be able to have emergency services attend your apartment, a non-functioning intercom is a significant safety hazard.
We had many issues with our intercom and the OC repaired / replaced it several times at no charge to ourselves. Ultimately the OC replaced the whole system and lots just paid their share of the system cost via levies based on UE.
That said, if an owner to tenant intentionally broke their intercom then I would certainly want to see it billed to them.
Its not like you can simply install a wireless doorbell on the front gate….
We have been down this rabbit hole, basically the answer is no, everybody needs to be levied in the same manner.
One strata loan company has offered a hybrid product that does allow people to pre-pay but it causes personal tax issues and the ATO has rained down hard on them so I don’t believe they are still offering the product.
We took an approach of giving the owners 2 choices at the EGM, fully fund the capital needed in one levy, or agree to a strata loan of the same size over several years.
At the end of the day the latter was agreed over a 3 year term as the majority of owners felt it was better to pay a little interest and know the funds were available as needed.
The levies ramp up as work gets completed so it’s not like you pay the full amount from day 1. In our case we actually collected more than what was needed for the first quarters repayments so we were able to make an additional $150k repayment which saved interest and will reduce the term.
Jimmy thanks for the tip on the website pages to look at. I will be speaking to neighbours on this issue in the next few days and am of the opinion, and I may be wrong as I am not legally trained, but think that if the OC has to pay to rectify the problem, that is install insulation, then those who did not know all the facts about the renovation eg me as the buyer and others who I am informed were not given particulars about the renovation should not have to pay for the rectification. Do you think this is a strong argument?
I’d suggest asking the neighbours if they had ever formally complained before about noise transmission, if they have and its not part of the strata records then you may have recourse against the company that did a strata search for you.
Granted what they are doing sounds very unreasonable, and if the consequential loss is due to a CP issue then yes you should be covered.
NCAT does take a long time, which really sucks.
If you have contents insurance (in NSW at least) I would recommend making a claim on your insurance. What should happen is your insurer will write to the OC’s insurance and ask for a no-coverage letter. Essentially this puts the OC’s insurance on notice of a claim and they are obligated to advise if the items are covered or not via the OC’s insurance policy.
If you don’t have contents insurance then I guess you need to go the NCAT route.