#27355

Done to death?  From a committee member’s point of view I think not.

Thanks to all the above for their obviously passionate contributions. 

My takeouts are:

  • state and local governments have created this situation by studied neglect
  • lawyers are the undisputed winners from the ambiguity and complexity
  • the workload and responsibilities of voluntary committee members is ignored – there is no simple solution and they hold the ultimate responsibility on behalf of (rent-seeking?) owners – more work for the unthanked!
  • what evidence is sufficient for a successful breach of bylaw action is a known unknown – for this low-level civil matter the gathering of evidence should be low cost and quick eg a website listing should suffice (photographs typically identify a residence) – Fair Trading should offer clear guidance here
  • whatever solution is proposed it will be gamed/subverted to some degree.

Check out p12 letter of the July 2017 edition of The Beast (www.thebeast.com.au – July edition letters not posted at time of writing) “Illegal backpacker renting a joke” for another dimension of the problem.  How would a committee respond to this neighbouring property issue?

All together, it’s a totally unsatisfactory situation.