#13372
Billen Ben
Flatchatter

    JimmyT said:

    Oblige owners corporations to enforce their own by-laws and demand executive committee office bearers  in large buildings either get strata law training or pay professionals to do the job for them.

    And replace the CTTT with something that actually works.

    I have been pushing compulsory management for large strata. Training will not help if the Executive Committee (EC) do not wish to implement what they learn.

    This is not a case involving my Strata Plan (SP) but it shows how the collective can think that autonomy means “do as we please”.
    “The Owners Corporation is not a “free spirit” to do anything that comes into the collective heads of the lot owners.”
    J Smith Senior Member CTTT Lawson & Clarke v Owners Corporation SP 61788 (Strata & Community Schemes) [2011] NSWCTTT 270 (27 June 2011)

    At the very minimum the finances should be taken out of the hands of self managed large SP's as well as notices for meetings and minutes of meetings. AGM's should be Chaired by an external party with no connection to anyone at the SP, if that is possible.

    I live in a large SP and we idiotically pay, via honorariums, so-called “volunteers” to do these tasks at a cost far greater than it is to have a good agency do the same tasks.  I love seeing a motion for management that costs $8500 defeated so we can pay imbeciles $11000 in honorariums, support and equipment to do the same job very poorly. It is brilliant.

    The volunteers care little for compliance while an agent is, to a degree, compelled to be compliant. The volunteers wish to walk into a EC meeting and do as little as possible, except rain grief on those they do not like, and then go home and forget everything until next meeting. There really is no genuine commitment to the job.

    Large SP's are 0.6% of all SP's; how many of the 0.6% large stratas are actually well managed by volunteers? I estimate next to none, if not none.

    Annual OH&S reports should be made compulsory, a valuation every two years (not 5), fire safety inspections and plans, 10 year plans done by qualified people etc etc. Every important compulsory requirements needs to carry penalty points for any failure and it needs to be enforced — that takes CTTT out of the picture given they do not function.

    If management is not compulsory then an extensive list of compulsory requirements that are to be carried out by a manager should exist and the left overs can be for those who still care to be on an EC to sit around and discuss over wine and cheese. No bull; our EC members get appearance (attendance) money and the meetings have food budgets.

    All that EC's in large SP’s should be allowed to do is sit around and posture; which is what they tend to do anyway. If full compulsory management is not implemented then let the Kings and Queens of their little kingdoms keep their thrones but make sure that the real work gets done properly. Training will not guarantee that things get done, penalty points will.

    As for CTTT … their strata division cannot be removed from their portfolio fast enough and the Minister and his Premier should both be besieged by the strata public to get on with it.