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A few weeks ago I noticed a new antenna on the roof of my building. It was one of those moments when I was not sure if it had been there before and I just hadn’t noticed it, or if it had just been installed. The more I think about it and look at it, the more convinced I become that it is new.
To my knowledge no approval was sought for installation so I am not sure what action can be taken. Is there a way of finding out which unit had it installed? Is it too late to complain and follow it up? What action can be taken against the people who installed it? Will the EC need to get someone to inspect the antenna and roof to try and find out who installed it? If we just leave it there, will the OC eventually become responsible for it by default? Should we just arrange for it to be removed (although this would be unfair as the OC would have to cover the cost of he removal when they didn’t install it in the first place)?
Any advice about what can be done and what action we can take is very, very welcome!
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I assume that you’re referring to a satellite dish, which unless it’s one of those privately installed monstrosities that provides access to international transmissions, likely belongs to Foxtel, Telstra, or Optus.
In that case it’s usual for those companies (3) to initially obtain an Installation Agreement for the property signed by the Secretary of the Executive Committee (E/C) or the Plan’s Strata Manager, which subject to the conditions of that document, permits the company to then place their equipment including satellite dishes, cabling, and conduit on the Common Property on an on-going basis.
All equipment installed by the three (3) major providers remains theirs, and as that includes the satellite dish there’s no issues with the Owners Corporation (O/C) becoming responsible for any maintenance or repairs, and in fact these companies will remove their satellite dishes if requested to do so by an O/C.
If you’re still concerned about the installation OR if it’s indeed one of those designed for international reception, the installer may have made contact with the E/C or Strata Manager prior to the installation if that’s necessary to access the property, so you could in the first instance contact either of those to ascertain if any Installation Agreement exists and/or if contact was recently made, and to which Unit it related.
If all of the above draws a blank and you or your E/C still have legitimate concerns, the Strata Manager could be instructed to letterbox-drop all residents requesting those receiving satellite television programs to contact them within a reasonable timeframe to enable records to be updated (or some for other plausible reason), together with an advice that any unreported satellite dishes will be removed from the common property by the O/C.
Whether removal is actually implemented would depend upon the response, but that’s a little extreme unless justified by the nature of the installation (e.g. shoddy or unsightly).
Thanks Whale. We already had Foxtel at the block, so I think the new dish is probably to receive international channels. I’ll follow it up with the strata manager when they get back to work, but I know that the EC secretary did not receive any communications about it (therefore I think it might be a sneaky install by one of the residents).
Obviously I know nothing about aerials/antenna/ satellite dishes so I wasn’t sure if there was a way of finding out which unit it was linked or connected to.
I guess that we just have to hope that the resident responsible owns up when contacted by the strata manager…
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