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I looked up the Strata Schemes Management Regulation 2016 and it says the fee is paid to the Owners Corporation.
Refer to Schedule 4 Fees.
It says “Fees payable to owners corporation
For making records available for inspection under Section 182 of the Act … $31 and an additional $16 per half hour or part of half hour after the first hour of inspection. ”
A strata manager might have other charges documented in your strata management contract.
A few years ago, one of the owners in my owners corp paid $20 to the strata manager for photocopying records.
I suggest that when you next sign your strata management contract, read through all the fees and challenge the ones you don’t want to pay.
The overseeing authority, currently branded NCAT, have the delusional view:
“The legislation has always envisaged that generally, strata schemes would be managed by ordinary lot owners for their own benefit.”
J Bordon: Nulama Village P/L v Owners Strata Plan 61788 (Strata & Community Schemes) [2006] NSWCTTT 550 (25 September 2006)
This is only possible for a few strata plans. A small strata plan of less than ten villas / townhouses with lawn, a driveway and letterboxes, could be managed by ordinary lot owners. An apartment block with hundreds of homes, elevators, gym, building supervisor, electronic key access etc might want more than this.
I am looking at the common property memorandum published on the NSW fair trading web site. it could be different from your own strata plan’s wording might be different. You have not shown us the wording.
From the NSW Fair Trading version: Only the skirting board on the common property wall is the responsibility of the owners corporation. The other skirting board is lot owner’s responsibility. Painting on all skirting boards (irrespective of whether it is a common property wall) is lot owner’s responsibility.
I had skirting boards installed earlier this year (2023). They cost $7.70 per metre for the materials and $7.15 per metre for installation (GST included). Painting was extra cost.
One of my neighbours is from an overseas English speaking country. She said that she had no idea about strata until after she purchased her home.
Just before we became self managed, I spent a lot of time reading the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015, the Fair Trading web site, various strata legal web sites and flatchat, of course.
My beef is with unscrupulous strata managers. They want to keep us in the dark. Our owners corp was paying around $6,700 in fees and getting poor service. The management fees were supplemented by other fees such as insurance valuation, “postage, copying, calls”, tax return, capital works review, updating by-laws. We had overpriced electricity and trades people.
I noticed that we paid over $100 per year for a tax return. I called the ATO and they confirmed it was not necessary. We have no taxable income. I organised an EGM to instruct them to stop doing tax returns and to let us approve every repair first. They resigned.
Anyone who is not interested in how their strata is run, is paying a “lazy tax”.
When I searched “home contents insurance”, the search engine had “home and contents insurance” at the top of the search result. In the second half of the search result, I saw “home contents”. That sounds like what you are seeking.
At the very least, your daughter’s tenant should have evidence of a “working with children” certification.
Check your by-laws. If your strata plan adopted the NSW model by-laws, the following two by-laws would apply.
16 Change in use or occupation of lot to be notified
- (1) An occupier of a lot must notify the owners corporation if the occupier changes the existing use of the lot.
- (2) Without limiting clause (1), the following changes of use must be notified:
- (a) a change that may affect the insurance premiums for the strata scheme (for example, if the change of use results in a hazardous activity being carried out on the lot, or results in the lot being used for commercial or industrial purposes rather than residential purposes),
- (b) a change to the use of a lot for short-term or holiday letting.
- (3) The notice must be given in writing at least 21 days before the change occurs or a lease or sublease commences.
17 Compliance with planning and other requirements
- (1) The owner or occupier of a lot must ensure that the lot is not used for any purpose that is prohibited by law.
- (2) The owner or occupier of a lot must ensure that the lot is not occupied by more persons than are allowed by law to occupy the lot.
Refer to Section 182 of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW) to see what kinds of records you can view and how to make a request.
Schedule 4 Fees in the Strata Schemes Management Regulation 2016 says that the owners corporation can charge $31 for the first hour of records inspection and then $16 per half hour or part half hour after the first hour of inspection. The owner bears the costs of making copies.
The Act describes making requests to the “owners corporation”. Perhaps a request to the strata manager is different?
You should read the agreement (contract) between your Owners Corporation and the strata manager. Find out the start and end dates of your agreement and the rules for terminating an agreement. If you hold a general meeting just before the agreement is due to end, there would be a motion to renew the agreement. If a majority votes against that motion, the agreement can’t be renewed.
If you wish to terminate the agreement and appoint a new strata manager at the same meeting, I think you would have to submit the agreement for the new strata manager when the agenda is distributed. People need to see the agreement before they vote to accept it. Are you happy for the old strata manager to see your new contract?
In my strata plan, we held an EGM requesting the strata manager change some parts of their agreement. They said that if we voted in favour of these changes, they would resign from our service. We voted in favour. They resigned.
I have been following the forum for a few years. I started listening to your podcasts in the past year. I really enjoy the conversations between Jimmy and Sue. Lots of good information for me to digest whilst I go about my daily routine.
