We’ve been receiving a few enquiries in regards to the rules for levy recovery and payment plans under the new strata legislation.

You may recall late 2016 the new laws came into play giving lot owners the specific right to request an owners corporation to agree to a payment plan for any levies in arrears.

However, before a levy recovery payment plan can be put into place,  the owners corporation must accept the payment plan at a general meeting.

Therefore any lot owner who wants to pay their levies by instalments through a payment plan has to do the following:

1. Make a request (supported by owners who hold at least 25% of the unit entitlements) to the owners corporation to hold an EGM at which the owners corporation will consider the request of the lot owner to enter into a payment plan.
2. Pay the costs of holding the EGM at which the owner wants the payment plan to be approved.
3. Explain to the owners corporation why the payment plan should be approved to convince other owners why they should be given more time to pay their levies.
4. Have the payment plan approved at the EGM or alternatively, wait until the AGM for the plan to be approved.

Important

It’s important to note that by holding an EGM it is not guaranteed that the request for the payment plan will be approved as the entry into a payment plan is a discretionary matter for the owners corporation and it is not a mandatory requirement that such a plan has to be accepted.

Conversely, an owners corporation in a deserving and genuine case may decide to accept a request for a payment plan provided the owners corporation is of the view that the plan is likely to be adhered to and is fair and reasonable.

If a request for a payment plan is refused the lot owner may decide to take legal action in NCAT to ask for more time to pay their levies (but this would be unusual) or seek orders from the Local Court to permit the levies to be paid by instalments.

Any payment plan approved by an owners corporation cannot extend beyond 12 months and still does not prevent the owners corporation taking legal action against the lot owner to recover overdue levies.

For the full details of the new levy collection laws read our paper – Levy Collection New Laws

For NSW levy collection or strata legal advice please contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.

JS Mueller & Co has been serving the strata industry for almost four decades, since 1979, and as our business grows, so does our team of strata experts. As such, we’re proud to announce the addition of three new strata lawyers to our team.

Adrian Mueller partner JS Mueller & Co said “our team of strata lawyers is growing fast and we pride ourselves on recruiting experts with the right mix of experience and knowledge helping us to continue to expand our presence as a leader in the strata industry. We’d also like to thank our existing clients for their ongoing support.”

“In my 40 years as senior partner of our firm I have not experienced a team of lawyers as proficient as the team we have today. I am proud that we are able to provide unparalleled service to our clients from the best strata lawyers in NSW”, said Jeffrey Mueller.

Please join us in giving a warm welcome to our newest team members.

Warwick VanEde I Lawyer I 28 Years I Strata Law I Property Law I Litigation
Warwick is a NSW Law Society Accredited Specialist in property law who has significant experience advising on strata and community title developments. He has a focus on providing assistance to developers and owners corporations including drafting by-laws, community and strata management statements, conveyancing and all aspects of strata law. He is also an accomplished litigator having appeared as advocate in most senior courts in NSW. Full profile.

Helen Amanatiadis I Lawyer I 20 Years I Strata Law I Property Law I Litigation I Construction
Helen has extensive experience acting for owners corporations, particularly in relation to construction related matters. Her experience includes building contract negotiations, preparing payment schedules and adjudication responses in security of payment claims by contractors against owners corporations, and acting in building contract and defects disputes. Helen also advises on insurance claims, easements, compulsory acquisitions, strata disputes and by-laws. Full profile.

Daniela Terruso I Lawyer I 15 Years I Strata Law I Property Law
Daniela has significant experience in providing legal services to owners corporations and developers in a wide variety of areas. Her background includes working on the acquisition of development sites and preparation of off the plan contracts, by-laws and management statements for vacant land, housing and strata and community title developments. Daniela also specialises in drafting complex by-laws. Full profile.

Our Team
We are continuing to build our team. In our view, there is no substitute for experience and that is why we have assembled a team of lawyers that have real expertise in strata law. As our firm further grows, you can expect that we will continue to keep you up to date with all of the latest developments in strata law.

If you are interested in working for JS Mueller & Co Lawyers please send us a covering letter and resume.

For NSW strata legal or levy collection advice contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.

During times when owners suffer financial difficulty, owners corporation can often find themselves out of pocket with overdue and unpaid strata levies. This can be a huge concern to strata communities, especially if an owner declares bankruptcy and they face the possibility of missing out on payment of any overdue strata levies or recovery costs.

So when can an owner who does not pay strata levies on time be made bankrupt? And what happens once an owner is bankrupted?

Bankruptcy is a legal process that can occur when an individual cannot pay their debts as and when they fall due.  In Australia bankruptcy is governed by the Bankruptcy Act 1966 (Cth) and is regulated by the Australian Financial Security Authority (AFSA).

Once a person becomes bankrupt, control is given up of their finances and assets to a Trustee in exchange for protection from legal action being taken against the person by an entity to which they owe money.

So, what happens when a lot owner is unable to pay their strata levies? Can they be bankrupted?

