#67056
gazelle
Flatchatter
Chat-starter

    I’ll be calling the Director/Senior Strata Manager of our strata management company tomorrow to see if he’s of the same opinion.

    Just to close this off. I spoke to the Director of my strata management company today, who is also a senior strata manager, and asked him if he agreed with the comments made by our/his strata manager in our recent EGM.

    He agreed that HBC cover is required for any building/trades work above $20K, including painting. I already knew that care of these two links:

    https://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/trades-and-businesses/licensing-and-qualifications/painting

    Find a Painter or Consultant

    But on my other two questions (co-owner self-nomination for strata committee & Section 108 applicable for changing building colour scheme), he also stated that they were open to interpretation. He said that he’d spoken to solicitors about this in the past and that it’s a grey area. I told him that he should find some better lawyers.

    Specifically on the co-owner self-nomination, he stated that the term “co-owner” isn’t even defined in the strata legislation and that there could be differences in the interpretation between joint owners and tenants in common, etc.

    Now I’m no legal eagle, but my simplistic view is that if there is more than one name on the title, you’re co-owners, as opposed to a single owner.

    I did some searching and sure enough, “co-owner” doesn’t appear to be defined in the strata legislation but it is defined here:

    CONVEYANCING ACT 1919 – SECT 66F

    66F Definitions
    In this Division–

    (1) “Co-ownership” means ownership whether at law or in equity in possession by two or more persons as joint tenants or as tenants in common; and
    “co-owner” has a corresponding meaning and includes an incumbrancer of the interest of a joint tenant or tenant in common.

    I presume that’s the relevant definition but happy to be educated if it’s not.