…I expanded my complaint to include her inability to recognise when an invoice is for work on private and not common property, I was told that if the SM didn’t initiate the work then she’ll just pay any invoice that gets sent to her and she’s not responsible for whether or not the work should actually be paid for by the OC. I’m talking about work that’s obviously private like fixing a tap in someone’s sink (no longer can be a defect either).
That’s corrupt. Owners Corporation money should only be spent on maintaining / repairing common property. If the strata manager does not recognise the difference between common property and the lot, they are not fit for their job.
The simple solution is to pass a motion at your strata committee that the strata manager should not pay any invoices unless they have been approved by the treasurer (or another registered office-bearer) of the strata committee. Anything that the strata manager pays without approval is on them.
That is exactly what we did four years ago. My previous strata manager had a clause in their contract which allowed them to spend up to $500 on any repair without referring it to the owners corporation. They also wanted to spend above $500 if it was an “emergency”. I got tired of seeing jobs which cost $495 or $490. At other times they went over $500 because the lot owner deemed it an emergency. When the motion was passed, the strata manager terminated their contract with us. We lived happily ever after.