Forum Replies Created
-
Replies
-
Austman – we’ve been using MYOB Atlas for around 7 years now, with five (5) pages including one with an automatic link to PayPal® to enable our Owners to make Levy payments on-line, and with no problems whatsoever for a monthly cost of $20 as their rate for not-for-profit clients.
bcr83 – the process of mediation in this case needs to be initiated by you (for $80), so if you’ve received a official NO to your request to install an air-conditioner in the manner and location that you prefer (and that’s an important point), then I’d suggest that you write to the Secretary of your Executive Committee and inform them that you intend to apply for mediation of the matter upon the expiry of 7 days from the date of your letter.
Then complete THIS form to commence the process, including preparing the arguments both written and visual that you intend to put forward in support of your point of view, bearing in mind that based upon my reading of your posts, your Executive Committee (E/C) hasn’t refused consent for you to install an air-conditioner, but has rather granted that consent based upon their interpretation of your Plan’s Special By-Law, about which you disagree on the grounds that its been inconsistently applied to past proposals and unreasonably applied to yours (?).
You may also find THIS information useful as an outline of what happens if mediation is unsuccessful, where as you’ll possibly conclude, your chances of having that air-conditioner installed at any location this year will be almost Nil; unless of course you decide to accept your E/C’s interpretation of that Special By-Law as an expedient means to fulfill your undertaking to your tenants.
There are other equally convoluted options available to you, but on my reading and interpretation of your posts, the one I’ve suggested is the one most appropriate.
valakos – you’re right to comply with the Law, but maybe give those married retiree owners a bit of a break. By all means ignore their irrelevant demands, but maybe consider that there may have been past problems with matters such as the use of visitors carspaces (by regular occupants) and with people using balcony railings as clotheslines, and that just maybe these owners think that they’re doing the right thing – albeit sometimes in the wrong way.
Scotty said…. I don’t think any Tribunal would fine someone for not providing the commencement date of a lease!
I agree, because on the basis of Millie‘s post (#6) it seems that it won’t even apply the explicit provisions of the Legislation that it’s charged to enforce!
With reference to Millie‘s post, there have been two occasions at our Plan where the absence of a S119 Notification caused problems.
The first was with an overflowing dishwasher in an unattended Unit of an overseas owner where the Executive Committee (E/C) had no clue about which Agent to contact about access, and the second was with the need to issue a tenant with a Notice to Comply (NTC) when the E/C had no knowledge of their real names.
The first resulted in considerable water damage to the Unit and moderate water damage to the Units adjacent and below, and the second gave rise to problems in the Tribunal because the NTC was incorrectly by necessarily referenced to “the occupants Lot xx”. The matter was heading towards a decision in our favour until the tenants claimed that they were unaware of the By-Laws because the Property Manager omitted to provide those with their Tenancy Agreement; another matter raised by Millie.
I haven’t yet experienced the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) but as it’s just the same old jockeys riding a different horse I strongly doubt that anything will change, and that’s why our E/C relies on local mediation, will do everything possible to avoid the NCAT, and instead seeks the services of a real Court of Law as a solution of last resort.
Again, on the specific matter of S119 Notifications, there have also been two (2) instances where our owners and more specifically their Agents (Property Managers) have refused to provide those, and on both occasions I (as Secretary) have contacted the NSW Department of Fair Trading and insisted that its minions do their job by enforcing the Rules of Conduct under the provisions of the NSW Property Stock and Business Agents’ Act, that amongst other things requires the Licensees of Real Estate Agencies to conduct their business in an legal, fair, and competent manner.
That approach was successful on both occasions, albeit that on one of those about which I’ve previously posted details, with what I allege was with the knowledge of a DFT Officer, a Licensee backdated a S119 Notification to avoid the imposition of a fine – but as it was the Notification that was the issue and not a penalty, we succeeded!
So in summary there’s more than one way to skin-a-cat, and if one of those is via the NCAT, success depends not so much on the Law but moreso on the individual Member and how well the parties do their homework and present their case.
