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Oops. Thanks for the correction Jimmy. The declaration with the JP / solicitor is on the second page. It was there when I filled out the form about two years ago.
I question how well the strata managers know about the process. I had to tell mine what to do. The strata manager before that simply wrote a letter on their own letterhead. I would rather use the Fair Trading’s form.
Hi Katie, the owners corporation cannot directly fine the villa owners. A fine can be issued by NCAT (New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal). There is a process.
First, get a copy of your strata plan’s by-laws. Hopefully, there is a by-law which says where they may or may not park a motor vehicle.
Second, if you find a by-law that has been breached: make a record of dates / times, car make and model, registration etc when you saw the visitor spaces being used. Photos with car registration numbers would be helpful.
Third, issue a “Notice of breach of by-law”. This is a form you can download from the NSW Fair Trading web site. Google it. You can only issue the notice if one of these is true:
- Strata manager decides to issue the notice
- The owners corporation passed a motion to issue the notice
- The strata committee passed a motion to issue the notice
With (2) and (3), there has to be a meeting of the owners corporation or strata committee. A majority vote is needed.
If you do NOT have a by-law which tells people where to park their cars, you need a meeting with a 75% majority vote, which is called a special resolution, to create a new by-law for your strata plan.
The notice is a warning. It tells the resident that they breached a specific by-law on a certain date. If they do it again over the next six months, the owners corporation is permitted to go to NCAT. NCAT will only accept your application for an order to fine the residents if you follow the above steps.
I can’t remember the fine but I think it is a maximum of $550. People usually change their behaviour after receiving the notice.
You can avoid holding a meeting if you convince your strata manager to issue the notice. In the past, I downloaded the form and completed it myself. Then I emailed it to the strata manager and asked him to serve it on the resident.
Has your strata committee held a meeting and voted to issue a notice to comply with a by-law already? You have to hold a meeting and produce the minutes if this becomes an NCAT application.@Sage-grouse. Correct. When our (past) strata manager appeared at NCAT, it was on behalf of the owners corporation. The owners corporation was charged. Not a person.
@Ziggy, a by-law which conflicts with your Council’s rules is an invalid by-law. For instance, we can’t pass a by-law to build a meth lab on common property. All Commonwealth, State, Council laws take precedence over by-laws.
NSW Government remarks “concerns about smart meters”
I googled “smart meter radiation”. Smart meters emit radiofrequency (RF) radiation. The amount of radiation is smaller than what is emitted from a mobile phone. American Cancer Society is not concerned about it.
Last year, there were reports of people having their electricity plan changed without their knowledge or consent after a smart meter was installed. The changed electricity plans resulted in unexpectedly high bills. If anyone is switching to a smart meter, please talk to your electricity company immediately to get the best available plan for your circumstance.
The person providing the report (e.g. a builder, engineer) should also have photos of the problem.
You also need evidence of you asking for the work and the owners corporation refusing to do the work. An email chain showing that you asked for something to be done and they rejected it. Or minutes from a meeting where they dismissed a motion to do this work. Phone calls are not good enough. Get it in writing.
Hello guestguest
NCAT hearings are done in person. On the Fair Trading web site, they say that we are encouraged to represent ourselves. In practice, people bring lawyers.
Having said that, I have NEVER brought a lawyer. I had to respond to an owner, who did have a lawyer. Their case was dismissed.
You have completed mediation. The outcome is not satisfactory to you. You should advise the mediator that the other side has not complied with mediation agreement. The mediator should give you a letter to say it is OK to go ahead with an NCAT application.
The other side will continue to bluff you into submission. They will try to frighten you with legal costs. If you have done nothing wrong, and you win the case, they will have to pay for their own legal costs.
NCAT applications require an application fee of about $110.
It would not surprise me if the owners corp suddenly produce evidence of water ingress testing after they receive their ‘notice of directions hearing’ from NCAT.
I read the case quoted above. The applicant was a previous strata committee member. The respondent is a current strata committee member.
The applicant, himself, had done some questionable things. e.g. conduct a strata committee meeting at which he was the only attendee and approve a $20,000 retainer to a consulting firm.
The applicant had a long list of grievances without sufficient explanation for why they were out of order. One of his complaints: that the strata committee decided to terminate the services of abovementioned consulting firm.
The respondent was found to have breached a by-law by viewing some CCTV footage with another strata committee member, without first seeking the approval of the strata committee. Also, a strata lawyer invoiced the owners corp for legal advice given to the respondent.
