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Hi guys,
Starting this thread to vent a bit and may be to get some insight. I’m not after suggestions that I should not be parking in the visitor spot as I’m no longer doing that. However hoping for some empathy and thoughts on what can be done in this situation to deal with a bully.
We live in a complex of 5 villas. We are number 3. Number one has tenants. The owner is a lady who doesn’t live to far away with her husband. They have had issues in the past with us using the visitor car park occasionally. But pretty much everyone uses it especially tenant for number 2 and number 5 who are the recent new owners. Number 2, 4, 5 don’t care. In fact number 5 park in the common area in front of their villa as it doesn’t get in anyone’s way and we don’t care.
Would be 4 years for us here late Feb 2014. Initially we didn’t know how strata worked but eventually got to know the other two owners (4 and 5). Naively believed in fraudulent letters received without any date or signature and strata letter head. Turns out tenant for number 2 and ex-owner for number 5 received those too. And owner for number 4 and 5 told us that this guy has had major issues with harassing them and other previous owners. We all confirmed with strata that these were not sent by strata when we realised something wasn’t right. He would put notes on our car as well. By the way this man used to do the complex clean
and as a mutual agreement between villas 3, 4, 5 and dissatisfaction with the quality of works two years we changed the gardening guys. Took us a while to get the right one now though.Last December on our birthday, we were home and he banged on our door and asked where is my sis (who owns the villa) and said move the car (this is after he was removed from the complex cleaning late 2011). So in response I kept asking him “WHY is he banging on the door like that?”, to which he took great offence and said “Excuse me?” – Like we can’t ask him why he is harassing us?
Took us a while but we got around to it, mid this year we told strata that we had already spoken to the police about this man’s behaviour and that our peace and quiet had been impacted; And that his behaviour to approach us aggressively had been very distressing for us. As well as the letters that were never sent by strata are fraudulent (as confirmed by strata). Strata manager thought that it wasn’t really his job to communicate this, but wrote a letter telling him to not send these letters as they were fraudulent. Clearly he was going to call asking for proof and when he did call, the strata manager told him that we had already been talking to the police and will pursue courts if he did not back off.
Ever since he hasn’t approached us, however hired a property manager to come and take a photo of our car. We have been fed up as everyone else also parks and he seems to be pinning it on us. We feel that he is threatened of empowered young women. So after that we wanted peace so we avoided parking there while others continued.
We also noted that there is more than usual leaves and rubbish in front of our villa as we just cleaned last week when the gardening guy didn’t show up and suspect that he happened to clean in front of his villa and blow a lot of it infront of ours. We have removed this again last night btw.
The other day we had a strata meeting and his wife said in future they will go to tribunal directly as their tenants get inconvenienced by anyone parking in that spot. I have barely ever seen their tenants in 4 years and I don’t think they care from what I have heard from tenant at number 2. So in response we told them that we had already spoken the the police. He said they are all allegations and he banged on our door in 2006 (when we didn’t even live here). He was literally yelling at us at the strata meeting and although we are strong we still took our brother with us. He said we had no proof that he banged on our door. What other proof do we need really than being present? The wife was quite interested to know about the cleaning….and we said well infront of our villa needed a clean and we needed the gardener to come more frequently to which he said that we could clean ourselves. Not that we need to give any explanations, we pay for strata for a reason AND we work 12-13 hour days (corporate work + portfolio building) and are busy people.
During this conversation he tried to get the new owner off villa 5 on his side…and villa 4 never says anything and is very timid but later said to us that he knew how this man was. He had done the same to the ex-owners at number 5 (even peaked in their windows/banged the door) and had backed off after he was threatened with police action. While we’ve heard that the ex-ex-owners of number 5 had sold out because he harassed them for having cut a tree in front of their villa…
I would want to deal with this legally. If we don’t even occasionally use that spot, then similarly we’d like villa 5 new owners to not be parking in front of their villa as that is not a parking spot (and this man had made previous owners life hell for that same reason). I want to know how common it is for owners to visit their tenanted strata properties that they are (no longer) self managing? Although it’s good to have someone who comes and waters the plants in front of their villa, there is an element of sticky beaking and making our life difficult. We just want to live in peace but we are inclined to sort him out in a legal manner. He is a misogynist for sure and sometimes I feel there is a race issue too…
Insights welcomed, no battering please.
Thanks for reading.
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To answer your question, gather as much written evidence as you can from your neighbours and get an AVO that forces this person to leave you alone. This is not a strata issue – it’s a neighbourhood issue and has nothing to do with your strata plan.
There are bullies outside of strata too, Me, I’m fed up with people who have issues with neighbours and blame it on living in strata.
One good thing about strata is that you are not alone – and I could tell you plenty of stories about nasty and aggressive neighbours in standalone houses who have made the lives of the people living next to them a misery … and they haven’t had anyone to support them.
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 agree with JimmyT that this is a person(ality) issue, not a strata issue. Similarly, we have just sold our duplex (with independent parking) and bought a house in a ‘neighbourhood scheme’ where two carspaces are allocated within a small private road. The text of the scheme is very specific about the carspaces – they are for guests of residents. I have to respect that condition. So if I had a special or peculiar situation, I would need to seek permission from the executive to use one or both of those spaces for either one of our vehicles for a specific length of time. The informality of the guest parking by residents was probably the catalyst that got under the nose of the bully. As well, it’s never a good idea for an owner/resident to have any sort of deal doing the maintenance in a scheme. I sympathise with the situation generally, because bullies are everywhere and difficult (near impossible) to pacify.
