› Flat Chat Strata Forum › Levies and Unit Entitlements › By Laws – can they change who pays what? › Current Page
Tyalla, I'm with you on this. Logically, assuming there is no way of establishing who has or hasn't used their airconditioning, then those who have had it installed but have chosen not to use it just have to “suck it up” and pay their share of replacement. They can take their opportunity to disconnect their air-con now when it is being replaced.
Choosing not to use a facility to which you have access is the individual owner's choice but it doesn't over-ride collective responsibility for common property. Should someone who lives on the 5th floor pay less for the use of the lifts than someone who is on level 15? Should someone who can't swim be excused the share of the levies for the swimming pool?
I wonder if the people who never used the air-con advertise their apartments as having it installed when it comes time to sell?
Any new by-law will require a 75 percent vote in favour to be passed so all you have to do is rally support from 25 percent of residents to knock it over, then propose an amendment that removes the clause freeing the self-proclaimed non-users from payment.
I would caution whoever is pushing this that there are many reasons why this could be challenged at the CTTT, costing everyone time and money. There is also, arguably, a possibility that the so-called non-users could then claim for the refund of usage fees, once the Owners Corporation has effectively agreed that they never used the air-con.
Their opportunity to remove themselves from responsibility for the old system has passed – now they should gratefully accept a chance to put things right. And if they say they didn't realise they might be up for the repair or replacement of the old system, they are presumably driving around in pristine 1970s cars and still using the same TV they bought when they first set up home.