Louie

Just a thought:  As the Strata Committee cannot come to a decision (1st time in 30 years regarding a pet) – can we ask all owners (owners corporation) through our Managing Agents to vote. I suppose we are panicking due to the 4 dog attacks in a week – all big dogs. We feel the owners of the property have put us in a difficult situation, which will cause tensions.  Guess it would be the usual majority vote?  Do we have to wait until the AGM in August?  Or can it be done without an Extraordinary General Meeting and more unnecessary expense to our strata.  Can it be done via e-mail/snail mail and the Managing Agents collate the results?  If there are any expenses incurred, can we forward these on to the owners who gave unofficial verbal permission who didn’t ask questions, ie, Dog too big for their townhouse and an additional cat permission.  The answer would be simple if we didn’t have 4 little kids poking and prodding at this puppy (and other dogs) without the parents asking them to be gentle.  Most of us just keep our dogs off common property and away from this behaviour.  The dog suffers if there is a problem.

Thanks Jimmy!  Very helpful info.  The rear courtyard of this townhouse is only the size of a normal lounge room.  The dog has been left inside on landlord’s polished floorboards.  Every time the owner comes home we hear ‘What have you done – what have you done’.  Our strata had to pay for damaged floorboards in another rental a few years back.  We can also hear the puppy trying to get out the window, scratching and banging at the plantation shutters and the new strata aluminium window.  We want to be fair as there are other dogs in the complex (small-medium), but we might need to ask the dog is placed in the rear yard as the howling and barking near the open front window is annoying the majority of residents when the owner is out.  Tenant also seeks permission for a cat – so this should be interesting.

Thanks Jimmy!  Like most stratas, there are personality clashes.  The oldies have been looking after minor items for many many years (over 20 years) such as strata gardens, rubbish removal, etc.  The newbies (less than 3 years) now expect the oldies to keep doing these things – the newbies don’t touch strata gardens (gardener does it) nor pick up rubbish, etc.  The newbies have no idea how much has been done voluntarily by the oldies – they comment they don’t want to hear about the past.  So, to answer your question, it would not work for the newbies volunteering for the oldies, the newbies volunteer for themselves.  It is the oldies time to be looked after, as they have saved the strata a lot of money over the years.  It is not that they don’t want to hire tradies, there is money in the Capital Works Fund – the newbies don’t want the minor ($1,500) Special Levy struck to enable the painting to be done.  Also, the oldies pay twice literally – once via levies and then paying painters. (To top up the Capital Works Fund.) The newbies only pay once into the levies and do the labour themselves.  I think the Chairperson has opened a can of worms with this one – came from a house and doesn’t understand the concept of ‘who pays for what’ and Special Levies.  Also there is the suspicion that the urgency is that the Chairperson is trying to spruce up their townhouse quickly to sell.  Leave the painting as it has been done since the inception of the old strata complex – out of the Capital Works Fund.  Some owners would also ignore the completion dates and who is going to monitor that?  Newbies will leave and the problem remains again for the oldies to sort out.  And I won’t go into the ‘wild’ colours that are being discussed, that don’t suit the age of the properties.  Oh dear!

Thanks Tharra for the valuable info.  The complex is Sydney NSW.  The complex is becoming a mess with ‘new rules’ by the newbies – old people who have been here for a while do not want to source tradies for strata work and have the worry that the tradies are licensed and insured.  They are also worried that the strata insurance would be used by multiple owners under ‘voluntary workers’ if heaven forbid an accident occurs. (No scaffolding as required under Safety.)  Is there any chance that the newbies could put this to a vote at the upcoming AGM and win?  I would say that this suggestion has only been thrown out to the other owners at present to get their reaction.  We have one of the best Strata Companies in Australia.  However, we have a feeling that if we ask the Manager’s/company opinion, it is being relayed back to one of the newbies.  Also they would have free labour and paint paid for by the strata funds.  The oldies would have to employ professional painters but have the paint paid for.  How much paint is going to go missing as well to be used on private pegolas, etc?

Thank you very much Jimmy! I will be able to sleep better now. Yes, the e-mail was done in good faith to keep strata costs down from people tampering with common property to get a full replacement/relevant to the management of the building/not intended as malice, but indeed the facts of the situation.  Would the other owner he assisted be commiting fraud, as she knew that what he was doing would assist her to get the property replaced, rather than repaired?  He actually was heard to say loudly (smartie) that he has done this before – he knows how to get strata to pay up!