@BONNIE L said:
Hi, If I have missed something in the above, apologies. It’s a question on what the actual fines are attached to, departing tenants, it’s thought, who recently left behind some of their heavy bulky stuff on the common property. Any tip would be a great help please. Thank you.
Not sure I understand the question but if tenants have flown the coop and left behind any kind of rubbish, you would give the landlord a reasonable opportunity to remove the detritus at their expense (five days) then charge them for the cost of the clean-up if they don’t do anything.
Also, under Section 125 of the NSW Strata Schemes Management Act, and sections 32 and 33 of the Regulations (below), the Owners corporation can give notice of disposal of abandoned goods by sale, donation or dumping.
There is a procedure for disposing of abandoned goods that are just rubbish and a slightly different one for goods that have some value.
In the former case you can just dump them, in the latter you have to put a notice on them saying they will be removed after five days. That could then be done by sale (and you’d retain the cost of the sale) or by donation to charity. Bikes are very commonly left behind and soon turn bicycle stores into dumps. But they are also potentially suitable for sale or donation to charity.
This is what the Strata Regs say:
(1) This clause applies to goods left on common property (other than motor vehicles and things permitted by the owners corporation to remain on common property).
(2) The owners corporation may dispose of goods left on common property if:
(a) a disposal notice has been placed on or near the goods and the goods have not been removed from the common property within the period specified in the disposal notice, or
(b) they are perishable goods, or
(c) they consist only of rubbish.
(3) A disposal notice must:
(a) not be less than the size of an A4 piece of paper, and
(b) be placed in a position or be in a material so that the contents of the notice are not likely to be detrimentally affected by weather, and
(c) describe the goods and state the date and time the notice was issued, and
(d) state that the goods will be disposed of if they are not removed from the common property before the date and time specified in the notice (being not earlier than 5 days after the notice was placed on or near the goods), and
(e) specify contact details for a member of the strata committee, the strata managing agent or a delegate of the owners corporation in relation to the notice.
(4) If the goods are so placed that they block an entrance or exit, the owners corporation may move the goods to another place on the common property before placing a disposal notice on or near the goods, and for that purpose the owners corporation is taken to be the owner of the goods.
(5) The owners corporation may dispose of the goods by selling them or in any other lawful manner and for that purpose is taken to be the owner of the goods.
(6) A purchaser of goods sold by an owners corporation in accordance with this clause acquires a good title to the goods freed and discharged of any interest of any person who would otherwise have an interest in the goods.
(7) The proceeds of a sale of goods under this clause are to be paid to the administrative fund of the owners corporation.
(8) The owners corporation must make a record of goods sold under this clause and keep the record for a period of not less than 12 months after the disposal.
(9) The record must contain the following particulars:
(a) a description of the goods,
(b) the date of the sale,
(c) the name and address of the purchaser,
(d) if sold by auction, the address of the principal place of business of the auctioneer.
33 Tribunal may order payment of proceeds of disposal to owner
The Tribunal may, on application by the owner of goods sold by an owners corporation to another person under clause 32, order that the owners corporation pay to the owner of the goods the proceeds of the sale, less the reasonable costs incurred by the owners corporation in selling the goods.
SSMA 125 Disposal of abandoned goods on common property
The regulations may make provision for or with respect to the following matters:
(a) conferring power on an owners corporation to store or dispose of, or authorise
the disposal of, goods left on common property,
(b) notices to owners and other persons as to disposal or proposed disposal of
goods by an owners corporation,
(c) the passing of title to any goods on disposal by an owners corporation,
(d) the payment of the proceeds of disposal of goods by an owners corporation,
(e) conferring jurisdiction on the Tribunal to make directions and orders relating
to the disposal of goods, including orders for the payment of compensation and
as to the payment of the costs of disposing of goods.