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this is a 12 unit development in NSW.
My son recently purchased a unit in a 1960s building. He wants to renovate kitchen (minor reno) and bathroom (major reno) as well as knock a hole through form lounge to kitchen to improve lighting and air and appearance of unit (major rworks with engineers approval etc). The Strata Manager advised him it would cost $1000 per application and it could take up to 12 months for approval. (shock horror!)
He has submitted an application for all 3 jobs in one application and there will be an SGM for owners to vote on the proposals.
It seems like an excessive sum to be paid for this – is this something that is a result of the new laws? in our own building we granted permission for a bathroom reno by simple application and a nod (with conditions regarding access, garbage, professional tradies etc)
Any advice/information on this would be appreciated. What happens for example if one or all proposals do not get a majority vote? or if there is not a quorum?
many thanks
MC.
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This sounds like either a rort by the strata managers to milk extra funds out of owners or a dubious strategy by owners to discourage other owners from undertaking major renovations.
Either way, I would be challenging the charges by asking where in your by-laws or the management contracts does it allow owners to be charged these amounts and on what grounds?
And once you had that information, I would be challenging their validity at Fair Trading and/or NCAT
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.
I don’t know why you might have to wait up to a year.
But on the costs. Many of my stratas, that I either chair or have been on the committee, will try to recover their actual administration costs for handling any renovation requests from owners. And fair enough too IMO.
Those costs might include the SM’s costs for arranging a meeting to approve the request (if the owner doesn’t want to wait until the next GM). They might include some legal costs: eg that might include the drafting and registering of a by-law or a rule to cover future maintenance costs. And perhaps the wording of the motion on which to vote and/or advice on what level of vote is needed (eg Special or Ordinary) to carry that motion.
$1,000 does seem a lot. But IME the costs when actually doing it have been at least $600 but sometimes more if the renovation was more complex/major.
Of course, if the committee alone has the authority to approve the works, there might be no cost at all. But by the sound of it, I doubt that’s the case for the renovations here.
In addition to JT’s advice re looking to see if there is a by-law, can you ask the committee to provide evidence of how the costs have been assessed? If the cost is excessive then the imposition of a security bond could be deemed to be a penalty rather than the legitimate recovery of expenses incurred by the strata scheme.
There are other ways that an OC can recover costs if common property is damaged during a renovation that do not involve a hefty security deposit.
Fortunately these types of security bonds are illegal in Qld. The BCCMA states : A by-law (other than an exclusive use by-law) must not impose a monetary liability on the owner or occupier of a lot included in a community titles scheme.
I don’t think the OP mentioned a security bond.
In my stratas, the costs charged have been the actual costs involved in arranging for a meeting and for the registering any by-law/rule.
I’ve had several quotes for both jobs and $600 is lucky to cover them. If more complex legal advice is needed, the cost has been higher.
I agree of course that the costs have to be actual and necessary. But when they are, why should other owners pay?
Just to make you feel better, I don’t think it’s overkill. If the $1,000 covered the cost of drafting the by-law, motion and consent form, as well as the SM’s costs of convening the EGM (and photocopying etc), then it sounds fair to me.
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