@Whale said:
JGOWI – It’s been a while since I’ve seen a Strata Management Agency Agreement (and I’m not likely to any time soon), but I’m almost certain that it’s customary for Strata Mangers (S/M) to be delegated to issue Notices to Comply (NTC) and to attend the CTTT.
The standard SCA agreement sets out different levels of authority for the owners corporation & agents to agree on for a variety of matters. Representing the owners corporation at the CTTT is one of these matters. Some agents wish to have “no authority” listed on the agreement as the “official” line would be that they are not lawyers. In practice and regardless of this most agents will represent the OC and charge an hourly rate.
FWIW – the standard NTC form includes the following instructions:
“The executive committee, or owners corporation if it has decided not to let the executive committee issue this notice, must convene and hold a meeting to decide to issue the Notice and record its decision in the minutes. Alternatively a managing agent that has been delegated the function may decide to issue a Notice.”
kiwipaul said
I know an NTC is not the same as conciliation and then adjudication, but I asked our SM a few years ago what they charge to obtain a ruling and they told me the average charge is $2,000 (just the SM fee) but it depends on the complexity of the case and how long it takes to prepare the documents.
All agents will charge hourly rates for all stages of the by-law compliance process. CTTT says to allow up to 5 hours for a mediation sessions and I have seen them last this long. When you add preparation & travel time you could be looking at up to 8 hours of SM fees. Then add adjudication on top of this and your $2000 has well and truly been used up. All this when the CTTT is meant to be a cost effective way for owners to settle disputes…