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Can a non-committee member inspect the books in Qld? When I see poor value jobs getting done here by the same old tradies touching us at every turn, can I request to see the books? I’d like to know where the money is going, and to get some alternate quotes if appropriate.
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I am told – and it’s only hearsay – that it is commonplace for caretakers in Queensland to expect “commissions” from tradies they employ. So that would be my first question – “do you take kickbacks” followed by “how many quotes did you get” and “can we see them”?
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.
Flame tree – An owner can inspect the Body Corporate records in Qld. If you want to inspect a lot of ‘old’ receipts then I suggest that you physically attend the Body Corp Manager’s office to do this:
https://www.qld.gov.au/law/housing-and-neighbours/body-corporate/records/access-records
There are Codes of Conduct for both Committees and Strata Managers in the Qld legislation. Hidden commissions would not be permitted.
The Strata Manager’s and Service Contractor’s Code of conduct is here:
http://www5.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/qld/consol_act/bcacma1997388/sch2.html
Clause 10 states:
10 Goods and services to be supplied at competitive prices
A body corporate manager or caretaking service contractor must take reasonable steps to ensure goods and services the person obtains for or supplies to the body corporate are obtained or supplied at competitive prices.
Flame tree
why not get more involved in your strata?
Most SMs just have a roster of companies who supply services to the SMs clients. Because the tradies need to jump a few hurdles, it’s not easy to get on that roster. That means that prices are not really competitive.
There is nothing to stop you asking the SM if you can get your own quotes from tradies you find.
You may find that the SMs obtained prices are Ok or not; you’ll also find that the hassle of getting your own quotes ( your time and inconvenience) may justify using the SMs suppliers.
I’ve also noticed in the last few years that tradies are ramping their prices up A LOT.
They can because their are fewer people taking up trades, and the rise of franchised trade companies and the reduction of the small operator.
Having just defamed tradies and caretakers, I have to confess there is another aspect to this. Managers are supposed to check whether their tradies are licensed and insured. This takes time and therefor money so it’s easier to have a list of known quantities than have to start from scratch with every job.
And, yes, there may be a few inducements along the way too.
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.
Direct quote from Dan the plumber who used to live in our building: “Body Corporate work? It’s a license to print money”
@Flame Tree said:
wners should be asked was the job done right and works not paid for until all is good, with a register in place so new committee members have quick access as to who did what and when and how much, and vendors can be called back to fix stuff within a reasonable time.I believe Stratabox offers that kind of feedback and database set-up.
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.
Over the past two years, our (WA) strata has gone from a reasonable knowledge of what has been spent on work through evaluation of at least three quotes per job to complete ignorance after a change in strata manager. Current strata manager policy is that they provide only two quotes, and do not provide job costings despite being requested to. Of course, costings can be obtained by inspecting the records, but naturally, they’re not too keen on that either. Records are the property of all owners, not the strata manager.
We narrowly avoided an instance of an unlicensed painter being used to paint the complex on the recommendation of the strata manager. It took a small amount of owner effort to discover that the painter, apparently a strata manager regular, had been unregistered for three years ….
The wheel turns towards sanity & knowledge, but it’s slow …
My point is that some work is required to manage both the job and the strata manager, and that sometimes, that work can seem pointless since the strata manager is being paid to look after that sort of thing. It’s not made easier by COO members who do not want to put in the work to manage the strata manager to ensure that we are getting value for money.
dwa – I am not sure what the situation is in your state of WA but in QLD it is a misconception that a Body Corporate Manager is responsible for getting quotes. Getting quotes is not the role of a Body Corporate Manager.
The Body Corporate is responsible for getting quotes.
See this article written by Chris Irons, the Qld Commissioner for Body Corporate and Community Management:
Competent or not, honest or not, the Body Corporate manager will never apply the same level of due diligence than the OC/SC for a very simple reason: it’s not his money!!!
And he is just one person, managing dozens of buildings, so he will always tend to lean towards convenience. In a medium-size building, there are dozens of owners.
Being able to tap that impressive combined skill set is what we want to achieve by enabling people to get involved conveniently, online.
100% delegation may be convenient, but don’t expect optimal results and value for money…
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