Regarding the queue at NCAT:
I wonder how many no fault evictions are now going to NCAT because people are desperate to stay where they are. Even when they’ve been told by their managing agent that there is nothing they can do to change it, they might still go to NCAT as their last hope.
I tried a google search of “industry standard strata levy” and found nothing. My previous two strata managers had processes which were not as lengthy as yours. They were similar to the process outlined in Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW) Section 86 “Recovery of unpaid contributions and interest”.
Remember: the owners are in charge of the strata plan, NOT the strata manager. We were told at an NCAT hearing that the owners corporation is ultimately responsible for everything that goes on with the strata plan. The owners corporation delegates its responsibilities eg levy collection to the strata manager. If the owners corporation wants something done differently, the strata manager has to listen.
As an individual owner, you are not the whole owners corporation. You will need the support of other owners. Try talking to the other owners, specifically the ones who actually pay their levies. You need to find out who would vote with you to change the overdue levy collection rules.
If you get 50% of the owners to draft a new set of rules for levy collection, call an extraordinary general meeting. You don’t have to involve the strata manager in this. In my strata plan, we followed the rules as outlined in the Strata Schemes Management Act and called a meeting to change some things we didn’t like about our strata manager (excessive repair costs, unnecessary tax returns).
It is possible that your strata manager will be very unhappy if you do this. Just remember that the strata manager is your slave, not the other way around.
I really really want to know what an ANZAC Day display is that involves flames in a bedroom. Clearly my life is very boring.
My guess is that it was a candle. People light candles when they remember the dead.
thanks for your reply. My main concern is what is actually on the strata roll itself. are people familiar with all contact details on the roll, like some I’ve viewed. In answer to the privacy issue and open disclosure of all owners details I mentioned FT and got the “ call them every day its a different story” and “ I prefer to do what the company solicitor tells me” so yet again its a brick wall . I feel that the strata act in itself is very broad and subject to interpretation and that feeds a certain group so ordinary owners who just want a simple life without legal costs struggle.
You’re right. “an address for service of notices” is specified in the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW).
Your strata manager is being arrogant. There is no need to refer to a solicitor or Fair Trading. From what you’ve told us, the strata manager is counting on your ignorance. I suggest you show them Section 178, paragraph (1) of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW) and offer to arrange mediation at Fair Trading if they don’t agree.
To answer your question of “what should be on the strata roll?” you already found it in Section 178, paragraph (1) of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW).
My brother is a solicitor. He told me to look up everything I need to know about strata in the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW). He also advised me not to trust what is written on web sites about strata. Always refer to the Act. If the dispute goes to NCAT, the NCAT member will only refer to the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW). You can’t use the Fair Trading web site as evidence.
Levy Recovery Stage 1-issue reminder 35 days after due date
35 days! Our previous strata manager sent the Stage 1 notice after ONE day. Now that we’re self-managed, we send the first notice after one week. I assume you’re in NSW. Please read Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW) Section 86 for accurate information about the debt recovery procedure.
You could cut this down to two stages:
Levy Recovery Stage 1: send this letter one day after levies are due. This letter should also give them 21 days’ notice of impending recovery action.
Levy Recovery Stage 2: initiate recovery action 22 days after levy is due.A debt recovery plan is voted on at every annual general meeting. Our scheme follows the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 exactly. Our letters carefully outline how interest is calculated if they are more than 30 days late. In the past, we bankrupted one owner for long term default of levies. It cost them thousands of dollars in legal fees.
I had this experience several years ago. Here is what happened. A lot owner breached Section 108 of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW) by attaching something to the exterior brick wall. Our strata manager had two meetings with the owner, requesting the illegal structures be removed. Lot owner declined. Strata manager then applied for mediation with Office of Fair Trading NSW. The Office sent multiple invitation letters to the owner. The lot owner declined / did not respond to the invitations. Then the strata manager applied to NCAT on behalf of the owners corporation. NCAT ordered that the structures be removed and the owner pay for the cost of repairing the damage. i.e. fill in the holes in the bricks. The whole process took about nine months.
We had to have evidence of attempted mediation before making the NCAT application. Mediation through Office of Fair Trading is slow (months). Maybe there are other ways to show that you attempted mediation?
I find this question interesting because I’m about to install plantation shutters.
SSMA 2015 Section 109 Clause 2 has a list of things which can be considered “cosmetic work” and not require permission of the Owners Corporation. That list includes installation of “internal blinds and curtains”.
I think Thirsty is asking whether internal plantation shutters would count as “internal blinds and curtains”.
If not, Thirsty considered SSMA 2015 Section 109 Clause 4, which says:
“The by-laws of a strata scheme may specify additional work that is to be cosmetic work for the purposes of this section.”
Thirsty’s OC could update its by-laws to explicitly state that internal plantation shutters are another form of “cosmetic work” as directed by this clause:
I suppose internal plantation shutters were not well known when the Act was drafted.