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Since the beginning of this year 4 residences were sold in our strata complex.
When the new owners of two of those properties moved in, one of them parked his car in the visitor car parking area, while another new owner had two cars, one parked in the single garage, the other on common property.
When I gave the first new owner a copy of the summary of our bylaws which clearly highlight that residents’ cars must be parked only in the single garage attached to their townhouse he told me that the real estate agent had advised him it was ok to park in the visitor car parking area.
The second new owner advised the real estate agent had indicated they could park their second car on a small area of common property next to their single garage but immediately in front of the fire hydrant, making it impossible to use that hydrant in case of fire in any of the 19 lots the strata complex is made up of.
Although both owners, or their solicitors, would have searched our Owners’ Corporation records, including the bylaws, and should have become aware of car ownership issues, can our Owners’ Corporation in some way address the unwarranted comments of the real estate agents in question?
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OK, regardless of what the owners say, they are in breach your by-laws and that has to be dealt with, by issuing a Notice To Comply, if necessary. If they can prove the Real Estate agent sold them the property on the basis of a false promise, then they should take that up with the RE agent. But that doesn’t alter their obligation to abide by by-laws
Meanwhile, I suggest a strongly worded letter from your strata manager telling the RE agent that if they continue to mislead potential purchasers about the illegal use of common property, you will report them to Fair Trading and the Real Estate Institute with a view to having their license revoked..The opinions offered in these Forum posts and replies are not intended to be taken as legal advice. Readers with serious issues should consult experienced strata lawyers.
@JimmyT said:
“Meanwhile, I suggest a strongly worded letter from your strata manager telling the RE agent that if they continue to mislead potential purchasers about the illegal use of common property, you will report them to Fair Trading and the Real Estate Institute with a view to having their license revoked”With respect, I would not do this.
You are proposing that someone send a letter containing thinly veiled threats to someone’s livelihood based on the verbal evidence of two individuals who both have an incentive to fabricate the truth. If you’re wrong (because the owners weren’t being entirely honest when they shifted the blame to the agent), the best case scenario is the guy gets pissed off (and it doesn’t help your parking situation) and the worse case scenario is you get sued (and it doesn’t help your parking situation).
If the previous owner (or their agent) has mislead the purchaser then that is a matter for the purchaser and the vendor (or their agent). You should proceed exactly as you would normally do so when someone is parking somewhere they shouldn’t.
I would assume that the Strata Manager wouldn’t be so stupid as to send a letter that was defamatory. There are plenty of ways of letting the alleged miscreants know they are being watched without giving their lawyers a free kick. But the cavalier behaviour of some RE agents is a source of many problems in strata and it’s time they showed some responsibility. Calling the owners liars is just as bad as telling the agent to pull hois head in.
The opinions offered in these Forum posts and replies are not intended to be taken as legal advice. Readers with serious issues should consult experienced strata lawyers.
Was it the same real estate agent for both units? If so there would seem to be a pattern of buyers being told that parking on common property/visitors car parks is OK. Personally, if it was the same agency, I would send off a letter saying that “… the new owners said they were lead to believe that it was OK to use these areas as additional parking, however we find it hard to believe that a reputable real estate agency would advise this. However, in future with any sales in this complex, please ensure that potential buyers are clearly made aware that they are only have the parking/garage attached to/under the unit they are purchasing”.
If it was two different agencies then it may be that the buyers only heard what they wanted to hear. This has obviously occurred here in this complex due to the number of owners/residents who are shocked when we tell them they can’t park anywhere except their own garages. Some still displaying shock years after moving in. Perhaps the agents say “…and of course you have visitors parking next door to you” which the buyer hears as “….and of course you have parking next door to you”. And even if they did hear the visitors part, they probably think it is only visitors parking if visitors are there. So if they’re not there then its just parking….something our residents try over and over again.
1. I didn’t call the owners “liars”. I said you need to consider the source and their incentives, which is prudent no matter what the situation. and even if you infer that I think they’re lying, note that I didn’t propose you put that in a letter and send it to them.
2. I wouldn’t trust any Strata Manager to draft a letter of that nature. You need legal advice.
3. The best option here is to just deal with he parking issue and forget the agent. The owner can deal with the agent if they were mislead.
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