This article about strata manager complaints in WA and has been supplied by Strata Community Association WA.
Question: I’ve been living in a small strata complex for the last 10 years and it’s a constant fight for owners rights. I have suspicions that our money is mismanaged and the Strata Manager is not working in our best interests. Where can I make strata manager complaints in WA?
I’ve been living in a small strata complex for the last 10 years and it’s a constant fight for owners rights.
From insurance for common property driveway, unlawful parking on common property and obstruction and access to my garage and it appears as a never-ending story.
We have been a few times at the State Administrative Tribunal and whatever is said or ordered by the tribunal is a different story in real life. There are few owners who absolutely don’t know anything in regards to Strata titles Act and don’t care about any by-laws. There are few (holding councils position) who constantly oppose anything even if it benefits all owners.
I recently requested and questioned expenses which should be in agreed services so logically free of any charges like for example issues of quarterly’s notices of levies or distribution of minutes. When I referred my concerns to Strata management I got the response “we concur with you STA WA standard contract is confusing….” However, the was no straightforward response to my question requesting for itemized services in agreed services fee of thousands of dollars.
Could you please advise what I can do in this matter as I have my suspicions that our money is mismanaged? At a recent AGM when I asked for an invoice for recent pest control I was told it was a mistake and strata funds will be reimbursed, but what would happen if I didn’t ask?
I asked to be on Strata council this year but can’t see any improvement as two others council members are blinded by Strata manager and don’t care about the best interest of the whole complex.
Where can I make strata manager complaints in WA? Is there an institution where I could lodge a complaint about issues of the miss-use of Strata funds by Strata manager?
Answer: Strata Management is currently, unfortunately, an unregulated industry in WA and therefore there is no regulating body that you can refer to.
Please note: this response was provided prior to the proclamation of the new strata title amendments.
The Strata Titles Act 1985 (WA) (the Act) sets out the obligations of each strata company, and all Strata Managers in WA should be very familiar with those obligations and duties.
The use (or mis-use) of common property & parking is covered in detail by the standard Schedule 1 & 2 by-laws (and by any subsequent amendments that may have been made to them under Section 42 of the Act). Additionally, Section 35 of the Act requires the strata company (meaning the owners collectively, not to be confused with the Strata Management company) to enforce those by-laws. A professional & competent Strata Manager should be able to guide the Council of Owners in that regard.
The insurance obligations of each strata company is detailed in Sections 53 to 59 of the Act and again a professional & competent Strata Manager should be able to guide the Council of Owners in that regard.
It does, however, appear from your question that due process has already been followed in regards to the strata company’s obligations via applications to the State Administrative Tribunal (SAT), but your frustration is that you feel this process has not resolved the issues you’re experiencing. Proposed reform to the Act is currently before Parliament and one of the primary intentions of this reform is to make dispute resolution simpler and easier. We eagerly await the passing of the amended Bill to make these matters easier for owners to resolve. In the meantime, however, if you believe the orders issued by the SAT have not been complied with, you may consider seeking legal advice in regards to the appropriate next steps.
The SCA WA Management Agreement template has been designed as a proforma that SCA WA Strata Manager Members may use if they feel it suits the needs of their business. It is important to note that Members do not have permission to alter the Terms & Conditions of the SCA WA template, however, they are permitted to alter the Schedules to suit the individual needs of their business and their particular service offering and fee structure. A Strata Manager should ensure they understand the Terms & Conditions, and the service offerings outlined in the Schedules, before entering into the agreement with a client.
There is also a comprehensive ‘Client Guide to the Management Agreement’ available to all SCA WA Members that helps to explain the template agreement to Members, and they can also use this to explain the agreement to their clients. The Council of Owners must also ensure that they understand the Management Agreement that they have in place with the Strata Manager and hold the Strata Manager accountable to this agreement, just like any other contract for service.
Should you have any further queries regarding the SCA WA Management Agreement template, we encourage you to contact the SCA WA office who can assist you with this.
Strata Management is currently, unfortunately, an unregulated industry in WA and therefore there is no regulating body that you can refer to. However, the following activities are good practice in ensuring your funds are being appropriately managed:
- The Council of Owners (notably the Treasurer) should request to receive regular financial reports from the Strata Manager, and may also opt to approve all invoices before they are paid. You noted an example where a pest control invoice was paid in error, and because you asked, the error was rectified. It is important to note that human error will occur from time to time and generally speaking, the process of entering and paying invoices is a manual task carried out by a person. This is why it is good practice for the Council or Treasurer to regularly review the financial reports so that if any errors have occurred, they are identified and rectified.
- The strata company may decide to have an annual independent financial audit undertaken by a suitably qualified auditor. A provision for this expense would need to be included in your annual budget which is confirmed at the Annual General Meeting.
