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Our Chairperson visited a parking offender six times on the basis of complaints over a number of months. After this all owners (all innocent except the one) were sent a Parking Notice and then the offender was sent a Warning Notice.
Now the offenders have started doing the same thing again – they limit the main turning circle, do not respond to owners honking the horn. When they do come to the door, it is ‘Oh but the car is only small – you can get past’. It is also dangerous as it is a black car and can’t be easily seen at night.
The Chairperson has given up, but does not want anyone else on the Committee taking action as the culprits are his buddies.
I’ve been informed recently and would love feedback is that the Strata Committee portion of our strata insurance would not cover us if someone hits this vehicle. Normally the two parties sort it out.
The person who hit the car could say that the committee has known about this for months and has failed to do anything about it. Could the owner who potentially hits the culprit sue the committee and/or the owners corporation?
The strata committee’s insurance says ‘unknowingly did something’, but could a good solicitor get onto this and say the strata committee was well aware (knowingly) of the long history of the vehicle parking on common property and did not address the issue to remedy it.
Another question that arose is that if an owner called for an ambulance and it is delayed trying to manoeuvre around this offending vehicle and the person’s medical treatment was delayed, could the family of that person take action against the strata.
Case in question: someone suffering a stroke needs treatment ASAP otherwise the outcome is more severe (limb damage, speech, etc). I live in Sydney – any guidance would be appreciated!
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Your Chairperson should not be dictating either the actions or lack of actions that are taken by your Committee, or your OC. Perhaps the Chairperson does not deserve to keep his/her position at the next general meeting!
Here is some information based on material provided on the Office of Fair Trading web site:
If an owner or resident breaches a by-law, the strata committee can first contact the resident to advise of the breach, and ask that they stop the conduct that is causing the breach. Your committee appears to have complied with this step.
If it continues, the owners corporation can serve a ‘Notice to Comply with a By-Law’ on the person who is breaching it. This notice advises the resident of the breach and asks for the conduct to cease immediately. The notice can be a letter or email and must include the details of the by-law that has allegedly been breached. A copy of a Notice to Comply with a By-Law is linked below.
The notice can’t be given without a majority vote at a meeting of the owners (i.e. a general meeting). However, the owners corporation can delegate their responsibility for issuing notices to comply to the strata committee or the strata managing agent. A notice must be issued before any further action can be taken to enforce the by-laws.
https://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/biz_res/ftweb/pdfs/About_us/Forms/Notice_to_comply.pdf
Some questions for you:
1. Has the power to issue a Notice to Comply with a By-Law been delegated to the strata committee or the strata manager? If not then you can raise a Motion at the next general meeting proposing that a Notice to Comply be issues to the owner who is parking illegally on the common property and causing a nuisance.
2. Is the owner parking in a visitor car space or are they parking in an area that is not designated for parking?
The answer to these questions will determine (a) how you proceed with this issue, and (b) what reasons are written on the Notice to Comply.
The owners corporation may apply to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (Tribunal) if a notice to comply has been issued and the conduct continues. If the Tribunal is satisfied that there has been a breach of a by-law and the notice was given validly they can issue a penalty of up to $1,100 .
AH, Lady P got in before I could post this …
Look, those insurance and emergency issues are all kind of plausible scenarios but I think you need to go back to basics.
Put an item on the agenda of your next meeting that the committee agrees to issue a Notice To Comply to the miscreants for breaching whichever by-law you have that tells owners not to park on common property. And don’t let the chairman talk anyone out of it.
A Notice To Comply is a warning – stop breaking the by-laws or you could be fined – but it comes with a sting. If the culprits ignore it, they can be fined. So the committee is not issuing a penalty, it would just be progressing the matter to the next stage, as is required by strata law.
Now, if your Chairman is conflicted by this, he can vote against (and have that put in the minutes) or abstain. But if your chairman is blocking moves to solve a serious issue with untold consequences, he has gone from being a source of a solution to part of the problem.
Do not be deterred and if you get any resistance, explain to the chairman that even if he persuades other owners to give in to this selfish behaviour, you and other committee member/owners will take this directly to Fair Trading and on to NCAT where he can explain to them why he has been protecting his buddies.
Forget all the other stuff about insurances etc. If the chairman doesn’t want to enforce the by-laws of the building, especially when it’s for the benefit of the majority of owners, he should step down.
The only other thing is to make sure you use the correct form and that it is both filled in correctly and is backed by a motion on a strata committee agenda and minutes that indicate a majority of the committee agreed.
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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