Question: A lot owner in our 5 lot NSW strata building is using the garage to store carpets for their business. What impact would this have on fire safety and strata insurance? Answer: You should contact your local council and make further enquiries there, as they have powers to stop the business being carried…
Question: Are there regulations on the use of smoker BBQs on apartment balconies considering the amount of smoke and smell these produce? Answer: You must check the by-laws applicable to your scheme. The short answer is that you must check the by-laws applicable to your scheme. Many schemes have by-laws which regulate BBQ’s and…
Question: We need to shave a little off the bottom of our entry fire door to install new floorboards. Is strata responsible for modifying or replacing the fire door, since the front fire door is common property? I am installing floorboards in my apartment which will raise the existing floor levels, consequently, I may…
Question: Fire updates within our complex led to the installation of a box cover over my bathroom vent which caused massive problems with mould in the bathroom. How can I get this fixed? I finished renovating my unit last year. Not long after we had fire updates done throughout the complex. This led to…
Question: We live in a high rise apt block and a few years ago we voted against a no smoking building, but we are not allowed to smoke in all common areas. That is fair enough. I’m not a smoker. But living in the western suburbs with a reasonably large amount of tenanted apartments, most…
Question: Now the evenings are getting cooler, we are wondering if we can set up a small fire pit on our apartment balcony. We have units and balconies both above and below us. Since we’ve been in lockdown, we tend to spend quite a bit of time on our apartment balcony to get fresh air…
Question: Can NSW providers rescind an Annual Fire Safety Statements for non payment of invoices? If so, how is it legally done? Answer: We are not aware of how a document like this can be rescinded. We are not aware of how a document like this can be rescinded as the Annual Fire Safety Statements…
Question: Should we have a bylaw allowing residents to have a BBQ on their apartment balcony? If we have no bylaw and a BBQ becomes a fire hazard, will the Strata Committee Members be held liable? Answer: You need to check what your contract states with regard to strata manager insurance commissions. We have…
In the wake of the devastation of the London Fire, NSW Fair Trading is taking action concerning non-compliant aluminium cladding. Such action will include legal reform to give effect to: Having a specialist unit conduct an audit with a view to issuing orders against owners of buildings to remove non-compliant aluminium cladding materials. Requiring annual…
Smoke detectors have an effective ‘use by date’ and back-up batteries should be checked and replacement frequently, however the entire unit usually needs to be replaced after 10 years. A LookUpStrata reader wanted to know who is responsible to ensure that the smoke alarms in strata units are operational, and who is responsible for the replacement and…
This Flat Chat article in the Domain explains changes in the way the so-called Fire and Emergency Services Levy (FESL) is raised. From 1 July 2017, the annual fire services levy will be collected via council rates rather than via buildings insurance. This will ensure the FESL will be spread more evenly across a broader slice of…
As the NBN rolls out across Australia, your telecommunications providers existing fixed line networks are being progressively disconnected. Monitored fire alarms and lift phones that have been operating on Telstra’s, Optus’ and other providers’ networks will cease to operate unless they are migrated to an alternative network before disconnection happens. A temporary arrangement has been…
The team at Kerin Benson Lawyers wrote an article on safety issues in strata titled buildings in Australia.They give 3 main reasons for why fire and life safety issues are still making headlines: 1.) The, what appears to be, endemic nature of building defects in buildings in Australia. “In a survey completed by the City Futures…
Building owners will be familiar with the legal requirement to lodge a fire safety statement with the local council and fire brigade every year. The process usually involves a fire services contractor attending the building, inspecting and testing fire safety measures and certifying they are compliant or recommending work to make them compliant, and once…