Bankrupting an Owner

• A bankruptcy notice can be issued in the event that an owner owes strata levies, is sued by the owners corporation, and judgment is entered against the owner for more than $5,000.
• Usually, we will exhaust all avenues for recovery of outstanding strata levies before seeking the strata manager/owners corporation’s instructions to bankrupt the owner.
• However, if the judgment debt is significantly higher than $5,000, the strata manager/owners corporation would normally provide an instruction for us to move to bankrupt the owner immediately after entry of judgment against them.
• Upon receipt of instructions, we perform a bankruptcy search to ensure the owner has not already been declared a bankrupt.
• If the owner is not already bankrupt, we draft and file a bankruptcy notice with the Australian Financial Security Authority – the current filing fee is $470.
• Once filed, we then serve the bankruptcy notice on the owner.
• Then, the owner has 21 days to make payment of the amount claimed in the bankruptcy notice.
• If the amount claimed remains unpaid after 21 days, we seek the strata manager/owners corporation’s instructions to issue a creditor’s petition to commence court proceedings to make the owner bankrupt.
• If the strata manager/owners corporation instructs us to proceed, we commence bankruptcy proceedings in the Federal Circuit Court against the owner.
• If the Court makes an order for the owner to be declared a bankrupt, a Trustee is appointed to the owner’s estate.

What happens once an owner is bankrupted?

• The Trustee obtains information about the owner’s financial circumstances including any assets owned by the owner and any liabilities of the owner.
• After completing his or her investigations, the Trustee will normally move to sell the owner’s assets to pay the liabilities owed by the owner.
• This often involves the Trustee obtaining possession of the owner’s strata lot and selling the lot.
• Once the lot is sold, the owners corporation is normally paid the overdue levies, interest and recovery costs.

For NSW levy collection or strata legal advice contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.

Thanks Strata, as a wrap up here are some useful links from 2017…

• We shared our strata knowledge through our new resource library
• We listened to you and launched our new brand and website
• We developed strata by-law and meeting templates for the new strata laws
• We tweeted, 54 times sharing the latest in strata law
• We posted, 45 times on LinkedIn with the latest updates
• We collected for over 600 new levy debt recovery matters plus our regulars
• We expanded our team to better service the strata industry

We’re taking a break from 5.30pm 21 December 2017 and returning on 15 January 2018.

We wish you and your families a safe and happy ‘Festive Season’ and look forward to working with you in 2018.

For NSW strata legal or levy collection advice please contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.

Owners Corporations and strata managers in NSW sometimes wonder how they can recover outstanding strata levies from owners of strata units who have disappeared and are nowhere to be found. Well, do not be disillusioned.

Muellers has now given hope to owners corporations and strata managers and has proved the naysayers wrong acting in what has been widely reported as the first ever sale of a strata unit by the NSW Sheriff.

In the recent case of The Owners-Strata Plan No. 7396 -v- Siak Hong law (unreported), in which Muellers acted for the successful owners corporation, the Supreme Court of NSW ordered that documents be served on a unit owner who was unable to be found, via substituted service orders.

More importantly, the Supreme Court also ordered the NSW Sheriff to sell the owner’s unit by a certain date to ensure the sale of the unit and recovery of overdue levies was not delayed.

This case shows that overdue levies can be recovered from an errant unit owner and that it is possible to force the Sheriff to sell a strata unit to ensure that overdue levies are paid to an owners corporation.

The outcome we achieved in the case was the result of much hard work, sheer determination and a never say die attitude to demonstrate that even in the most difficult cases it is possible for overdue levies to be recovered.

Setting a precedent, the case was also picked up by mainstream media:

• Sale of apartment owned by monk who disappeared overseas sets legal precedent
• Merry chase for mystery Malaysian monk who renounced his ‘worldly possessions’

At Muellers that is the approach we take to all our levy collection matters and that is why we are widely regarded as the leader in strata levy collections.

For NSW strata legal or levy collection advice please contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.

At JS Mueller & Co we know how to poke the bear!

How, you ask?

Well, we know how to approach or should we say, poke, a lot owner who does not pay their levies on time.

Knowing the right approach can often reap the rewards. That’s where JS Mueller & Co’s 40 years experience comes in handy.

There are many types of bears but in general, we can narrow them down to three types. Check them out here:  Levy Debt Collections

Need a levy collection debt recovery or strata law advice contact JS Mueller & Co today on 02 9562 1266 or click here now.

PS: No bears were harmed in the making of this :).

Did you know that the information an owners corporation has about their owners can actually make it much simpler for us to act more effectively in recovering strata levies?

To assist you with the details that can help us, the team at JS Mueller & Co has developed a handy list of items for consideration when briefing your next strata levy debt recovery instruction:

1. If you know that the unit is tenanted but the address for service of notices is at the unit, let us know, particularly if you’re aware of whom the real estate agent is.
2. When advising your levy recovery person to enter Judgment and take the next step, the following information can greatly assist:

•  Details of where the lot owner works so JS Mueller & Co can organise to garnishee their wages – much cheaper and more effective than a Sheriff.
• Details of their motor vehicle type and registration number and a time they’re normally home – this will make it easier for the Sheriff to seize goods.

