- This topic has 6 replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 1 day, 22 hours ago by .
-
Topic
-
We are due to renew our strata management contract for another 3 years and the terms are not all equal ie the strata manger can give 30 days notice of cancellation and the strata plan must give 90 days and is liable for all future strata fees and commissions that would have bene earned.
Has anyone had luck with changing this or just been given the push back that
a) its a standard contract that cant be changed
b) It was written by lawyer and cant be changed
c) these are the terms – take it or leave it.
Appreciate everyone’s experiences.
-
Replies
-
No, I have had no success in changing the strata manager’s terms. My owners corp held a meeting and passed motions to change the strata manager’s terms were passed. The consequence was that the strata manager resigned and we had to seek another strata manager.
When we sought other strata managers, their contracts appeared to be made from the same template. It was the template from the Strata Community Association. Again, we requested changes such as don’t give yourself a $500 spending limit on repairs without consulting the owners corporation.
Reason: Tradies were charging $490 or $495 for work. We did not know about it until we read them in our periodical financial statements.
The strata managers concerned were not willing to give us that concession. They said it was too much trouble to call the owners for small jobs.
I don’t think options (a) and (b) are legally valid. It is another way of expressing (c) Take it or leave it.
There are new strata laws coming into effect soon. ( they have been passed by parliament and just waiting to be gazetted)
One change is that standard form contracts now have to have specific clauses in them. It balances the power of the OC with the strata manager. So future strata management contracts should be a lot fairer.
There is nothing to stop you changing clauses in any type of contract prior to signing it.
However I wanted to change some clauses in a strata contract we signed recently.I got some concessions, but the strata manager told me that they did not want to stray too far from the original contract because then every management contract is different and it becomes difficult for them to administer.
That’s perfectly understandable especially as OCs are driving the price of strata management down.
But I expect to see any new contracts signed later this year to be a bit fairer, but probably still non negotiable
There are new strata laws coming into effect soon. ( they have been passed by parliament and just waiting to be gazetted)
The new laws which will come in around November mean contracts will have to line up with National consumer protection laws, meaning any that are seen to unfairly disadvantage consumers – that’s us – can be challenged.
I believe SCA has already rewritten the standard strata management contract to reflect this. If your strata manager insists on using the standard contract, make sure it’s the current one.
The opinions offered in these Forum posts and replies are not intended to be taken as legal advice. Readers with serious issues should consult experienced strata lawyers.
Additionally, you don’t have to renew for three years.
There is no legislated mi imum period of the contract.
In your case I would defer signing a new contract.
The committee can resolve to extend the current contract for 3 months.
By then the new legislation will be in and the strata manager will need to submit a new contract in accordance with the new legislation.
Has anyone had luck with changing this or just been given the push back that a) its a standard contract that can’t be changed b) It was written by lawyer and can’t be changed c) these are the terms – take it or leave it.
All of the above arguments are very familiar and the only one that matters is the last one. Strata contracts are not holy scripture – they are a business agreement between two entities. You don’t even have to have a strata manager (unless you are a very large building in Victoria).
I always laugh when I hear anyone say – oh, this was written by a lawyer and therefore it can’t be changed. Sez who? If the strata manager won’t, or says they can’t change the terms of the contracts (they probably can, they just don’t want to) then show them the door. There are nearly 3,000 full-time strata managers in NSW and the Strata Community Association (SCA) has more than 200 companies on its books (and that’s only 75 percent of the industry). You must be able to find a strata manager who will make the compromises you need.
The opinions offered in these Forum posts and replies are not intended to be taken as legal advice. Readers with serious issues should consult experienced strata lawyers.
A year ago I bought into a NSW 40 unit building and am now chairperson …. The current 3-yr strata contract expires in July ‘25 and I’m keen to change the strata company as they’ve got though 3 strata managers allocated to our building in 18months as a result of resignations. They can’t be treating their staff well.
They unilaterally introduced a full new ( increased) fee schedule on April 1 without any approval from Owners as it is allowed in their current contract!
Not many industries would allow contracts that permit unapproved variations by the contractor.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.