However, Senior Member did not find a strong enough case to remove the respondent. He went through all of the respondent’s grievances, one by one. There was also a complaint about the respondent’s noisy dog. The applicant did not do himself a favour by piling on complaint after complaint.
It looks to me that we have two neighbours who seriously dislike each other. One of them got angry and went to NCAT to get vindication.
Surely the Owners Corp can make this problem go away by adjusting the light!
Just for clarity: if OC is represented by strata manager and I lose, the strata still need cost orders to bill me?
Read your strata management contract. Strata managers can add extra charges to their contract. e.g. a $5 fee for overdue levy payment. My (former) strata manager charged $440 for appearing at NCAT for half a day.
Otherwise, the document linked in Jimmy’s post makes it clear that only NCAT determines who pays for costs. You have to put that request in your application.
This is also true for a breach of by-law: the owners corporation may NOT order the owner to pay a fine. The order is made by NCAT.
@Craxstar, I cannot see your document. As Jimmy explained, you need to document your communication with the strata committee. Put this in writing:
- Explanation of the problem. Photos / video would be great
- What needs to be done
- Who is responsible for it and why this is common property
Wait for their response (favourable or unfavourable)
If unfavourable response, you go to Fair Trading and request mediation.
If mediation fails (because they refuse to attend, or problem is not resolved), you receive a letter form Fair Trading to state that mediation failed.
- Then you make an NCAT application
- explaining that this is common property,
- you asked them to fix it, they refused.
- You want an order to get them to fix it and maybe, pay the costs of your strata lawyer (if you have one). The application has a list of orders and which section of the law you need to say is being broken by the Strata Committee.
At some point, they will try to bully you into paying their legal costs “when you lose”. Ignore the threats.
Look up Strata Schemes Management Act 2015. Read what it says about Strata Committee meetings. It is clear about notifying ALL owners of the strata committee meeting. Owners can attend the strata committee meeting but they cannot vote. It is not good enough to send owners the minutes after the event. Also, I would check the rules about how many people should be at the meeting.
What kind of “development application” is this? If anything changes the external appearance of common property, a general meeting of the Owners Corporation is required. A general meeting (whether it is Annual General Meeting or Extraordinary General Meeting) invites ALL owners. to pass the motion, you require 75% of the vote at the general meeting. The only exception would be environmental things like solar panels.
“Changing the external appearance of common property” can mean a lot of things. e.g. repainting the roof red, installing speed humps and bollards, building a swimming pool, solar panels, garden refurbishment.
I implore you to read the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 yourself. You should not rely on the memories of other forum members. Arm yourself with knowledge.
Hello concerned consumer
Yesterday I received an email from NSW Fair Trading. It was addressed to strata committee members, who have their email address on Strata Hub. Here is the bit you might find interesting:
“If they assist your strata scheme to secure insurance quotes, these quotes must have a breakdown of certain costs. Strata managers will be banned from getting a commission on insurance – if your scheme obtained the quote and arranged for its payment independently, without their help.”
I posted the full text of the email in a new topic (to avoid hijacking this one).
Hello Toffie
The strata manager has not handled this well. From reading your post, I assume that English is not your first language. The strata manager should take the time to explain the situation clearly. Would it help to get a friend to talk to the strata manager on your behalf?
If you are in NSW, the law is the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015. Section 107 COMMON PROPERTY MEMORANDUM helped me answer your question.
The common property memorandum is a list of what is your responsibility (as owner) and what is the owners corporation (strata) responsibility.
For intercom systems: If the unit is inside your lot and the wiring / unit only services one lot, then it is YOUR responsibility to pay for it.
If the unit services more than one lot, it is the owners corporation’s responsibility. For example, the unit outside the building, which everyone uses, is the owners corporation’s responsibility.
The strata manager should have told you this BEFORE sending someone to fix it. They should have said “you have to pay for the cost of fixing or replacing it.”
Did you send emails and SMS messages to the strata manager? Did you write something to say that you would pay for it? I don’t know if merely asking the strata manager to send someone to your home is the same as consenting to paying for the work.
The strata manager may threaten to charge interest on the outstanding amount if you don’t reimburse them now. I don’t believe they are allowed to do this unless they go to court first. A lawyer could answer that question.
You should talk to a strata lawyer. Just be aware that lawyers cost money. The lawyer might cost more than the new intercom.
You should at least arrange for mediation. Mediation is free.