Historically when matters have been difficult to serve, the information an owners corporation has access to, can assist us greatly in a successful and quicker levy debt recovery.

Here are some examples of how information has assisted JS Mueller & Co in faster recovery of strata levies… who would have thought!

 Hockey Training

We’ve successfully served a guy with a Statement of Claim (SOC) at hockey training.  All because the owners corporation advised us that he rode his bike once a week to hockey training.

Pony Club

JS Mueller & Co was able to serve another woman at Pony Club when we were advised by an owner/occupier that she stored her Pony Club stuff in the garage.

So, you can see little pieces of information an owners corporation knows about a lot owner can provide us the little piece of magic we need to get a successful result.

Keep the list above in a handy place for when you next provide a levy debt recovery instruction.

Our levy collection service is available across regional and metropolitan NSW so let us know if you need any assistance with levy recoveries, we’d be happy to assist.

For NSW strata legal or levy collection advice please contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.

Did you know that JS Mueller & Co can save you loads of time and money and recover your strata levy arrears faster?

How, you ask?

We have been recovering strata levies for over 30 years so we know all the tricks!

We have paralegals who do nothing but levy debt collection. They often spend an enormous amount of their day researching a bad debtor to find information to allow you to recover overdue levies faster.

To find these details we’ll spend time searching for any media articles, reviewing social media sites and generally hunting around the internet for any clues as to their place of work and living arrangements and, any other information which will help us locate the debtor.

This often turns up information about a debtor’s employment or tenant. We then use that information to contact the debtor, issue garnishee orders or just to get your levies paid quicker!

So, how can JS Mueller & Co save you time and money in the levy collection debt recovery process?

It’s simple. Often you’ll already know this information and if, at the time of instruction these details are provided to us that will save time and money, resulting in much faster levy collection debt recoveries.

Here’s a quick list of the helpful information about a debtor you can provide us, that’s if you know them, when providing your next levy collection instruction to us.

• Employment Details
• Tenant Details
• Real Estate Agency
• Real Estate Property Manager Details
• Media Stories

Click here for the full details of the new Levy Collection New Laws.

For strata legal or levy collection advice please contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.

With the introduction of the new strata laws, you’ll need to be aware of the key changes to the levy collection procedure.

To familiarise yourself with the top 10 changes click here –  Levy Collection Changes Under the New Strata Laws

For NSW strata legal or levy collection advice please contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.

Current Position

Under the current law there are no legal rights for lot owners to request an instalment payment plan from an owners corporation should they fall behind in their levy payments – although an instalment plan is sometimes agreed to by an owners corporation in an appropriate case.

New Position

As of 1 December 2016 the new laws will give a lot owner the right to request an owners corporation to agree to a payment plan for any levies in arrears. Before the owners corporation can accept a payment plan they will need to have such a request properly approved at a general meeting.

The lot owner will have to do the following:

1. Make a request to the owners corporation to hold an EGM at which the owners corporation will consider the request of the lot owner to enter into a payment plan.
2. The lot owner may be required to pay the costs of holding the EGM at which the owner wants the payment plan to be approved.
3. The owners corporation will then consider the payment plan at the EGM.
4. Alternatively, an owners corporation can approve a plan at an AGM.

Important

It’s important to note that by holding an EGM it is not guaranteed that the request for the payment plan will be approved as the entry into a payment plan is a discretionary matter for the owners corporation and it is not a mandatory requirement that such a plan will have to be accepted.

Conversely, an owners corporation in a deserving and genuine case may decide to accept a request for a payment plan provided the owners corporation is of the view that the plan is more likely to be adhered to.

An owners corporation will have to be aware that if a request for a payment plan is unreasonably refused the lot owner may decide to take legal action against a refusal and seek orders from a Court of Law or Tribunal forcing the owners corporation to enter into a payment plan.

Click here for the full details of the new Levy Collection laws – Levy Collection New Laws

For NSW strata legal or levy collection advice please contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.

Trial Our FREE Time Saving LevyCollect App…

Our levy collection service is second to none with our integrated  ‘LevyCollect’ app. Simple, free and easy to use – accessible through your device, on the go. Benefits include:

• Reduces your workload – gives you time back
• 24/7/365 access from your desktop, laptop, smartphone or tablet – anytime, anywhere
• Gives you greater access to your Levy Collection matters
• You choose when to access your matters
• All of your matter communication conveniently located in one place
• Regular reporting – you choose when and how often you receive reports
• Simple, easy to use app for your phone or tablet and portal login for your desk/laptop

To trial our FREE LevyCollect online portal and app service contact jsmmarketing@muellers.com.au

For NSW strata legal or levy collection advice please contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.