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If you haven’t already, read the useful advice here:
https://www.cancercouncil.com.au/cancer-prevention/smoking/smoke-free-apartments-nsw/
@Whoopi said:
My advice to anyone ever considering buying into Strata is DON”T. You place your money and your property in the hands of volunteers, untrained in any way for the job . No business acumen, no building experience and no people skills. Emotionally immature despots who are attracted to being on a committee due to a hunger for control, power and the access to the considerable money available to them.I feel for you in your situation but to lump all strata schemes in the “run by incompetent tinpot dictators” pile does disservice to those of us who strive to keep their strata schemes running as smoothly as possible by volunteering their professional skills & experience to their owner’s corporations.
Wouldn’t it be easier just to install bollards in the visitor car spaces & by default leave them locked? Either distribute bollard keys to residents or make them easily available to residents who have a need for a visitors car park.
Owner’s Corporation insurance isn’t the only type of insurance which attracts the Fire Services Levy. e.g. it is levied on my contents insurance policy. Overall I’ll see a payment reduction once the changes come into effect.
More info:
https://fireandemergencyserviceslevy.nsw.gov.au/
My insurance policy renewal arrived with an explanatory note. You’ll probably find the same with your OC insurance policy.
@Deborah Searle said:
I think its due to an increased number of downsizers who expect the same level of noise they enjoyed living in their previous mansions, which was probably none.Slipping on my grumpy nanna stilettos… I think we’ve evolved into noisier people who live more indoors. Subwoofers, mobile phones, tellys/screens in rooms other than the lounge, many people with undiagnosed hearing loss due to years of headphone/earbud use turning up the volume, etc. etc. etc.
As for levels of noise in surburbia – nothing beats that weekend race to the lawnmover. 😉
Consideration for your neighbours wherever you live is the thing.
@Wendy said:
Isn’t the levy we paid in related to the size of our apartment? We are paying more.It’s related to your unit entitlement. Go to the appropriate state government body & educate yourself about how strata works in your neck of the woods. In NSW that’s Fair Trading:
https://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/ftw/Tenants_and_home_owners/Strata_schemes.page?
@Wendy said:Is it perfectly normal that general meeting being held in an expensive restaurant plus food and drinks are consumed at all owners’ expenses? Where is generalmeeting usually held in your building?
We’re lucky enough to have a common area meeting room large enough for AGMs. Our Strata Committee (SC) meets in the same room.
Our SC/AG meetings are open to any owner – we are delighted when they overcome the apathy barrier & show up. Nibbles, wine & water are available to meeting attendees. Our Chair buys the supplies.
We have an annual SC dinner in appreciation for the immense amount of work our SC members perform. This is held in a restaurant & it’s informal. Partners are invited.
We have an annual Xmas party for all residents just because. It’s very well attended & appreciated. The budget is normally around $2K.
Our sub committees meet in individual apartments, coffee shop or our building manager’s office if people need to phone in.
That’s the extent of our largesse. We try to plot a reasonable course: neither spendthrift or miserly. We’re a large scheme in NSW (~350 lots).
Links to the latest opinion/articles:
FWIW: After reading this in the last link:
Those against short-term lettings (and there are many of them with very valid concerns) should accept that some owners want to share their property. Instead of fighting a rear-guard action against it, the goal of the anti-Airbnb brigade should be to agitate to have government establish a good “fair use and fair pay” policy for strata living.
My biggest issue with airbnb is with implications for fire safety. Doesn’t anyone remember the Childers Backpackers catastrophe? There are reasons why hotels/hostels have more stringent building code requirements.
What happens to buildings zoned & built to code ‘residential’ when they permit/are forced to permit short stay lets? Who is responsible for bringing the building up to code & maintaining the higher level? Or won’t that be a bother until we have a coronial inquest into what went wrong in building ‘X’?
Airbnb’s latest thought bubble:
“Airbnb’s new building program to give strata bodies a cut of short-stay rentals”
Sounds like a PR solution rather than a practical one from here. Still more work for OC volunteers – as if we didn’t have enough to do. I’m not our treasurer, but I imagine there will be tax/non-profit status implications of such a scheme.
Airbnb – instead of dangling dollars, provide a blacklisting service so that OC communities which have decided not to allow short term lets can ban their address from your “service”? Call it an “Unfriendly Buildings Program” – you can have that one for free.
7. What processes/technology would they use to manage your strata scheme?
8. References? (adding onto JimmyT’s pt. 5 above).
Run to the nearest independent construction/building consultant who can give your EC expert advice.
Just a thought… how about a swap area/freecycle area along these lines:
https://greenstrata.com.au/case/swap-room-signature-apartments
If stuff is being dumped by people leaving the building, then trying to hunt them down to issue notices & fines may prove frustrating.
+1 to tracking the person down as well as obtaining professional debt recovery advice.
I’d also look at the strata legislation for your state & make sure the OC is fulfilling its obligations to all owners. In NSW:
“The owners corporation must prepare and keep a strata roll. The roll must be kept by mechanical, electronic or other means. There must be recorded for each lot:
* the owner’s name
* or the owner’s agent and the agent’s Australian address for service of notices.”
&
“After the levies are set, the Treasurer must write to the owners and tell them the amount to pay and the date to pay. This notice only has to be given once.”
&
“An unpaid levy gains interest at the rate of 10% simple interest a year if not paid within one month after it is due. The owners corporation cannot increase or decrease the interest but it can make a special resolution to charge no interest. Unpaid levies, including interest, can be recovered by the owners corporation as a debt in court.”
We did have problems with outstanding debts, our OC now has a process in place where we have a graduated response to overdue levies which ends in debt recovery with all costs directed to the debtor. Since we’ve brought in that process we’ve had very few problems with outstanding levies.
& well done, webman for stepping up to the plate for your OC.
Is water usage individually metered in your strata complex?
Double check your water bill for water usage, mine for e.g. only includes the connection & service charges. The usage charges are levied to the the strata plan as a whole as our apartments don’t have individual water meters.
You can always ask the EC to check the bill & if it is excessive usage, hunt down any leaks.
Which state does your Mum live in?
Do you know if the communal laundry is on common property? Any by-laws detailing use of the communal laundry? Keeping electrical appliances safety tagged for e.g.?
Has there been any correspondence regarding changes to the communal laundry? From EC/AGM minutes? In my building, we’ve had a recent query delivered with a bit of outrage about something which has been discussed at the last 18 months of EC meetings & was a special resolution at the last AGM. Not saying that this is your Mum’s case but worth a double check.
There are already developments which are split, e.g. the community/neighbourhood strata schemes for multi building developments.
Sample size of 1 warning: A friend lived in the social housing part of a CityWest development. The part she lived in was run well from what I observed.
More info: https://citywesthousing.com.au/about-us
No affiliation yada, yada, yada…
You might want to look into community/neighbourhood schemes & hopefully allay some of your concerns.