Strata topics
My daughter had a pipe burst under her bathroom vanity… Should any of her damage or the plumbing cost be covered by strata? – Pauline, NSW
Q: My daughter had a pipe burst under her bathroom vanity. The water leaked for 5 hours until the plumber arrived. …
Is storage permissible under stairwells if it is not blocking egress? – Susan, NSW
Q: Our block of 10 units in the Northern Beaches has two stairwells. In one stairwell the area under the stairs …
I am currently searching for information in regards to proxy voting at a council meeting. – Sue, NSW
Q: All the information seems to pertain to the Eastern States, however I live in WA. How do find the specific …
Do I have to be part of the owners corporation? What if I don’t pay their fees? – Slavoljub, VIC
Q: Our building has 24 units/flats. Do I have to be part of the owners corporation? What if I don’t pay …
Our fire safety protection company told us we are required to have a block diagram and quoted almost $1000 to do the diagram and change the batteries in our system. I thought the price was excessive and asked our strata managers to wait until we got a quote back for the work from the company that installed the original system. I emailed the committee this information and have been told in no uncertain terms that as I live in a strata complex I have no right to do this as it refers to common property. My quote was $300 cheaper. Is there legislation that supports this? What have I done wrong? – Corrie, NSW
Q: Our fire safety protection company told us we are required to have a block diagram and quoted almost $1000 to …
We recently moved and the address change was not updated at the body corporate, unfortunately, this all took place at the height of COVID and we did not realise this bill/invoice (which is small and a secondary body corp for a parking spot at the property we own) was no longer being received. The outstanding amount after 12 months was $200. The body corporate is now trying to charge us $300 in recovery fees which seems very out of proportion to the amount originally outstanding (150% of the outstanding amount). We have tried to discuss the amount of fees with them but they don’t seem to think fees of 150% of the original amount are unreasonable. Wondering if we have any recourse here as it just seems ludicrous. – Elizabeth, VIC
Q: We recently moved and the address change was not updated at the body corporate, unfortunately, this all took place at …
I have evidence of a leak in a pipe behind an internal concrete wall… Will this be a strata issue to resolve and pay for or deemed to be non-common property as a pipe in the internal wall? – Gavin, NSW
Q: I have evidence of a leak in a pipe behind an internal concrete wall. The pipe runs from the hot water …
Why would we need to have a body corporate? Is it a legal requirement? I’m asking this question as I am 72 years old now and don’t want any legal problems arising should I sell in the future or leave to my children for their inheritance. – Krystyna, QLD
Q: I live in a house which is called Lot of Group Titles Plan 3611. It is a battle-axe block. The …
Could you please advise how I can find out if an amendment has been passed and if it has, could you also advise what limitations the OC can impose on the types of situations that it considers constituting legal parking? – Ruth, VIC
Q: Understanding that there are no provisions in the act re visitors parking but that the OC can make a motion …
My property has a sliding fly screen door with a diamond grill and I want to replace it… I have been told that it would not be “in keeping with the appearance” with the rest of the building which has the diamond grill… Where do I stand? – Jane, NSW
Q: My question concerns the interpretation of 2.12 “in keeping with the appearance”. My property has a sliding fly screen door …
We have strata insurance on our house at the moment. Unit 1 and Unit 2 are on the same policy so we receive one account and have to split the bill with unit 1, this is not a satisfactory arrangement and we wish to receive separate accounts. Splitting the bill is not working as unit number one wishes to have a higher sum insured for their property. Can you suggest how we can go about sorting this problem out, please? – Gordon, QLD
Q: We have strata insurance on our house at the moment. We own a single story townhouse, one of four on …
Who is responsible to replace tiles in the shower recess? The owner doesn’t want 2 different colour tiles in their ensuite and expects us to re-tile the bathroom floor. – Rowan, NSW
Q: About 5 years ago we had a leak in one of the bathrooms in a particular unit, the strata committee …
There is a proposal to place a permanent umbrella at the end of the common property… We object to the proposal as it impacts significantly on our view. What can we do about it if our votes are at the AGM? – Frances, NSW
Q: We are in a small strata block that is all owner-occupied. It is waterside but we are on the ground …
Is it possible to stop future sale of apartments to be used as Airbnb and can we impose a type of extra levy to the owners who benefit financially from short term rentals? – Frances, NSW
Q: My question is whether it is possible to stop future sale of apartments to be used as Airbnb and if …
A new owner of townhouse no. 4 wishes to build another room with additional amenities in their courtyard… We held an extraordinary strata meeting with our strata manager and voted our preferences for this development. All motions were defeated… Consequently, the owner of unit 4 contacted the Fair Trading department and requested mediation. I would like to inquire how to resolve this matter in case it may be forwarded to the NSW Tribunal. – Diana, NSW
Q: I’m the owner of a townhouse in a boutique building of five townhouses. Our building has the following problem: A …