Owners Corporation & Animals Question: I was under the impression that there was legislation that said an Owner Corporation could not make laws to prohibit animals on any lot. However, it is important to have rules around common property and other sensible rules around owner and pet behaviour Could you please advise? Answer: An Owners…
Question: One of our lot owners has experienced damage caused by tree roots from a neighbour. Who is responsible for the cost of the remedial works to the adjoining property, the strata neighbour or the strata body? Answer: What is within the lot owner’s boundary is the responsibility of that individual owner. However, it…
Unit Entitlements Q: I would like to clarify the following: 1. Does owning a garage attached to a unit entitle the unit holder to have 2 votes? I thought that garage was a utility lot designed primarily for storage of goods or cars. As a result of this I am constantly outvoted on issues as…
AGM Timing Q: What are the rules concerning the actual time of day when a AGM is held? Last year ours was commenced at 3pm with the consequence that only 7 out of 24 lot owners were able to attend? A: Though the strata legislation is silent on the point, some general rules do apply….
Question: There are a number of very vocal apartment owners in my building who are against animals of any type, including a companion animal. Answer: If you can demonstrate your animal meets the requirements of a companion animal for the specific outlined range of disabilities, the Owners Corporation cannot prohibit the keeping of your…
Question: Where will the financial responsibility lie for the fibre optic upgrade to individual units, assuming a majority of the owners corporation want direct fibre to their home? Answer: When it comes to the fibre optic upgrade, there is no hard and fast rule. There is no hard and fast rule, however, before considering…
Question: A noisy neighbour has replaced carpet with vinyl boards. This renovation was done without owners corporation approval. The increased noise transference permitted through the new vinyl flooring is unacceptable to neighbours who have complained accordingly. Answer: The Owners Corporation would need to show their reasonableness in refusing the floorboards for the benefit of…
Question: An old cooling tower in our building only services a proportion of the apartments. What are the strata committee powers? The committee is proposing to replace the tower with ducted air conditioning to the affected units at the cost of the Owners Corporation. Answer: The strata committee seems to be abusing their powers and…
Question: In NSW are fees regulated for providing strata roll access? Is there a standard fee that can be charged for lot owners to view the strata roll? As a lot owner. I’d like to gain strata roll access to view the information contained on our strata roll. Is there a standard fee that can…
Mediation Since the introduction of the new strata legislation, Strata Schemes Management Act, 2015 (NSW) (“SSMA”) it is no longer the case that you may automatically have legal representation at mediation. In fact, under Section 220 of the SSMA, you have no entitlement to legal or other representation, unless all the other parties to the…
Question: One family owns 61% of our scheme and use their strata unit entitlements NSW to block the committee and let the scheme run down. Would this situation be classed as dysfunctional? Answer: If the 61% family prevents the Owners Corporation from complying with its statutory obligations, then this would be a strong argument for…
Can parking offenders be towed from the common property? Under the new strata legislation, the Owners Corporation has finally received new powers to tow vehicles in breach of by-laws. On the downside, the Owners Corporation must tolerate the offending vehicle for at least five (5) days before it may take any action. Upon service of…
Question: I require information on appointing a new Strata manager before the 12 month contract period is up. Our Strata manager rarely replies to emails and seldom ever replies to messages whether they are left on their mobile or sent via email. Answer: Your ability to end your existing contract with your current strata manager…
Medium density housing approvals to become faster and cheaper from 6th July 2018! From 6th July 2018, developers proposing to erect new terraces and other medium-density housing will fall under the umbrella of a new housing code and design code to be adopted by the NSW government, which aims to increase the number of medium-density…
Despite the highly anticipated “pet-friendly” amendments to the new strata legislation, animals are still not automatically permitted in strata schemes unless they are assistance animal as referred to in section 9 of the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 of the Commonwealth. So, you have a statutory right to keep an assistance animal within strata. However, if your animal is…
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 development. What a licenced strata managing agent can do for you: assist you during the formation of the…
Is a by-law prohibiting AirBnB accommodation lawful? After some 3 years of community and industry consultation, last Tuesday, the NSW government announced its proposed new laws to empower Owners Corporations to ban AirBnB rentals and similar online short-term letting accommodation. Residents will remain unaffected by the proposed new laws. In other words, owners and tenants…
Question: Leading up to our AGM, our Strata Manager was holding too many proxies, so divvied them up to lot owners. Can this be done? Can you also explain the quorum requirements for annual general meeting? Answer: For the quorum in your scheme – at least ¼ of persons present or ¼ of unit entitlements….
Commencing on 1st July 2018, GST withholding obligations will be shifted from the developer to the purchaser of affected properties. The new laws only affect contracts which settle on and after 1st July 2018 and according to the REINSW the transitional provisions exempt contracts for sale entered into before 1st July 2018 provided that the…
Question: Can the Owners Corporation place a limit on the size of pets for units? We have a growing, medium size dog. We are worried strata will decide he is too big to be kept in our apartment. Answer: Some strata schemes regulate dogs by reference to weight (eg no more than 10kgs), dogs that…