Reply To: Complex going to the dogs

I requested the Strata Roll from the Strata Manager, as per STRATA SCHEMES MANAGEMENT ACT 2015 – SECT 182 & her reply was :  ” ….. In accordance with the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015, the strata roll can only be requested/sent to the Committee ” Is she correct? .

Yes and no. She may choose only to SEND the strata roll to the committee but she must let you see it and copy it.

I’m having the same problem with our strata manager (let’s call them BigStrata) who are twisting themselves inside out to even prevent the committee from being given the strata roll for my investment unit on the South Coast.

They even tried to deceive my fellow office-bearers, implying that in these columns I had written that strata managers didn’t need to hand over the strata roll to the committee, when in fact I had written that they don’t need to hand it over to ordinary owners but they do have to make it available for inspection and copying.

Why would they not want the committee to have the mail addresses of strata owners? Could it be that they don’t want the committee to contact owners – which may well be an issue in your case?

Their excuses so far have been that we don’t need it, it’s private and we didn’t make a formal application under the terms of Section 61 of the Act (see below).

So for your purposes, here’s what you (and your strata manager) need to know:

We know there should be an electronic version of the strata roll so it would be possible to email it, if necessary:

176 Form of records
(1) The strata roll and other records required to be made or kept by an owners corporation must be made or kept in electronic form.

We know the strata roll has to be maintained and that it MUST have the postal addresses and email addresses of the owners:

178 Content of strata roll
(1) Information about lots The following information must be recorded in the strata roll in relation to a particular lot in the strata scheme—
(a) the name of the holder of the estate …
(b) an address for service of notices,
(c) an Australian postal address, and an email address if the holder has one, if not provided as the address for service,
(d) the name of the holder’s agent (if any) appointed in accordance with this Act and the agent’s address for service of notices.

Now, we come to the tricky bit.  As an owner you are entitled to inspect all the strata documents but the strata manager may choose not to SEND you a copy as that is not spelled out in the Act.

182 Requests for inspection of records of owners corporation
(1) Persons who may inspect

An owner, mortgagee or covenant chargee of a lot in a strata scheme, or a person authorised by the owner, mortgagee or covenant chargee, may request the owners corporation to allow an inspection to be carried out under this section.
(2) Form of request The request must be made by written notice given to the owners corporation and be accompanied by the fee prescribed by the regulations.
(3) Items to be made available for inspection
The owners corporation must make the  following items available for inspection by the person who makes the request or the person’s agent—
(a) the strata roll,
(b) any other records or documents required to be kept under this Part etc etc etc

But there is a clear process by which they must allow you to see and copy the documents:

183 Inspection of owners corporation documents
(1) An inspection under this Division is to take place at the time and place, or by the means, agreed on and, failing agreement, at the parcel at a time and on a date, or by the means, fixed by the owners corporation under this section.
(2) If an applicant and the owners corporation fail to reach an agreement within 3 days after the owners corporation receives the application, the owners corporation must immediately give the applicant a written notice fixing a specified time (between 9 am and 8 pm) on a specified date (not later than 10 days after the owners corporation receives the application), or a specified means, for the inspection to take place.
(3) The means for inspecting documents may be in person or through electronic access to the documents or any other means agreed on or fixed under this section.
(4) A person entitled to inspect a document may take extracts from, or make a copy of, the document but must not, without the consent of the owners corporation, remove the document from the custody of the owners corporation.

So, looking at that section, if the strata manager refuses to send you the strata roll then they have to make arrangements for you OR SOMEONE APPOINTED BY YOU to see the document and photocopy it or scan it into your phone.

Does that help?  More on your actual dilemma later.

61 Procedure for requiring information from strata managing agent
(1) An owners corporation is to require information from a strata managing agent under this Division by written notice given to the strata managing agent.
(2) The notice must specify a member of the strata committee to whom the information is to be delivered.
62 Offences
(1) A strata managing agent must comply with a notice to provide information under this Division by giving a written statement, containing the information required, within 14 days after the notice is given.
Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 No 50 [NSW]
Maximum penalty—20 penalty units.
(2) A person is not guilty of failing to comply with the notice if reasonable cause for the failure is shown.
(3) A strata managing agent must not knowingly provide information that is false or misleading in a material particular in a statement given in response to a notice to provide information under this Division.
Maximum penalty—20 penalty units.

• This reply was modified 8 months, 2 weeks ago by .