DEFT Cash Payments are changing

Recent changes have been made to cash DEFT payments made at Australia Post. Do these changes affect me?  These changes will impact you if you pay your rent, strata levies, insurance premiums or other DEFT bills via cash at Australia Post. What alternate payment options are there? The payment methods available are determined by your…

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NSW: Q&A Special Levies, Levy Payments and Overdue Levies

  Question: A lot owner in our small block has consistently been in arrears with levies. Although they are on a payment plan the situation is not improving. Do we have other options to recover the overdue levies? We have one owner in our small strata block of six that has consistently been in arrears…

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NSW: Q&A Special Levies, Levy Payments and Overdue Levies

Question: How can I stop the never-ending nightmare of raising special strata levies? We purchased a unit in April 2018 with special levies meant to finish in June 2020. The strata have continued to raise special levies and the quote agreed on in 2016 (apparently) has more than doubled. I want this money back. I…

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NSW: Q&A Special Levies, Levy Payments and Overdue Levies

  Question: My strata manager is withholding some of my levy notices. How do I ensure these late notices are sent to me, as the strata manager is ignoring my emails? I think my strata manager is withholding some of my levy notices. They say I am unfinancial, therefore I could not vote at the…

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NSW: Q&A Special Levies, Levy Payments and Overdue Levies

Question: We receive a delayed strata levy. On the levy it shows 2 quarters plus interest, however, this was sent late from the strata. Are the owners still responsible for the interest? Answer: If the levy was issued late, they should not be charged any interest. They shouldn’t be responsible for the interest. If it…

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NSW: Q&A Spending Limits & Unapproved Fees

  Question: Our owners corporation is part of a BMC. Is it regulation that the financial and annual budget of the BMC be presented to the strata committee or owners and approved at a committee meeting before the owners corporation AGM? I am an owner in an owners corporation that has shared facilities (BMC) with…

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NSW: Q&A Special Levies, Levy Payments and Overdue Levies

  Question: When recovering late levy payments, can the Owners Corporation recover the costs of using a lawyer/debt collector from the recalcitrant owner? In a previous response you mentioned that when recovering late levy payments, the fourth letter of Demand should be “by lawyer/debt collector”. Who is preferred in the first instance, a lawyer or…

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Q&A: Interest and discounts on levies

  Question: I was just reading today’s newsletter and thought i would let you know an avenue i took for charges being illegally placed onto my levy statement, re the question posted in the 214 newsletter: Question: After calling our new strata management company for information, I have personally been charged a sum. Until the…

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Common mistakes people new to strata living make (NSW)

Jimmy T from the Flat-Chat website posted this informative article covering typical mistakes made by people who are new to strata living. The top 10 Forgetting about Strata Levies as part of your budget Not getting involved with the management of the strata building Not complaining about noise in the building Assuming, and blindly believing…

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Changes to Fire and Emergency Services Levy (FESL)

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…

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