Can the chairperson of an owners corporation disconnect the hot water supply to common property showers in a swimming pool area without the authority of his owners corporation?
A recent NCAT case grappled with this interesting issue.
So, how did they resolve it? Hot Showers, Common Property and NCAT
For NSW strata legal or levy collection advice please contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.
Strata apartment living is the fastest growing form of property ownership across Australia with more than half of these apartments located in the greater Sydney area.
Alarmingly, recent and extensive research* has found that up to 85% of these buildings built in NSW since the year 2000 have some form of building defects.
Sydney Olympic Park Opal Tower
The recent controversy surrounding the Opal Tower located in the Sydney Olympic Park precinct highlights the seriousness of some of these defects, leaving home owners lives turned upside down. So, what are their rights?
Statutory Warranty Scheme
Under NSW law all residential buildings:
All owners who are still covered by these warranties have the right to pursue the developer and builder for rectification of building defects.
How do building defects affect strata levies?
Strata levies are a critical and essential part of ensuring the value of a property is protected.
The owners corporation has the statutory duty to ensure common property is safe and kept in good repair, therefore apartment owners in structurally unsafe buildings could face increased special levies.
When a building defect is on common property the owners corporation should add the repair of the defect to the agenda of a general meeting for consideration and resolution.
The good news is that Opal Tower home owners are covered under the statutory warranty scheme however the not so good news is that it leaves home owners forced to find alternative accommodation or perhaps live in unsafe conditions with the possibility of facing a hefty special levies bill whilst the situation is being resolved.
For NSW strata legal or levy collection advice please contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.
*University of NSW City Futures Research Centre.
In a recent case, NCAT has decided that a landlord falls under no obligation to ensure that their tenants comply with the by-laws in a strata scheme.
The Case
The case of Filetti -v- Eales; Eales -v- Filetti [2018] NSWCATCD 66 involved a dispute about noise between owners and residents in an apartment building in Vaucluse, Sydney. Ms Filetti owns and lives in an apartment in that building. She claimed that the tenants who lived in the apartment above hers created excessive noise. Ms Filetti applied to NCAT for orders against the tenants and the owner of the apartment above, Mr Eales, to require them to treat the floor space of their apartment to prevent the transmission of excessive noise. Ms Filetti also sought an order to compel Mr Eales to require his tenants to comply with the by-laws concerning the noise, and an order to require Mr Eales to compensate her for breaches of the by-laws committed by his tenants.
The Decision
NCAT dismissed Ms Filetti’s claim. NCAT was not satisfied that Ms Filetti had proven that Mr Eales’ tenants created excessive noise. NCAT accepted that it had power to make an order to require a lot owner to comply with the by-laws. However, NCAT did not consider that it could make an order requiring an owner to ensure his or her tenants comply with the by-laws. NCAT observed that the strata legislation does not impose an obligation on landlords to ensure their tenants comply with the by-laws (although NCAT did find that a landlord had capacity to require his or her tenants to comply with the by-laws). For that reason, NCAT dismissed Ms Filetti’s claim for an order for Mr Eales to ensure that his tenants complied with the by-laws.
The Claim for Compensation
Ms Filetti also made a claim for compensation against Mr Eales for a breach of the by-laws by him. NCAT expressed doubt that it had power to make an order for compensation in the circumstances. NCAT considered that the decision of the Court of Appeal in The Owners Strata Plan 50276 -v- Thoo [2013] NSWCA 27 suggested that compensation is not available in respect of a breach of a by-law either in NCAT or a court of general jurisdiction.
Conclusion
Ultimately, Ms Filetti’s claim was unsuccessful because she did not prove that Mr Eales’ tenants were making excessive noise in breach of the by-laws. However, the more interesting aspects of the case are the findings by NCAT that it cannot make orders requiring a lot owner to ensure his or her tenants comply with the by-laws or order one lot owner to pay another owner compensation for a breach of the by-laws.
For NSW strata legal or levy collection advice please contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.
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For NSW strata legal or levy collection advice please contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.
In a recent case NCAT upheld a general meeting special resolution of an owners corporation that approved the installation of new rain water tanks in a strata scheme, despite there being:
So, was the decision a victory for common sense? Tribunal Upholds Validity of General Meeting
For NSW strata legal or levy collection advice please contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.
Sydney has become saturated with apartment blocks and cranes as far as the eye can see.
As such, one of the major issues that owners corporations are facing with these new developments is the use of cranes and airspace.
In the past 2 years, nearly 350 cranes were erected in Sydney with 298 of them used for residential purposes which is a 65 per cent increase in crane usage.
So, how does an owners corporation control the way in which developers use their airspace?
Can an owners corporation stop a developer passing a crane through its airspace?
What to do when a developer requires crane access? Crane Access Rights and Airspace
For NSW strata legal or levy collection advice please contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.
NCAT has recently changed the rules that apply to expert evidence in most strata cases.
These changes relax the rules relating to expert evidence and make it easier for opinions to be given by experts in a quicker and cheaper way.
Previously, if a person such as a building consultant, engineer or valuer, wanted to give expert evidence in a strata dispute in NCAT, they had to comply with certain rules before their evidence would be accepted.
These included rules that required the person to follow an Expert Witness Code of Conduct to ensure that they act as an independent expert and not as the “hired gun” of one of the parties.
Often, an expert’s report would be rejected by NCAT if those rules were not followed.
However, those rules no longer apply to most strata disputes. This means that experts will now be able to give evidence in most strata cases in NCAT without having to comply with every aspect of the Expert Witness Code of Conduct.
This is intended to ensure that opinions for strata disputes, given by experts, are able to be obtained in an easier and cheaper way although those opinions will still need to be soundly based and reliable.
So, what are the new rules for giving expert evidence? NCAT Changes the Rules for Strata Disputes.
For NSW strata legal or levy collection advice contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.
Did you know a person involved in a strata dispute in NCAT must get permission from NCAT to be represented by a strata lawyer?
Under the previous legislation, legal representation at NCAT was allowed. However, all of that changed with the introduction in 2014 of the NCAT and in 2016 the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015.
This has created problems and questions for many owners corporations which require legal representation in NCAT such as:
So, what role can a strata lawyer for an owners corporation play when NCAT does not allow the lawyer to represent the owners corporation? What is The Right to Strata Legal Representation in NCAT?
For NSW strata legal or levy collection advice contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.
Illegally parked vehicles taking up visitor parking spaces in strata blocks are becoming more and more of an issue as the Sydney community grows and creates more demand for parking.
It’s reported that residents and non-residents are taking up visitor car parking with their extra cars, strangers dumping unregistered vehicles and apartments near major centres or transport hubs being targeted by commuters, all ignoring the rules and causing grief across Sydney’s high-rise strata communities.
So, what can be done?
Are owners corporations powerless to remove illegally parked vehicles from visitor parking spaces in strata blocks? A recent article in SMH Domain suggests this is the case.
But what is the true position? Download to find out what can be done about Illegally Parked Vehicles in Strata.
For NSW strata legal or levy collection advice contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.