Reply To: BBQ on Common Property conundrum

Hi all,

Today I received a rejection of my official request to keep the BBQ in place from the committee (my partner has not received any communication and it’s actually his BBQ, which we have made clear…)

@Chesswood – I have the bylaws (I was on the committee for a bit) and the strata plan. Our building was built in the 1960s and the space was originally clothesline. The BBQ area was never put on the plan or officially designated – that’s part of the problem. I’m trying to frame a case of negligence on the part of the committee since EVERYONE considered the space the BBQ area, it was converted by an owner (the same one mentioned below) from the clothesline space (there are still two lines adjacent) and it was described as a BBQ area for all of us to use when I moved in. That’s WHY we put our BBQ there!!!

So at a purely technical level, I AM in breech… but then so are the other owners who have taken over garden beds – one of whom I often refer to as “the grand Poo-Bah” (although when I said that he did not understand the Gilbert & Sullivan reference and thought I was calling him a rude name). This gentleman has lived here for a long time and owns 2 units. He has effectively commandeered the committee. Now I understand more about the whole system I feel confident enough to take him on.

There’s absolutely nothing in writing so I can’t even remember how I asked about the BBQ. I dare say I just asked the aforementioned Poo-Bah if I could put it next to the other BBQ and he said “sure”.

My concern is that the Strata Management Act came in in 2015 and the BBQ area was created around 2011 by mutual consent. I’m going to get my neighbour to write a stat dec describing the events as she remembers them. The strata manager no longer has the correspondence possibly sent by the owner of my unit in 2011. That could work in my favour as they can’t prove they DIDN’T receive it. There’s no mention of the BBQ area in any AGM minutes (and no, the committee don’t appear to have meetings let alone minute them)

I’m about to write to the committee to ask for some information. I doubt I’ll get a reply – they haven’t answered any of my other emails – and I’m just trying to get through to the NCAT/ Online registry website (how many IDs do they need???) to put in a formal application so I can get a stay of execution for the BBQ.

Of course, if they came and had a chat, and told me what their rationale for all this is, my bloke would actually consider giving the BBQ away. My sister actually needs a new one (but she lives 3hrs away). It’s the lack of engagement and respect that is particularly galling.