Weird! I wrote a reply to the previous posting and it disappeared into the ether.
OK, here goes again.
Mediation is an obligatory part of the Fair Trading/CTTT process and everyone has to go through it apart from in a handful of circumstances, of which this is not one. It’s the law and you don’t get past square one without it.
Even though mediation is mandatory, attendance at it is not, neither do participants actually have to say anything. Why that should be the case is a mystery but that’s how they roll.
If your EC or strata manager does turn up and does promise to do stuff, tell them you want specific measures, with a timetable of work in writing as a binding agreement – not some verbal or vague flim-flam they can retreat from later. Anything short of that, you don’t accept.
The initial adjudication after the mediation is done on paper – you don’t get to speak to your case and neither does the other side – and this is where your evidence comes in.
Every scrap of every document you can produce is worth taking, but remember that the Adjudicator will be more interested in what the building needs – repair and maintenance are covered by the Act – rather than claims of broken promises which are just politics.
So you need to show that a) there is work that needs to be done; b) the property is being damaged by the work not being done; c) the owners have been told it would be done; d) the building has the money to do it.
If you can supply expert assessments that the work is necessary, so much the better.
What you want is a timetable that covers issuing and acceptance of tenders and when the work will be started and you should probably state this in your initial application.
A vague request to the CTTT to tell the EC to do their job isn’t going to get you anywhere. A request for a binding work schedule is something that the adjudicator will (hopefully) see as reasonable and practicable.
If there are other owners unhappy about what’s going on, ask them to chip in to help pay the $76 application fee (and it’s a one-off fee to start the whole process – it’s not specifically for a mediation).
However, I wonder if you went to the EC and asked them up front to deliver the timetable as described above, if they wouldn’t prefer to do that than have the time and considerable expense of being dragged to the CTTT.
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.