- If you are a concerned owner and you are unable to achieve a consensus from others on the above two points, you are entitled to inspect the records of the strata company which should include financial reports and all invoices paid. You are therefore able to check for yourself that the invoices paid align with the financial reports, and you’re also able to check the Management Agreement to see if the fees that have been charged are aligned with the Agreement.
Although the Strata Management industry is unregulated, SCA WA Members are bound by a Code of Conduct and a complaint process is available if a client of an SCA WA Member believes they have breached that Code of Conduct. This highlights the importance of choosing an SCA WA Member when seeking a Strata Manager. For more information on making a complaint against an SCA WA Member, please contact the SCA WA office. We also offer an advice line service to our members, which you are able to join. This advice line is very helpful to provide you with independent general information and guidance when queries such as these arise.
Disclaimer: The above information is provided solely for general information purposes and should not be taken as constituting legal advice or advice that is specific to your particular circumstances. You may consider seeking independent legal advice to see if the information provided relates to your circumstances.
Strata Community Association WA (SCA WA) is the peak industry body representing people who own and work with strata property in Western Australia by providing education and advocacy. Our members consist of strata lot owners, council of owners’ members, professional Strata Managers and associated service providers. Strata is a complex area of the property industry and it can be difficult to navigate without having access to professional assistance. To support our members, we offer a member-only Advice Line that provides general advice, information and guidance. Join SCA WA today from only $60* per annum to gain access to the Advice Line and other member benefits. Contact us to find out more!
This post appears in Strata News #210.
Strata Community Association WA
E: [email protected]
P: 08 9381 7084
Have a question strata manager complaints in WA or something to add to the article? Leave a comment below.
Read next:
- WA: How to handle a strata manager or council of owners who are not working in your interest
- WA: Resolving Strata Disputes Under the Strata Title Act Amendments
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It would be great if the answer to this question could be updated since the strata act changes. I’d love to know if the industry is now regulated and if it is possible to make a complaint about a poor strata manager. The new act provides more responsibility to strata managers and with that comes accountability, along with a requirement to hold suitable qualifications. Does the SAT deal with it at all?
Can a strata put their fees up by over 100%.
Hi Zoe
There are a variety of WA questions and responses about levy increase, including this Q&A, here:
Question: Our latest strata fee notice shows an increase from $197 to $279 a quarter. Can the strata company increase our strata fees by any amount they want?
Hi I am a tenant in a strata complex. I am being harassed and bullied by the unit opposite me who is a member of the strata council. She has been making fictitious and spiteful complaints that I am being charged an invoice fee of $55 for each breech, so far 4 breeches. I have tried a misconduct restraining order, told i was in the wrong forum. Property manager doesn’t want to know and the Strata company will not communicate with me.
I want to know how to resolve this issue without being forced to move and I do not know how to do it. Any suggestions?
Hi Sharon
The following documents may be of assistance to you. Please check the following suggestions with a strata lawyer but this is my understanding.
A tenant cannot be breached by the Council of Owners (via the strata manager), only an owner can be breached under the Strata Titles Act. The owner can then breach a tenant under the Residential Tenancies Act if you are not complying with the by-laws. I’d suggest they’d need to be able to substantiate that claim in order to pass any costs onto you.
You do not have to pay the $55 fee that comes with the breach notice. This is likely an admin fee imposed by the strata manager. in order to enforce the breach and can only be billed to an owner. If you believe the breaches are unfounded, don’t pay this fee and only the SAT (State Administrative Tribunal) can force you to pay once the Council of Owners have filed an application to enforce the breach to the bylaws.
The conduct of your neighbour/council member may be in breach of Conduct bylaw 4 as detailed on page 59 of this publication. If you think it is, file an application with the SAT to have it dealt with properly. It will cost approx $250 to submit the application but may be worth it if you can put a stop to the behaviour. You may need your owner’s support to do this, I’m unsure.
https://www.strata.wa.gov.au/assets/documents/Landgate_Guide_to_Strata_Titles_Rev_May2020.pdf
This is a guide about helping to solve disputes in strata from the website strata.wa.gov.au
https://www.strata.wa.gov.au/assets/documents/Landgate_Guide_to_Resolving_Disputes.pdf
Hope this helps. some legal advice as a starting point will not be costly, particularly as the Strata Titles Act changed recently.
Good luck!
Today, 20.05.2020, I attended the Annual General Meeting 2020 via online conferencing due to COVID19. There were five owner (including me) in the meeting and the meeting was chaired by the strata manager. Two things concerned me at the meeting, First, two of the owners had invested assignment to some of the works that needed to be carried out in the property (e.g building fence, investigate and treatment for spider/terminates in the building, clearing rubbish bins, painting of the building). The chairperson raised the concern of conflict of interest, however, due to not getting quotes and quotes being expensive in the past, they agreed on the owner to continue to complete the tasks as per the year plan 20/21. Everyone seems to know each other in the meeting, however, since its my first after many years attending a meeting, I raised in the meantime, the option to get quote should be considered. The manager claimed that there will be reviews of the work done and if owner are not happy then this can be looked into. Then she stated it will be highlighted in the minutes that all attendees have consented to hired these owners to do the task, which I did not say ‘yes’ whilst the rest did.
