Forum: When a bully takes over a small block

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There’s an easy and often erroneous assumption that’s often made – that living in a small block is more pleasant than life in a large one.

Of course, for some that’s true.  But when things go wrong in a small apartment building, every issue becomes very personal, very quickly.

Take the Flatchatter who’s been living happily in her four-unit walk-up for nearly 10 years – until a bully moved in and took over.

First of all he garnered the support of the other two owners – both overseas investors – then used his majority vote to award himself executive powers and ride roughshod over our correspondent’s rights.

Not least among these is that he has changed the locks on the common property doors, forcing her to use a rear entrance to her ground floor unit.

What can our benighted reader do?  Not very much or, alternatively, an awful lot.  Should she take the nuclear option?  That’s HERE.

Elsewhere on the Forum

  • Can I appeal a Tribunal ruling without legal advice?  That’s HERE.
  • Are we allowed to use strata funds to beautify the nature strip outside our apartment block?  That’s HERE.
  • You can’t have proxies at strata committee meetings, so what are stand-ins?  That’s HERE.
  • Neighbours blocked a drain that stopped water from our block flooding their house – why should we pay to fix it? That’s HERE.
  • Why is it taking so long to register my off-the-plan apartment? That’s HERE.

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