Paradise:
1. Jimmy is correct about FT not investigating strata matters per se but recommending (as FT recommends) that you go to NCAT (when complaining about the OC ie strata matters);
2. But if you complain as I did to FT about the strata agent’s conduct, then FT will investigate (and this complaint is free of charge). From my experience, NCAT is not the forum for such allegations to be tested;
3. Noting FT is not an advisory service but merely an information facility, there’s no harm asking FT what your options are when say yes, you were granted the right to inspect records, but many records were not available for viewing. Were some held back? Lost? If so, by who? Is anyone fined for breaching s. 180 (see below)?
STRATA SCHEMES MANAGEMENT ACT 2015 – SECT 180
Certain records to be retained for prescribed period
180 Certain records to be retained for prescribed perio
(1) An owners corporation must cause the following to be retained for 7 years–
(a) any records, notices and orders required to be kept under this Division or Part 10 of the Strata Schemes Development Act 2015 ,
(b) minutes of meetings required to be kept under Schedule 1 or Schedule 2,
(c) its financial statements and accounting records,
(d) copies of correspondence received and sent by the owners corporation,
(e) notices of meetings of the owners corporation and its strata committee,
(f) proxies delivered to the owners corporation,
(g) voting papers relating to motions for resolutions by the owners corporation and to the election of officers or the establishment of a strata renewal committee (under Part 10 of the Strata Schemes Development Act 2015 ),
(h) a copy of any signed strata managing agent agreement or building manager agreement entered into by the owners corporation,
(i) records given to the owners corporation by the strata managing agent relating to the exercise of functions by the agent,
(j) any other documents prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this section.
<small>: Maximum penalty–5 penalty units. </small>
(2) The regulations may prescribe a different period for which any or all of the things referred to in subsection (1) are required to be retained.
4. Trash the idea of a solicitor and a summons. IMHO it’s money down the drain. Yes that may be a means to secure the documents you want, but what if the agent agrees to give them to you only to admit, when handing them over, that “we’re sorry but some (maybe most) are documents are missing, lost, borrowed and not returned”, see (3) above.
5. While FT is limited in what it can do regarding the SSM Act, it is the case with most consumer complaints (I am not sure if strata falls under this as well), that the more complaints the better for consumers. It used to be that if a company is complained about 10 times in a month, then that company is listed on a register available to be viewed online by anyone. Of course a company, eg a supermarket with many outlets is more likely to get 10+ complaints per month than a strata agent UNLESS you convince your neighbours to file a complaint themselves.