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Topic
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On 28SEP21 [in topic: https://www.flatchat.com.au/topic/family-rules-small-block-to-exclusion-of-all-others/%5D I wrote that I am taking the OC to Mediation for:
1. Not maintaining and repairing common property which services my lot;
2. Neither repairing nor replacing (with the same quality) common property which services the lot of Sec/Tsr,
but instead, upgrading that common property without so much as holding a strata committee (SC) meeting to discuss it let alone convening an OC meeting to approve it; and
3. To expand the SC from the Sec/Tsr and his echo (a committee of 2) to one of 5 ie every lot be represented.
At Mediation in late September the Sec/Tsr was made aware of the a part of the SSM Act he chose to ignore: the OC is liable for R & M of the common property in question. The mediator could not have been clearer.
The Sec/Tsr agreed to bring the matter up with his colleague on the SC and advise me in 2 weeks whether they will go ahead with the R+M as per my claim and if so, they have 2 months to get the job done.
As he did not agree to my second point, we did not even get to my third point.
Over two weeks passed and he did not advise me of the SC’s decision, as he agreed.
I have no option but to go to NCAT now on all three points. I will keep you posted on developments.
I have a question: notwithstanding that mediation is not binding, are there any penalties for what seems to me to be the OC deceiving me and the mediator at Mediation?
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I have collated two posts from different threads. These are clearly concerning the same issue and that bothers me a lot.
Firstly you had effectively hijacked another completely different discussion, apparently to promulgate your personal dispute with your strata scheme, then you have opened up another thread with a slight variation on a theme, asking a question to which you surely know the answer.
This is unacceptable.
Flatchatters all, multi-posting in different threads (or topics) on the same issue is not permitted. If you aren’t getting enough attention or answers to your questions, give us a “nudge” by posting a reply to your last post.
If you answer a question in another thread, then want to expand on that in your own topic, by all means refer to the original post in your new topic. Please don’t bury someone else’s issues in your own very specific problems.
To answer the last question here, owners are entitled to see all minutes and correspondence created or received by their strata scheme with the possible exclusion of correspondence between the scheme and its lawyers in a matter concerning that specific owner (and even that could be subject to challenge).
Even verdicts in court actions which have been “sealed” have to be made available to all owners as they are parties to the case.
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.
I was unaware of the protocol in posting.
It’s all here and has been for some time: https://www.flatchat.com.au/topic/how-to-post-a-question-or-answer-2/
I understand that owners are entitled to see all created minutes. But what if the SC decided to spend money on R&M (as the agent told me) but chose not to create a document ie.e not to minute that decision – the meeting was said to have been a phone call – can an owner insist on the decision be minuted and then ask to see it?
Any money spent that doesn’t have some sort of paper trail – either a committee minute or an email to the strata manager or similar – would have to be very suspicious. The committee should have had the item about spending OC funds on an agenda and then recorded the decision in minutes.
You can ask the secretary to provide you with a record of the decision that was made, including details of where they are getting quotes for the work.
Maybe they were trying to fast-track the work because of your actions at NCAT. Maybe they are deliberately trying to obscure the fact that they haven’t actually done anything. Who’s to say?
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.
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