In my opinion, where Mediation is unsuccessful Owners Corporations and more generally consumers need something much better than the NCAT!
Scotty said…. if you are leasing the unit to someone, either all of it or part of it, then you have to notify the strata manager under section 119, within 14 days. But all you have to give them is the name of the lessee. You do not have to give them a copy of the lease.
I don’t know why valakos would have a Residential Tenancy Agreement with his girlfriend and/or flatmate, but actually there’s a little more information that he is required to provide to his Owners Corporation within the prescribed 14 days, and if he doesn’t, his O/C can apply to the NSW Civil & Administrative Tribunal for the issue of a $550 penalty.
The following is the relevant Section of the NSW Strata Schemes Management Act (1996):
Sect 119 – Notice to be given to owners corporation of leases or subleases
(1) If a lot is leased, the lessor must give notice of the lease, in accordance with this section, to the owners corporation within 14 days after the commencement of the lease.
2) If a lot is subleased, the sublessor must give notice of the sublease, in accordance with this section, to the owners corporation within 14 days after the commencement of the sublease.
(3) If a lease or sublease of a lot is assigned, the assignor must give notice of the assignment, in accordance with this section, to the owners corporation within 14 days after the execution of the assignment.
(4) The notice must specify:
(a) the name of the lessee, sublessee or assignee, and
(b) the date of commencement or assignment of the lease or sublease, as the case requires, and
(c) the name of any agent acting for the owner in respect of the lease or sublease.
MAIT – some regulars here mightn’t agree that I have a sense of humour, or any other kind of sense for that matter, but perhaps THIS link to the website of the NSW Department of Fair Trading will clarify the issues and put your mind at ease.
In order to avoid numerous and on-going requests (or not) by Real Estate Agents (REAs) to place their signage on the Common Property, our Owners Corporation (O/C) resolved to adopt a “signage policy” and to then distribute that to all local REAs and to place it as another download on our website.
The terms of our policy are similar to those in the permission that your O/C granted, with the additional conditions being that we nominated on a site-plan the positions where signage may be placed on the Common Property in order to avoid the placement of those on balcony balustrades and additionally damage to landscaping and irrigation lines, limited the size of the signs to avoid those four-posted monstrosities, and advised that signs installed in contravention of our signage policy, including those left in place beyond 7 days from settlement, would be removed and stored in a nominated and easily accessible location on the CP for 14 days for collection by REAs, and after that time, and without further advice, signage would be destroyed.
It took a couple of years and the removal of a dozen or so signs for our message to sink-in but eventually the REAs, or more particularly the random people who they paid to put-up their signage, got it – very few problems now despite more Units being listed for sale!
There is already a requirement (in NSW) for all refillable LPG cylinders to be tested before sale, at 10 year intervals thereafter, and for the date when the most recent test was undertaken to be engraved on the cylinder.
If the date shown on any cylinder is older than 10 years, then it cannot be refilled; only exchanged or replaced with/by a newer one.
I’m inclined to the view that 10 years between testing operations is a little long, but then minds greater than mine have decreed that interval as adequate.
As all of the above is legislated via the NSW Gas Supply (Consumer Safety) Regulation (2012) there’s nothing to be gained by an Owners Corporation (O/C) attempting to impose further or different requirements upon its Residents by way of the suggested Special By-Law, because as a “superior law” all provisions of the legislation (above) would take precedence and thereby nullify any initiatives by an O/C.
That’s spot-on!
Whist brendjca can certainly rent the second property without a carspace and use that for the additional car, permanently / officially allocating that carspace to the unit that they occupy would require the consent of their Owners Corporation, and necessitate a Strata Sub-Division involving a re-survey of the Scheme, the production of a revised Strata Title Plan, and a valuation to determine the revised units of entitlement and levies for both Units.
All that information has to then be submitted to NSW Land & Property (inc the former Land Titles Office) so that the official records can be updated; for a further fee.
not worth the effort and the expense in my opinion.
