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AGM or Wine? Why You Should Participate in Your AGM
Nicole Wilde, Tisher Liner FC Law Why is it important for you to attend your AGM? Because you work hard to earn your money, and if you don’t participate in the democratic decision-making process of your Owners Corporation’s administration and the repair and maintenance of the common property in your building, then there is ample opportunity for inefficiencies and waste.
NSW: Q&A Strata Committee Powers: Cooling Tower Too Hot to Handle
Leanne Habib, Premium Strata
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.
QLD: Q&A Duties of a Building Manager & Providing Relevant Information
Frank Higginson, Hynes Legal Question: We are experiencing unprofessional conduct from our onsite managers who are providing personal information about lot owners. The police have been involved. We receive no support from the Body Corporate Managers and Committee.
ACT: Q&A Financial Statements for AGM – What Should Be Included?
Jan Browne, Whittles Strata Partners
Question: What financial statements for the AGM is the Strata Manager obliged to include with the Agenda papers? We do not have access to the expenditure report unless we specifically ask for a copy from the Strata Manager.
NSW: Q&A Strata Committee Conflict of Interest Over Concrete Cancer Repairs?
Rod Smith, The Strata Collective Question: We are in the process of an NCAT dispute over the Owners Corporation's failure to repair the common property. I also hold a general position on the strata committee. Does this constitute a strata committee conflict of interest?
Bailey Compton, Leverage Group – Solicitors & Academy
The new Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 gives greater power to the NSW Civil Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) to hear matters. One of the unexpected outcomes has been that strata managers are being thrown into the role of solicitor.
NSW: Q&A I’m Abused in Emails from Another Committee Member
Rod Smith, The Strata Collective Question: What are my rights as a committee member who is abused in emails constantly with offending words and disrespectful terms about quotes and repairs for the block from another committee member?
Strata Insurance doesn’t cover items in your storage cage…
Lia de Sousa, Whitbread Insurance Brokers Question: There was break in to my storage care area in the basement of my apartment. The fence of the storage area has been cut open and I would like to know who covers the repairs or replacement of that actual fence please (not the contents in the storage cage area).
QLD: Q&A The First rule of Visitor Parking in Apartments – umm, it’s for visitors!
Todd Garsden, Hynes Legal Question: Would there be any legal problem with a Body Corporate installing boom gate entry access to a visitor parking area controlled by a Licence Plate Recognition (LPR) camera, and automatically denying access to the visitor car park to known resident vehicles using their licence plate numbers? Any vehicle licence plate numbers not on the resident list would be automatically admitted to the visitor car park, on the assumption they are bona fide visitors. The exclusion list would be updated as residents and their vehicles change.
This approach would seem to avoid the onerous processes needed to get a Commissioner’s order to get recalcitrant residents out of the visitor car park, by stopping them getting in in the first place.
NSW: Q&A Accurate Meeting Minutes + Venue for the AGM
Rod Smith, The Strata Collective Question: We have issues every single time the secretary writes the minutes the EC have to ask for corrections be made because the secretary has taken creative licence to praise those EC members who they thinks are doing a good job and in particular when they are of the same view. Selective hearing on particular matters is evidenced in the minutes also where other contributions from EC members are not recorded if they don’t agree with a conflicting view. Should the secretary be asked if they are really suited to the job? They check everything through the chair who runs how the EC operates which is outside the scope of the role of the chair.
NSW: Do the right thing, do the best you can, always show people you care
We provide our service through using the most current strata specific industry program and latest in technology. Strata Committee members get higher levels of access and can access financial information and reports.
Leverage Group NSW: Leverage Solicitors | Leverage Academy Everything from simple advice through to structure of business and the development of policies and procedure manuals can be undertaken by Leverage Solicitors.
Leverage Academy is highly sought after by Real Estate Professionals looking to gain qualifications and our results have made us leaders in the industry.
News of the Week
Guide for smoke free strata housing in Western Australia
acosh The Guide for smoke free strata housing in Western Australia is a joint initiative of ACOSH and Cancer Council Western Australia. The guide aims to assist community members and strata managers to introduce a non-smoking by-law, reduce exposure to secondhand smoke and make conflicts easier to manage.
State Member for Sydney, Alex Greenwich, has launched a petition to have short term letting debated in NSW parliament. He needs 10,000 signatures. They must be original signatures so people need to print, sign, and mail/drop off to his office.
We urge NSW LookUpStrata readers to sign, put up in their lobbies, and share with their committees and other lot owners.
Independent MP Alex Greenwich: There has been a strong supportive response to my petition calling for owners corporations the authority to control short term letting in their building, including to place limits beyond state controls or to ban the practice outright. If you support this approach, please sign and collect signatures. Print petition HERE.
Before making any decisions about possible changes to the BUGT Act, the Queensland Government would like to hear your views about QUT’s recommendations.
You are invited to provide feedback on QUT’s recommendations to harmonise some provisions of the BUGT Act and the BCCM Act to provide bodies corporate operating under the BUGT Act with a more contemporary body corporate legislative framework.
