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I sympathise as we are in the same position- Sydney Water have reduced our water pressure to the bare minimum permitted. A couple of years ago we installed a sprinkler system in the gardens and they won’t work because there simply isn’t enough pressure to run them (who would have thought that the minimum water pressure for a multi level strata wouldn’t even be sufficient to run a few garden sprinklers!) I know that Sydney Water have ageing infrastructure but they should be required to upgrade it so that residents on higher levels have enough water to wash their hair properly (at the very least)!
I’m the only committee member that lives on-site in my building and I’ve had owners lock themselves out and then come and ask me if I have a master key to let them back in (it’s like I am on call for them 24/7). I could not think of anything worse than having access to a master key to any apartment! It would be the very last thing that I would want – I can already hear the accusations that I have accessed their property without permission or that I’ve stolen their things. I live with people who love to complain about everything but they won’t lift a finger themselves. They can call a locksmith to give them access into their unit or in the case of an emergency like the one listed, people can break the door down and we will sort out a repair. That seems much easier than all of the other possible drama that having a master key would involve!
Wow Jimmy T, I hope the same thing happens in this case! Please keep your ears open for any news of a strata manager in Sydney being convicted for fraud/theft of funds. Flat Chat might be the only source of info for the affected owners.
My strata plans funds were stolen by our previous strata manager (along with funds from many other strata plans that her company managed).
After huge amounts of stress and an extended period of time (over 12 months) whilst an investigation/audit was carried out, we eventually received our ‘money back’ (from a government compensation fund) but we received nothing for all the time that we spent or on the cost of lodging the paperwork – we had to wear those additional costs.
We were told that Fair Trading were keen to prosecute the offender but that it is a private matter and we will not be informed about what (if any) action is taken against her- even though it was our money that she stole!
Given the level of fraud that she committed and the theft from multiple strata plans, it is absolutely ridiculous that any action taken against her is then kept secret. She should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law and it should be publicly available as a warning to other strata managers to behave responsibly and appropriately with the strata funds that they manage.
The secrecy around the whole situation is absolutely ridiculous and given the large amounts of money involved in strata – there should be a much higher level of oversight and more stringent requirements for those who work in the industry.
We have an existing (specific) by-law about external awnings which specifies the company used/ brand, style and type of awning and the mesh colour. Some owners chose to purchase the awnings, and others chose not to. Each awning is classed as owner property and maintenance is the responsibility of the owner. It is now out of date as the type of awning is old, but we will pursue the same thing when the need arises and the awnings start needing replacement. It works well because it is clear for everyone what is (and isn’t) permitted and it keeps a uniform look around the complex.
A block of flats is being built in my parent’s suburb and my Dad was commenting on how well built is appears to be. He was genuinely surprised- because he knows how badly most apartment blocks are built. He decided to have a closer look and when he walked by, he noticed that it is being built by Housing NSW. He’s assumed that the government must have better regulations for their own buildings… While it’s great that it is being built so well for Housing NSW residents, it is disappointing that the rest of us (in the private market) are subjected to less protection and poorer quality blocks.
If the government can seem to ‘get it right’ with their own blocks – what is stopping them from holding all developers to the same standards?
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…
It is disappointing to read (but not surprising really) that some strata managers take advantage of the situation and pass on ridiculous additional fees to owners in financial distress. Obviously early communication is the key and owners that are struggling should discuss their issues with the relevant people as soon as possible to avoid situations getting out of hand…
In my building, we have tried (for an extended period of time) to establish a number of very reasonable payment plans for our owners in arrears, but unfortunately they have not adhered to any of them and they have ignored all communication and requests for meetings, so legal action was commenced as a last resort.
In adeze’s post he mentions that he made a partial payment a few days AFTER the due date and that he missed (and therefore did not respond to) the statement of claim. This may have given the impression that he was not prepared to clear the debt or engage in negotiations with the EC/strata manager. Once again, communication seems to be the key in these situations. It really should be up to the owner in arrears to initiate the communication, not the EC or strata manager to chase people for late/no payments.
Unfortunately non-payment of levies seems to be a choice for some and they are the ones that really need to understand the stress that it puts their fellow owners under. As hard as it is to discuss money issues (especially when you are having difficulties), I think that most people would be understanding and allow a regular payment plan until the debt is cleared for owners who indicate they are under financial hardship.
Whilst I sympathise with adeze, we have a similar situation in our building with a number of owners in arrears, 2 in particular. We have commenced legal action against one (and had a successful judgement, we are waiting for the sheriff to obtain property to clear the debt) and will be reviewing the situation next week to determine whether to commence an additional action (and therefore bankruptcy proceedings) against the same owner, as well as some action against the second owner, who seems happy to pay to renovate their unit but not pay their levies…
This is not a decision that we (the EC) take lightly but I fail to understand why owners think that they should be able to rack up thousands of dollars of debt without any action from their co-owners. The bills still need to be paid and the services don’t stop just because someone has fallen on hard times. Why didn’t adeze speak to his strata manager or EC prior to things getting so out of hand and why didn’t he extend his mortgage earlier and pay his debts? Did he think that it would just go away or he shouldn’t have to pay because he was out of work?
I also don’t understand why the additional costs from the strata manager should be worn by his co-owners, when they are a direct result of his non-payment of levies. To be honest, I had not thought of these charges prior to his post, so I will be contacting our strata manager to ensure that our owners who are in arrears in my building are charged for any and all additional costs (not just the legal fees). The charges mentioned do seem excessive but if he had paid on time, there would be no problem…
I am not unsympathetic with his situation and I have also had difficulty paying levies in the past, as I am sure that most owners have. The difference is that I sold some personal items to ensure that my levies were paid by the due date.
Hopefully the strata review will create clear legislation that makes payments of levies a priority and heavier interest rates will apply for late payments. Changes like this may hopefully reduce the number of cases that need to be sorted out through legal measures.
Obviously kids falling through windows is truly awful but I have to wonder where parental/owner/tenant responsibility comes into things? Is it really the government’s and the OC’s responsibility to stop it happening? I don’t have children but when I purchased my top floor flat, I cut pieces of dowel and put it into the window runners (on all windows) as well as installing window locks (so the accessible ones could be locked partially open). I also installed a bolt lock on my balcony sliding door. I did this for the rare occasions that my nieces and nephews visit – because it was the sensible thing to do…
If I can do that for the few visit a year from my relatives, why can’t parents, whose kids are there all the time, do the same thing? Surely its just common sense and good judgement?
What about residents who never have kids over – should they have to take all the additional measures as well? I just can’t see why parents should not be responsible for organising these safety additions but it should be sorted by the OC’s (which will really mean the EC’s).