Kinkladze82 – in response to your other questions (post #1), your Executive Committee Secretary is required to produce a written Agenda for each Meeting they convene, to make that Agenda available to each Owner at least 72 hours before the commencement of each such Meeting, and to provide each Owner with the Minutes of the Meeting within 7 days of it taking place.
The above may be made available by mail, by electronic means, or if your Owners Corporation has a Notice Board on-site, then that can be used as the means to comply with all of the above notifications.
In terms of past Executive Committee and General Meetings, you can access any or all of the above from your E/C Secretary or Strata Manager, but if they’re obstructionist put your request in writing and cite Sect 108 of the NSW Strata Schemes Management Act, which is the procedure by which any Owner can view any record held by their Owners Corporation for the princely sum of $31 for an hours perusal, plus any charge for photocopying or scanning if you require copies.
As for the need to hold physical meetings, there’s nothing prescribed in the Legislation that makes that clear, although as Owners have the ability to personally attend E/C Meetings (e.g. if there’s an Agenda item that interests them), that’s a little difficult to arrange unless there’s a physical location for the Meeting/s!
On the subject of (special) by-laws for renovations, they’re only necessary if, after granting consent by way of a special resolution at a General Meeting (not an E/C Meeting), the Owners Corporation (O/C) additionally wants, with the renovating Owners written agreement, to transfer its default responsibility to maintain common property areas of a (then) renovated Lot to that Owner and to subsequent Owners from time-to-time of that Lot. For example, if the consented renovations involve the installation of new hard flooring or wall tiles, then the O/C may not wish to accept maintenance responsibility for such items ($$) even if they’re fixed to, and therefore form part of, its common property (floors/walls).
It’s not necessary to have a special by-law (SBL) for each renovation as per the above (although that approach is permissible), and it’s in fact much simpler for an O/C to specially resolve (again at a General Meeting) to Register a generic SBL covering all or at least Owners’ most requested types of renovations (e.g. bathrooms / kitchens) with standard conditions set-out, and then (and only then) the E/C may grant consent to those on behalf of the O/C where proposed renovations are within the scope of that “envelope”.
Finally, the special resolutions that are necessary for O/C’s to consent to renovations involving its common property (e.g. floors, perimeter walls, ceilings) and to create / register SBLs require ≥75% of those Owners in attendance at the General Meeting, both personally and by proxy), to vote in favour in accordance with the unit entitlement of their Lots (i.e. a “poll vote” not a simply majority vote).
Hope that closes the rest of the loop for you.
ANSWERED HERE
sassa – your problem is quite complex as it appears that neither your Owners Corporation (O/C) nor you has as yet accurately determined the means by which water enters the unit below.
In my opinion it’s not the source/s of the leakage that are the problem in this case, but moreso the means by which water then enters the common property and/or the unit/s below – it’s quite possible that you could spend money replacing the damp-course or otherwise sealing the space between your balcony door and the concrete slab below and yet still not resolve the water ingress problems.
You’d be surprised by just how far water can “track” from a source or sources of leakage before it eventually emerges – in this case through the ceiling of the unit below yours.
It appears however that whatever the source/s of the leakage (balcony door, roof, or ??), water is passing through the concrete slab that forms the common floor of your unit and the ceiling of the unit below, and as that slab is common property, its your O/C who should be investigating and effecting the necessary repairs to it if it’s confirmed as the means by which water is permitted to enter the common property and the unit/s below.
That’s not to say that you should do nothing if your O/C’s investigations do confirm that water is passing through its concrete slab and that’s corrected, because at least some of that water is “available” because it can penetrate the damp-course below your balcony door, and you’re responsible for meeting the cost of rectifying that source of ingress – if only because it could also affect your Unit and/or your balcony door.
So as a specific response to your questions:
Q: what rights do I have when someone is insisting that I repair something and we do not know 100% what the cause is?
