Hawcall

kaindub wrote:

DO NOT USE the auditor suggested by the strata manager. These auditors go soft in order to get repeat business from the strata manager. Remember it’s your money that’s being audited and the audit is to make sure thst the money is being spent correctly ( get an auditor familiar with strata ).

An independent and outsider auditor can also go soft in order to get repeat business. Isn’t that right?

Jimmy-T wrote:

Hawcall wrote:

In what time frame such mediation can be realised? And if the committee continues to ignore the mediator, what can be done?

Section 282 of the Act allows for two months for strata committees to respond to a complaint, so you could take that as a guideline.

If the committee refuses to act or runs down the clock, you can then take action at NCAT, seeking orders (which you couldn’t do before you’d attempted mediation.

By the way, Fair Trading mediators can’t issue orders or instructions – all they can do is facilitate agreements between owners.

Yes, that’s a great guideline and new opportunities, thank you.

Jimmy-T wrote:

It sounds like the OP is asking if the council isn’t liable for not advising the developer correctly. My view, it’s up to the developer to check and if they planted the wrong plants, then it’s a defect. If they did so because the council told them to, it’s up to them to take it up with the council.

Either way, the owners should not be paying a cent towards this.

And if plants were planted that the owners wanted, who is responsible?

The developer could have got the list of plants they wanted, but planted the wrong amount. For example, the owners wrote bushes, trees and flowers, but the developer planted 2 trees, 10 bushes and 3 flowers. I.e. technically the developer has planted everything that is needed, but the owners do not like the proportion of these plants, they want 10 flowers, 5 bushes and 3 trees, but they did not tell about it at once.