Is the NSW Parliament about to legalise short term holiday lettings?
It’s proposed that some types of short term holiday lettings should become legal in NSW without needing the approval of the local council or the owners corporation if the City of Sydney has its way.
View the full article here now – Short Term Letting Changes
For NSW strata legal or levy collection advice please contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.
Come November 2016, throwing a snag on the barbie or having a puff on a ciggie could be considered a ‘nuisance or hazard’.
Under the new strata reforms owners corporations will be able to enforce a ban by issuing a notice to comply with smoke drift, such as that from tobacco and barbecues, under the by-law changes.
Fines
If the barbequer or smoker fanatic fails to comply the matter could be taken to NCAT, who has the power to issue fines of up to $1,100 (double that of the old laws) and if the offender repeats the offense within 12 months, double it again – $2,200.
The owners corporation will be able to take action against offenders rather than leaving this to individual owners.
By-laws
The proposed model by-law provides 3 options:
It’s also important to note that there are currently no options in regards to the complete ban on smoking in schemes.
Also, any new model by-laws generally do not apply to existing schemes. They’ll only apply to strata schemes registered after the commencement of the 2015 Act if and that’s if the developer chose the option to go with model-by-laws.
For more information visit NSW Government Fair Trading.
For NSW strata legal or levy collection advice please contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.
About JS Mueller & Co
JS Mueller & Co has been servicing the strata industry across NSW for almost 40 years. We are a specialist firm of strata lawyers with in depth and unmatched experience in, and comprehensive knowledge of strata law and levy collection. We are here to assist you every step of the way.
Nikki Jovicic, LookUpStrata interviews Adrian for the ‘Strata Snapshot Series’.
In this interview, Adrian addresses the NSW Strata Reforms and the new strata laws, looking at how the top five ways the new laws and the changes to body corporate fines will affect you.
For more information visit New Strata Laws and How Fines will Affect Body Corporates
About JS Mueller & Co
JS Mueller & Co has been servicing the strata industry across NSW for almost 40 years. We are a specialist firm of strata lawyers with in depth and unmatched experience in, and comprehensive knowledge of strata law and levy collection. We are there to assist you every step of the way.
JS Mueller & Co Headquarters
Level 1, 240 Princes Highway
Arncliffe Sydney Australia 2205
www.muellers.com.au
Media inquiries: Contact Julie Schoneveld on 02 9562 1266 or 0435 939 491
For NSW strata legal or levy collection advice please contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.
In September 2015 the JS Mueller & Co team presented at a forum to the strata industry the new proposed strata laws.
Since the forum, it has been announced that the new strata laws will come into operation on 1 July 2016.
On 29 Oct 2015, the New South Wales Parliament passed the new Strata Schemes Management Bill 2015 and the Strata Schemes Development Bill 2015.
Papers and presentations are available to view here:
JS Mueller & Co Forum Presentations_Sept15
JS Mueller & Co Forum Papers_Sept15
For NSW strata legal or levy collection advice please contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.
The recent media attention concerning smoking in strata buildings reached a fever pitch when NCAT ordered the landlord of a strata unit in Potts Point to pay compensation to his tenant.
The NSW Government said that the new strata laws would make clear that smoking and second-hand smoke exposure could constitute a nuisance that could be outlawed.
So, what can be done about smoking in strata buildings? Can smoking be prohibited? Perhaps a smoking by-law, let’s find out.
For more information read – Smoke Drift By-laws
For NSW strata legal or levy collection advice please contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.
JS Mueller & Co Partner, Bruce Bentley, comments on ‘Sunset Clawbacks’ in the Sydney Morning Herald Domain.
Top strata lawyers have called for NSW property protections to be brought into line with other Australian states after it was discovered that the owners of seven apartments in a single new block sold off the plan had been victims of “sunset clawbacks”.
Click here to read the full article – Top Lawyers Call for Changes to Sunset Clawbacks
About JS Mueller & Co
JS Mueller & Co has been servicing the strata industry across NSW for almost 40 years. We are a specialist firm of strata lawyers with in depth and unmatched experience in, and comprehensive knowledge of strata law and levy collection. We are there to assist you every step of the way.
