Question: Can I have a political sign displayed on my apartment? I own the apartment. Does this rule also apply for ‘For Sale’ signs on apartments? Answer: Some buildings have specific signage by-laws prohibiting any signage whatsoever, with an approval process even in case of real estate ‘For Sale’ signage. Yes, buildings can restrict…
Question: Our neighbour has recently been playing their piano for hours every day. Is this a breach of the peaceful enjoyment bylaw and how can we make this stop? Answer: Fortunately, the strata manager has issued a notice to comply with the peaceful enjoyment bylaw as the owners corporation should be enforcing the by-laws. Fortunately,…
Question: Can we hold a meeting electronically and just have everybody use electronic voting on the issue of a special levy via email to our strata manager rather than having another face to face meeting? Answer: Whether or not you need a meeting depends on whether you’ve adopted “pre-meeting” electronic voting or electronic voting…
Question: My apartment is west facing and the balcony and bedrooms are almost unliveable in Summer. My Strata Committee has declined my request to approve outside awnings without giving reasons. What redress do I have please? Answer: Because the awning will be affixed to the exterior of the building and because the awnings will change…
Question: After calling our new strata management company for information, I have personally been charged a sum. Until the invoice is paid, I am unfinancial. Are strata management companies authorised to act as a “debt collector” for the owners corporation? Answer: No, the strata manager is not authorised to act as “debt” collector. Write to…
Short-term Letting Update The Fair Trading Amendment (Short-term Rental Accommodation) Act 2018 (NSW) was recently passed by both Houses and assented to. It has introduced a new Section 137A to the strata legislation which states that a by-law may prohibit short-term letting for non owner-occupiers. In other words, a by-law cannot prevent an owner-occupier…
Question: How can I stop my upstairs neighbour from washing down their outdoor area, sometimes with bleach, causing water dripping over my balcony? This disturbs the use of my property. What rights do I have to make them stop? Answer: Your neighbour may not use their lot in such a way that causes nuisance…
Question: Water has been leaking from our front yard into the car park below for a few years without resolution. Must I use the strata’s expensive contractor for the basement waterproofing? How do I get the committee to act? Answer: You may get another quote from another contractor, however, make sure that the quote…
Question: Is the front door common property or the responsibility of the owner? Do lot owners need to seek permission to install deadlocks? Answer: Subject to any notations on the strata plan and applicable by-laws, a front entrance door is common property. As front doors are “fire-doors” for fire safety, the installation of additional…
Intercom Systems Question: Hi Leanne, I’m a regular reader of your weekly Strata News and I had a query for you: Does the Owners Corporation have an obligation to provide an Intercom system for the building that it supervises? Answer: We are pleased to hear that you are regular reader of our articles! While there is…
Question: The floor in a lot’s kitchen has to be repaired because of concrete cancer. The lot owner now wants the owners corporation to pay for a new kitchen. Answer: The Owners Corporation would need to address concrete cancer and then reinstate the kitchen with like for like. It sounds like the kitchen is…
Question: Water has been leaking from our front yard into the car park below for a few years without resolution. Must I use the strata’s expensive contractor for the basement waterproofing? How do I get the committee to act? Answer: You may get another quote from another contractor, however, make sure that the quote…
Question: Are there rules concerning the actual time of day when an AGM is held? Answer: The timing should not “intentionally” be selected to prevent certain owners from attending. Though the strata legislation is silent on the point, some general rules do apply. While the timing of the AGM is at the discretion of…
New Combustible Cladding Laws Introduced On the 22nd October 2018, new laws commence. These laws are the Environmental Planning and Assessment Amendment (Identification of Buildings with Combustible Cladding) Regulation 2018 and State Environmental Planning Policy Amendment (Exempt Development – Cladding and Decorative Work) 2018. Owners of certain buildings with external combustible cladding will now be required to register…
It’s the law! Owners Corporations are required by law to repair & maintain the common property. The new legislation allows individual lot owners to sue the Owners Corporation and recover any damages suffered by an owner as a result of the Owners Corporation’s failure to properly repair & maintain the common property. Preserving and…
Strata Managers are trained professionals with the thorough knowledge and expertise required to ensure proper and timely compliance with a litany of legal, notice, meeting, accounting, capital works fund and administration fund monetary requirements relevant to your strata development. One-stop-shop With licenced strata manager, all matters relating to the scheme can be directed to…
Question: How long can a strata committee member or chairperson hold positions in executive committee? Also, can the committee engage designers without lot owners agreeing to this appointment? Answer: No this is not permissible. Only one of them can seek nomination. As you may know, the number of members is determined annually at each…
Question: We are lot owners in a small 8 lot commercial strata building. What is the procedure for appointing a new strata manager? What happens if this procedure is not followed? Answer: It is critical that the termination of the current manager be effected strictly in accordance with the strata management agency agreement which…
Question: Some residents in our building use the visitor parking spaces as an additional parking spot. Is it possible to increase levies for these few residents and not all lot owners? Answer: First you need to ascertain from the development consent for the building exactly how many visitor parking spaces are required by law. Before…
Bathroom Renovation Question: One of the lot owners in our strata complex requires a major bathroom renovation and is expecting the owners to pay for it – is this correct? Answer: It depends on why the owner requires a major bathroom renovation. Presumably, it is because there is some defect in the common property slab…