The second is when I raised by concerns that with the letterbox change in November 2019, I had to get my daughter to collect the letterbox keys since I was away from Perth, working in Kununurra. When I returned to Perth on 24.02.2020, I was not able to access the letterbox with the new keys given. I reported it to the Strata Manager prior to the meeting, and she claimed that since it has been more than 4 months I have to get the key changed at my cost. This was the same answer given in the meeting by all the rest, stating that I should have got my daughter to check that keys when issued, that it will only cost $15.00 to get it down, time lapsed and so forth. I believe that when a service is delivered there should be no defects and since I was away during the time (I did not want my daughter to check my personal mails and it is not a responsibility to check the keys were working) I disagreed and wanted strata to pay for the change of keys. I was advised to get legal advise as strata was not willing to pay for the cost
Hi Mabel
You are entitled to express your concerns about the way work is carried out at the strata scheme. It sounds like your concerns are not being acknowledged and that must be frustrating too.
It’s likely that as this is your first AGM for a while, you may have missed out on what’s been developing there during this time.
Too often in small schemes there is an underlying problem with levies being inadequate to manage the level of maintenance, repair and renewal that is really required. This leads to lack of funds being available leading to cheap work or well-meaning owners who become pseudo ‘caretakers’ but without trade skills.
It’s important to educate yourself on the reading of the financial statements that accompany each AGM notice so you can assess whether these are realistic…. if expenditure is higher than levies received then there is a problem. If there seems very little in each area of budgeted expenditure that indicates that cheap work is being done.
It’s difficult to assess without knowing the State, number of lots, their age, etc, but the record of what work has been undertaken and the cost should give you a fair idea of whether it is realistic.
You could ask for a committee member to contact you, and ask questions with that fellow owner – a fact-finding exercise – what’s been happening recently or over the period you’ve been away – be interested and care about what the vision is for the future… a committee member is more likely to be receptive and open to enquiries if there’s no criticism involved.
Second item: Just been through a similar situation with some owners. Generally, the strata company provides the letterboxes and the owner is responsible for locks and keys. Often when letterboxes are changed, there’s a new lock which comes with the box and there are a couple of keys that are issued that are supposed to fit… haha. However, there is a relatively inexpensive solution. Take a clear photo of the lock and the writing on it, take the key you were provided with that doesn’t work, go to a real locksmith (not a key cutting place), show them the photo and keys and ask what they charge to provide a key to suit. You may need to provide ID.. Depending on type of lock, it could be less than $20 for a solution. Good luck.
There is an elderly couple who have been living in their apartment for the past 17 years. In the past 3 years there has been an issue with mould. In the last year they have been unable to manage this due to ill health. I came across them one day in the walkway with the gentleman (both are 74 years old) leaning up against a wall being supported by his wife. I called an ambulance and he has been in hospital for the past 3 weeks due to be released this week. I became aware of the mould issue when helping the wife and invited into their home. The level of mould is definitely dangerous for the health. I contacted the strata as based on the accounts of the occupants, this only started in the last 3 years. The strata had a building inspector come in and talking with him he advised that there were issues with the silcone sealing the roof. They live on the 1st floor of a 3 level (ground, 1st and 2nd) building. From the account given by the building inspector he was sure it was due to this. However, the strata has just advised that they WON’T provide a copy of the inspectors report and that the issue is due to lack of ventilation. I am trying to help this elderly couple as much as I can but need to know what can they do now. As I said, the apartment would be dangerous to their health and need URGENT attention. Can you please tell me where they can go for assistance?
Hi Gary
If the couple are owners then they are entitled to see a copy of the builder’s report – any owner is entitled to see it as they (owners) have paid for it through their levies.
Mould is a serious issue, and it is very likely that ventilation (or lack of) is contributing to its growth. I’d recommend that you contact the local authority (City or Shire council) and request assistance for this couple. . . initially help to kill the mould then help to remove and treat the surfaces to prevent it returning. The senior’s activity department and the health department will probably assist and provide additional resources. It’s good of you to care enough to enquire and want to assist them.
Give us an update on what success you have.
Hi Gary, did you get any replies? I am having an almost identical issue with a unit I own as well
SCA would be worth joining IF it provided WRITTEN and RELIABLE responses to queries but it does neither.
More significantly SCA has failed to ensure that the industry accepts that:
1. all correspondence received or sent by strata managers or council members are strata record
2. no strata record is private