#25004
Whale
Flatchatter

    clement – the bottom line is that the Owners Corporation is responsible for paying the builder, and should do so without delay as they’re the proverbial meat in the sandwich.

    Once that’s been done, the Executive Committee needs to ascertain what the problem was, and whether or not the Owners Corporation was actually responsible for the repairs; you’ll find some useful information regarding that as produced by NSW Land & Property Information HERE.

    I raise the above issue, as Property Managers (Rental Agents) are adept at ingratiating themselves to their landlord/clients by allocating every conceivable maintenance and repair issue within strata properties to the Owners Corporation, where some Strata Managers aren’t sufficiently skilled to determine who is actually responsible and so take the least line of resistance.  

    Then the Executive Committee (E/C) needs to closely examine the Agency Agreement between the Owners Corporation and the Strata Manager, where one of its Schedules will describe the various functions that the Strata Manager is to undertake, and for each of those whether they have full authority or authority with limitations, such as to approve works up to a maximum value and/or to obtain the approval of the E/C before arranging those.

    If the Strata Manager is found to have exceeded their authority, then they’re liable to reimburse the Owners Corporation’s payment to the builder, and if they’ve acted within their authority but the E/C is collectively of the opinion that it needs to be tightened-up, then the E/C may on behalf of the Owners Corporation (O/C) formally amend or rescind its delegation to the Strata Manager for specific functions, remembering of course that decisions on rescinded delegations revert to the E/C or the O/C (depending upon the matter at hand) and need to be formally documented in the Agency Agreement at its next nominated review date after vote to do so on a Motion t the Owners at a General Meeting (e.g. an A.G.M.)