The Future of Energy in Strata The energy landscape within strata title communities is often overlooked, difficult to navigate, and expensive. The conversation to define your Energy Strategy is more important now, than ever before. What is Energy Strategy in Strata? Energy Strategy for strata title communities (Strata) is the collaborative process of planning,…
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A number of body corporate lawyers have recently published articles claiming that bodies corporate could use by-laws to ban holiday lettings, despite the Body Corporate and Community Management Act (BCCMA) prohibiting such by-laws. The basis for the claim was a recent District Court decision which concerned a complex governed by the Building Units and Group…
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One of the most contentious issues we see dividing committees and owners relates to car park storage. Requests to install storage structures and enforcement of by-laws when items or structures are put in place without approval, requires careful consideration to maintain harmony. In this article we delve into the common storage request types, terms of…
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An Annual General Meeting (AGM) must be held within 3 months of the end of a scheme’s financial year. For various reasons, bodies corporate are not always able to comply with that timeframe. When this happens, many apply for adjudication, seeking an order such as ‘permission to hold the AGM out of time’ or ‘an…
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We have seen a significant increase in telecommunication providers seeking to access a body corporate scheme through a land access and activity notice (LAAN) for “Telco Rights”. In some cases the telecommunication providers are using a LAAN to access the body corporate’s scheme to undertake works that go beyond the “Telco Rights”. It is important…
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My Strata Companion is an Animal – And, I don’t mean they are just badly behaved… Apart from the topical and ongoing personal, societal and legal debates about controls on pets in strata buildings, there’s a group of animals that are exempt from any strata by-laws or rules. So, who are they, how do the…
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A prospective unit buyer recently contacted us wanting to know whether it was worthwhile challenging a committee decision to refuse approval for their pet dog. The buyer had the unit under contract and the finance condition was due in a week or so. The contract was otherwise unconditional, so that once finance approval was obtained…
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It’s inevitable that there’ll be strata disputes [or strata differences as I called them in my article ‘Better Ways to Approach Strata Differences’] and they’re not going away in hurry; even with new mindsets and better education. In almost all strata disputes the stakeholders adopt the mechanisms set out in the applicable strata laws and…
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Committee decisions need to be made on a regular basis to administer the body corporate and its common property. The way in which decisions are made should reflect the priority of the matter to be considered. Factors of urgency and cost are the most common areas of determining the most appropriate method to make the…
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One of the most common complaints received in strata management is to do with noise. It’s understandable that in close proximity living, noise has a knack for traveling through ceilings, walls and across balconies. It is only to be expected that you will sometimes hear some noise from your neighbours, pets, and construction or building…
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