We see it all the time – strata properties that are allowed to fall into such a state of degradation that major repairs are required to fix the problem, leading to overblown budgets, huge disruptions and unhappy owners. But proactive strata building maintenance provides another way to manage property upkeep and repairs. With the help…
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Although buying a strata apartment might be a cheaper or first option for many, it’s actually not the simplest real estate purchase they can make. Unlike land or houses, strata apartments involve more complex titling, legal overlays, and operational issues that are not always obvious or logical. So, even a few basic pre-purchase checks will lead…
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Yes. I know. I promised this article earlier. I have a good excuse – merging my firm Stratum Legal with Bugden Allen Graham Lawyers, has taken just a teensy, weensy bit of my time…. On the upside, the delay means that the 2022 numbers are out, so we can check progress on the bet with…
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You have helped us help you! A big thank you to over 817 people who took the time out of your busy schedule to share your thoughts and concerns. Your feedback will help enable us to create invaluable information for our readers. The results have shown a diverse range of opinions within the Strata communities…
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One of the most contentious issues in strata properties is the perennial problem of residents using visitor car parking spaces. While the sight of a resident’s car continually occupying a visitor space contrary to the by-laws can cause tensions to rise, there is no quick fix to enforcing those by-laws. Tempting as it may be,…
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It is possible for any person who suffers damage to property as a result of a breach of the Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997 or the Community Management Statement to make an adjudication application via the Commissioner’s Office to seek orders requiring the party responsible for the breach to pay the cost of…
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Have you ever been asked to vote for an extension of your caretaker’s agreement? Put another way, has your Scheme been asked to ‘top up” your caretaker’s term usually by a further 5 years? It’s common and can actually occur once every financial year of the body corporate. After all, it is the caretaker’s prerogative…
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Committees are commonly faced with many challenges when it comes to recovering outstanding Body Corporate debts from Owners. There are times when the debtor argues that they should not need to pay their levies due to a fault of the Body Corporate. On 26 May 2022, the District Court confirmed in The Body Corporate for…
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By-laws. We talk about them a lot – how they get reviewed, registered, enforced, or challenged. They are complicated and complex. Which means mistakes get made. Read on for our top 5 mistakes committees make when enforcing by-laws. Have you even looked at this flowchart for by-law enforcement? It’s great because it gives the idiot’s…
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We get a lot of questions from resident managers and committees about caretaking remuneration and the ability to change it. Quite often there are misconceptions that the resident manager is a type of employee. That is not the case. The typical management rights arrangement is a contract for service in which the service provider performs…
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