@Petard said:
The text of the scheme is very specific about the carspaces – they are for guests of residents. I have to respect that condition. So if I had a special or peculiar situation, I would need to seek permission from the executive to use one or both of those spaces for either one of our vehicles for a specific length of time.Yes but what does the Development Approval of the scheme say about the guest parking. If it specifies them as visitor parking then the EC or OC could not legally give you permission to park their at all.
Most councils require the developer to set aside a certain no of parking bays for visitors ONLY and the Strata cannot overide this.
That is the legal situation but if all residents agree to bend the rule the council aren’t going to intervene.
@JimmyT said:
To answer your question, gather as much written evidence as you can from your neighbours and get an AVO that forces this person to leave you alone. This is not a strata issue – it’s a neighbourhood issue and has nothing to do with your strata plan … it’s a people issue.There are bullies outside of strata too, Me, I’m fed up with people who have issues with neighbours and blame it on living in strata.
One good thing about strata is that you are not alone – and I could tell you plenty of stories about nasty and aggressive neighbours in standalone houses who have made the lives of the people living next to them a misery … and they haven’t had anyone to support them.
Thanks Jimmy. Just want to be content where we are living. This guy is a bully. Unfortunately our friend in the complex who also stood up to him has sold and moved. Another guy in the complex who knows this person as a bully is very scared and timid. While the new owners are already being asked by the bully to side with him with him not telling them to not park in the common property (while with the previous owners, he made their life hell). Lastly, the 2nd villa which has tenants in place, this guy has told them rubbish and gotten their proxy – they couldn’t care less what happens here….
We’ve decided to not use the spot for now. A bully likes a reaction and enjoys the friction….if we don’t give him that satisfaction, I believe he’d be mighty angry anyway. Wonder how his and his wife’s life is in reality given they are always so busy pondering and plotting who to shoot here..
We are hoping to move homes anyway next year. But hope that he doesn’t bully our tenants the same way..
I totally sympathise. I heard about a block in Bondi where an owner who was clearly a bit off the planet would turn up at EC meetings and scream at all the owners … until one of them brought along a tenant who was a largish Scotsman with a black belt in something who would tell him to calm down.
You could spend your waking life plotting revenge – or just some way to restore balance – but that’s just another victory for his nibs. I’m not clear what it is that he’s doing wrong – is it just snooping and plotting? Or is he physically and/or verbally threatening. Either way, you should really consider an AVO as verbal assaults are still assaults under the law.
Or you temporarily take in a largish Scottish lodger (with a black belt).
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.
@JimmyT said:
I totally sympathise. I heard about a block in Bondi where an owner who was clearly a bit off the planet would turn up at EC meetings and scream at all the owners … until one of them brought along a tenant who was a largish Scotsman with a black belt in something who would tell him to calm down.You could spend your waking life plotting revenge – or just some way to restore balance – but that’s just another victory for his nibs. I’m not clear what it is that he’s doing wrong – is it just snooping and plotting? Or is he physically and/or verbally threatening. Either way, you should really consider an AVO as verbal assaults are still assaults under the law.
Or you temporarily take in a largish Scottish lodger (with a black belt).
Thanks Jimmy, for the insight. He is snooping and plotting. He backed off from verbally yelling since we told strata who conveyed the message that we have already been speaking to police etc. If he does this again he will definitely be getting police to have a nice little chat with him. He wants some sense of power over the complex common area. We are not going to go get revenge on him as friction is what he enjoys……So will just observe and not give him the satisfaction we are after. We are going to move homes anyway. Here is hoping that he doesn’t bother our tenants who will be living here, in the future
why is it that people who buy strata properties and respect the bylaws are called bullies when they tell people about the bylaws in a complex and try to enforce them for the benefit of all residents.in our complex 7 out of 13 vistors bays are being permantly used by selfish owners for there extra cars and trucks yet i am called a bully .if you read your morgage contract you signed it states that you will obey the by laws in a strata situation .its about time more honest and decent people stood up to these people that do not give a shit
@cate said:
why is it that people who buy strata properties and respect the bylaws are called bullies when they tell people about the bylaws in a complex and try to enforce them for the benefit of all residents.in our complex 7 out of 13 vistors bays are being permantly used by selfish owners for there extra cars and trucks yet i am called a bully .if you read your morgage contract you signed it states that you will obey the by laws in a strata situation .its about time more honest and decent people stood up to these people that do not give a shitI totally agree and their is something you can do about it (owner or tenant). Pick the worst offender (prefeaably on the EC) and start proceeding against them at CTTT (concillation and adjudication) as the cost is reasonable (about $150).
If it gets as far as adjudication you can also name the other offenders and if you have an understanding adjudicator each one of the offenders could be looking at a fine of up to $5,500 plus costs. Take plenty of date stamped photos to support your claim.
Problem is most people want the probelm solved but don’t want to get involved and that is what most of these offenders rely on.
The OC or EC have ZERO power to grant residents use of the visitor parking bays.
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