For NSW strata legal or levy collection advice contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.
JS Mueller & Co Headquarters
Level 1, 240 Princes Highway
Arncliffe Sydney Australia 2205
www.muellers.com.au
Media inquiries: Contact Julie Schoneveld on 02 9562 1266 or 0435 939 491
Senior Lawyer, Adrian Mueller reminisces…
“In 1980 my parents took me to the Gold Coast for a holiday. It was my first adventure in Queensland. I was 2 years old. We stayed at the (in)famous Iluka hotel.
The Iluka was built in the 1970’s. It was an iconic building – one of the Gold Coast’s first high rises. It had 72 luxury apartments and was a stone’s throw from Cavill Avenue.
It held fond memories for me and, I imagine, many families who enjoyed wonderful times together at the Iluka.
You can imagine my horror when I recently discovered that the Iluka has been demolished. Why? Because of concrete cancer.
You see the owner of the building was faced with a dilemma. Repair the concrete spalling which had been left untreated for decades at exorbitant cost or demolish the building. The owner chose to demolish.
A leading architect Professor Holden, Head of Architecture at the Griffith University in Qld, has said that high rises built in the 1970’s have an average lifespan of 40 years.
That is a sobering thought for apartment owners many of whom cannot afford special levies to repair widespread concrete spalling.
So what is the solution? For some buildings, it may simply be too late. The Iluka is a case in point.
For other buildings, the key is preventative maintenance. As unpalatable as it might be, apartment owners need to realise that spending a little to detect and treat concrete spalling at an early stage saves money in the long run.”
Adrian Mueller also acknowledges that the challenge for strata managers and other stakeholders is to convince owners to invest in proactive maintenance to protect their investment by spending a little in the short term to save big money down the track.
Says Adrian “Convincing owners to spend now to save later is no mean feat. But it is achievable. And doing so can avoid potential disasters.
I will miss the Iluka.”
Adrian specialises in strata law and those areas of the law that particularly deal with building defects.
“An apartment is someone’s home and most valuable asset. That is something worth protecting and knowing where you stand is vital” says Adrian.
For more information on concrete cancer, visit the following websites – Concrete Cancer or Remedia Structural Repairs
For NSW strata legal or levy collection advice please contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.
How are most strata disputes resolved? What is the difference between strata mediation and strata adjudication? How long does the process take? How much does it cost?
The NSW Government wants most strata disputes to be resolved quickly, cheaply, and out of court. For this reason an entire Chapter of the Strata Schemes Management Act 1996 (“Strata Act”) outlines, in considerable detail, a process for resolving most types of strata disputes.
This process typically involves, first, strata mediation, followed by strata adjudication, and then an appeal to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
Click below to download the presentation and full paper on Strata Adjudications and NCAT from our April 2015 seminar:
For NSW strata legal or levy collection advice please contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.
What sort of renovations require a by-law?
Renovating an apartment, as opposed to a house requires a different set of approvals, the most obvious is the fact that you have a share in the land along with the other residents. Everything you do inside your own apartment has some effect on everyone else.
There are laws, rules and regulations governing this, known as strata title, and owners corporation so it pays to ensure that you understand what type of renovations require a by-law.
Click below to download the presentation and full paper on Renovation By-laws from our April 2015 seminar:
For NSW strata legal or levy collection advice please contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.
As any Airbnb (and similar sites) convert will attest, where there’s a spare bed, there’s money to be made. But while the rise and rise of short-term letting sites have delivered a windfall to many apartment-owners for some, its days – or nights – may be numbered.
Many residential committees are hitting back at apartment owners who sublet their lot’s, blaming loud parties and bad behaviour for the move to stamp out the unofficial ‘bed-and-breakfast’ businesses.
It’s apparent that many Australians are fed up with the issues surrounding short term letting and are looking for solutions.
Bruce Bentley, expert Strata Lawyer provides ‘eleven steps to combat short term living’ inclusive of case studies and a podcast. Click below to download his paper inclusive of case studies.
For NSW strata legal or levy collection advice please contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.