There’s a question in this week’s forum that has revealed a shift in strata living you might not even have noticed.
Our Flatchatter wants to know if the committee can organise their own gardeners, thereby avoiding the management fees incurred through getting it done by their strata manager.
Someone has told them that if you have a strata manager, you have to use them. Is this true?
The simple answer is that it depends on the kind of contract and relationship you have with your strata manager.
There is a creeping trend, especially in new buildings, for strata management contracts to include “full delegation”. That means the strata manager, with the approval of the owners corporation, takes over all the functions of the strata committee, including chair, secretary and treasurer.
Now, this has historically been a safety net for the owners who can feel reassured that if any of their office bearers or even the whole committee falls over, there is someone there who can legally fulfill all their duties.
However, we have encountered growing numbers of occasions – especially in new buildings where most of the owners have no idea what’s going on – where full delegation has meant that the strata manager has taken over completely.
They make all the decisions, hire whatever tradies are needed, organise insurance cover, fire safety inspections, legal advice, building repairs and maybe (just maybe) defects inspections. And they set the agendas for whatever meetings are needed and charge the strata scheme for all their work.
To be fair, this would come as a huge relief to some strata newbies who have no idea what any of those functions are.
One or two of the larger companies conveniently have subsidiaries who will provide all those services in what you might call a one-stop strata shop.
And before you start crying “conflict of interest”, this can be both cheaper and more efficient for the strata owners. But, yeah, the potential for rorts is clearly there too, so it depends very much on the individuals concerned.
To get back to our Flatchatter, full delegation can always be rescinded and the committee can resume control of their building if they chose (although they may have to hold a general meeting if the strata manager won’t willingly let go of the steering wheel). So, yes, they can hire their own gardener.
However, the advantage of getting your strata manager to organise tradies is that they will have checked all the insurances and qualifications that have to be okayed before anyone can work in or around your block.
The disadvantage is that the hired hands are often really working for the strata manager, in terms of who they answer to, and there is a management charge on top of their fees which might not be the most competitive to begin with.
Which is best? You can plant your thoughts HERE.
Elsewhere on the Forum
- Developers are offering big money for our townhouses. Any advice? That’s HERE.
- Owners have added a room without permission from us or the council. That’s HERE.
- Chairman explodes over look of new air-con. That’s HERE.
- I was billed for drying out carpets following a flood when they put out a fire in the flat upstairs. That’s HERE.
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