A: If you’re referring to your downstairs neighbour, you are are both part of the O/C and it, as a collective, should be arranging and paying for whatever investigations are necessary to determine the means by which water is entering the Unit below, and IF it’s proven to be the concrete slab then the O/C should meet to costs of repairs to that. So your “right” is to do nothing until your O/C investigates and determines the cause.
Q: The strata has paid for the damage of unit below where the dampness was, so basically they will not pay for the cause but will repair below is this fair.
A: Your O/C acted improperly – it should have investigated, determined the means by which the water entered the unit below, rectified the problem and any damage that it may have caused to the unit below in the process having those works undertaken (e.g. to the unit’s ceiling), and left the rectification of any damage that the leakage itself caused to the Owner below or to his contents insurance.
and…. with regard to the question in your subsequent post:
Q: If windows repaired by owner as building prior to 1974 what happens if a future by law is added to include repairs of windows under strata. Does the owner get compensated for having had to change their windows due to water leakages?
A: Probably not, unless you can successfully argue that provision as an amendment to the proposed Special By-Law when it’s put to your O/C at a General Meeting, and your O/C required or otherwise “encouraged” you to make the repairs.
Robert – In the situation that you describe Council was on a fishing expedition to update its records of consented multi-unit developments (MDU) in its area, and the information that you provide may serve to make confused1 more confused, as whilst it’s informative, it’s irrelevant to the circumstances outlined in post #1.
Sasha1 said…… am I correct in assuming that no resolution can be passed even if the other 4 units (2/3rds of the entitlements) vote in favour and we vote against (providing I turn up to the general meetings or return paper votes).
If the Motion is one of those that requires a Special Resolution and you personally vote or your proxy (paper vote) includes instructions about how you want your vote/s to be cast, YES you’re correct.
Be careful how you exercise your votes though, as other Owners can seek Orders in the NSW Civil & Administrative Tribunal to effectively nullify those if Meeting procedures weren’t strictly followed or otherwise in the Local Court if they’re seen to be malicious or to frustrate the Owners Corporation’s efforts to comply with its obligations under the Strata Schemes Management Act; neither process may be successful but aggrieved Owners can cause problems.
Sasha – to clarify a little further, whilst the NSW Legislation is silent of the subject of to what decisions a special resolution is necessary, so far as I’m aware that method of determining the outcome of a vote applies to Motions about Common Property dealings (e.g. easements, sub-divisions, exclusive use privileges to Owner/s), about adding to or amending the By-Laws of the Plan, about whether to waive the prescribed interest on overdue levies or to allow the prescribed discount for those paid early (both 10%), and about whether to permit changes, alterations, or additions to the Common Property of the Plan by the Owners Corporation (e.g. cement rendering a building) or by individual Owners (e.g. when proposing renovations).
As Jimmy T mentioned (post #3) Agenda Motions on the above need to be worded “THAT the Owners Corporation specially resolves to ………“, and additionally, the Minutes need to clearly show the total unit entitlements (UOE) of those in attendance and entitled to vote (both personally and by proxy), the nature of the vote on each special resolution (e.g. 44 UOE in favour / 13 UOE against), and the outcome of the vote (i.e. 77.2%).
I agree with all of that, and that zerotwoalpha’s Owners Corporation (O/C) should have been advised of and approved their Strata Manager’s arrangement to collect some unpaid levies without charging the prescribed interest, but in fairness the matter was at least discussed with and endorsed by a previous Executive Committee, and whilst it may not be equitable to those Owners who pay on-time, isn’t a payment plan one of the key strategies that a debt collection agency would use if the O/C had gone down that path?
The records of the arrangement together with amounts currently outstanding should be and are available to the current E/C, and must in fact be made available to individual Owners under Sect 108 of the NSW Strata Schemes Management Act should that be necessary, but in the meantime zerotwoalpha’s E/C should immediately instruct its Strata Manager in writing to make those records and the terms of the so-called payment plan available.
Don’t leap to judgement though, because IF the Strata Manager’s arrangement is working, it’s a damn sight easier and cheaper for the O/C than anything that may be employed by a debt collection agency.