To contact us during this period please leave a message and we’ll get back to you on our return.

Thank you for your continued support. We’re looking for a new team member and reaching out to our strata community to help find one.

We’ve been servicing the strata industry for almost 40 years and as our business and the strata industry continue to grow, so does our team of strata experts.

We’re Hiring!

Do you know of a Strata Lawyer looking for a new opportunity who would love to:

• Work with an established and highly regarded law firm
• Learn from leading lawyers who are making new law
• Work across a wide variety of matters
• Progress their career
• Enjoy flexible working conditions
• Enjoy a great salary package

Confidential

If you know of a strata lawyer looking for a new opportunity please contact partner, Adrian Mueller, direct on adrianmueller@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.

In a recent case NCAT upheld a general meeting special resolution of an owners corporation that approved the installation of new rain water tanks in a strata scheme, despite there being:

• technical non-compliance with the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (SSMA) in the notice convening the general meeting
• an argument by a lot owner that the placement of the new rain water tanks near her lot devalued the lot

So, was the decision a victory for common sense?  Tribunal Upholds Validity of General Meeting

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

Sydney has become saturated with apartment blocks and cranes as far as the eye can see.

As such, one of the major issues that owners corporations are facing with these new developments is the use of cranes and airspace.

In the past 2 years, nearly 350 cranes were erected in Sydney with 298 of them used for residential purposes which is a 65 per cent increase in crane usage.

So, how does an owners corporation control the way in which developers use their airspace?

Can an owners corporation stop a developer passing a crane through its airspace?

What to do when a developer requires crane access? Crane Access Rights and Airspace

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

NCAT has recently changed the rules that apply to expert evidence in most strata cases.

These changes relax the rules relating to expert evidence and make it easier for opinions to be given by experts in a quicker and cheaper way.

Previously, if a person such as a building consultant, engineer or valuer, wanted to give expert evidence in a strata dispute in NCAT, they had to comply with certain rules before their evidence would be accepted.

These included rules that required the person to follow an Expert Witness Code of Conduct to ensure that they act as an independent expert and not as the “hired gun” of one of the parties.

Often, an expert’s report would be rejected by NCAT if those rules were not followed.

However, those rules no longer apply to most strata disputes. This means that experts will now be able to give evidence in most strata cases in NCAT without having to comply with every aspect of the Expert Witness Code of Conduct.

This is intended to ensure that opinions for strata disputes, given by experts, are able to be obtained in an easier and cheaper way although those opinions will still need to be soundly based and reliable.

So, what are the new rules for giving expert evidence? NCAT Changes the Rules for Strata Disputes.

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

Did you know a person involved in a strata dispute in NCAT must get permission from NCAT to be represented by a strata lawyer?

Under the previous legislation, legal representation at NCAT was allowed. However, all of that changed with the introduction in 2014 of the NCAT and in 2016 the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015.

This has created problems and questions for many owners corporations which require legal representation in NCAT such as:

• When and will NCAT grant permission for a party to be represented by a lawyer?
• What happens if NCAT refuses to allow a strata lawyer to represent an owners corporation – who will present the owners corporation’s case?
• Can the strata lawyer still help if they cannot provide representation at NCAT?

So, what role can a strata lawyer for an owners corporation play when NCAT does not allow the lawyer to represent the owners corporation?  What is The Right to Strata Legal Representation in NCAT?

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

Illegally parked vehicles taking up visitor parking spaces in strata blocks are becoming more and more of an issue as the Sydney community grows and creates more demand for parking. 

It’s reported that residents and non-residents are taking up visitor car parking with their extra cars, strangers dumping unregistered vehicles and apartments near major centres or transport hubs being targeted by commuters, all ignoring the rules and causing grief across Sydney’s high-rise strata communities.

So, what can be done?

Are owners corporations powerless to remove illegally parked vehicles from visitor parking spaces in strata blocks? A recent article in SMH Domain suggests this is the case.

But what is the true position? Download to find out what can be done about Illegally Parked Vehicles in Strata. 

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

The Supreme Court recently ordered a lot owner who succeeded in litigation against an owners corporation to pay the owners corporation’s legal costs.

This is one of the first times a litigant has been punished by an adverse costs order for approaching the Supreme Court for relief which could have been given by NCAT.

We recently wrote about this case and the decision of the Supreme Court. The Court decided that an owners corporation of an apartment building in inner Sydney could not upgrade or build on common property in a way that would prevent a lot owner gaining access to, and egress from, a car space lot with a regular sized car.

So, what was the outcome after the Court handed down its judgment? Why did the Court decide that the lot owner should pay the litigation costs?

Read the full details here Supreme Court Orders Winner to Pay Legal Costs.

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

The Supreme Court has rejected a proposal by an owners corporation to upgrade its common property in a way that would have impeded access to an owner’s car space.

The building is a residential strata scheme in inner Sydney containing 80 residential apartments, 27 car space lots and common property.

A particular car space, not attached to any apartment lot within the building, was purchased as an investment.

The owners corporation of the building proposed to change the use of and upgrade an area of common property adjacent to this car space. This upgrade, if implemented, would have impeded the ability of the owner or tenant to drive a standard size vehicle into and out of car space.

What are the broader implications of this case? Read our case paper to find out Common Property and Supreme Court

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

After four sets of legal proceedings, the Supreme Court has finally given the green light for a lot owner to keep his outdoor spa and decking installed on an external area in a lot in a residential strata scheme.

This case highlights the restrictions that apply to appeals to the Supreme Court against decisions made by NCAT in strata disputes and the difficulty winning those appeals.

Read the full case here; After 4 Years, Mr Nicholls Gets to Keep His Spa

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