On 22 March 2020, the Australian Government announced a further economic response to the Coronavirus that will effect levy recoveries.

That response includes changes to personal and corporate insolvency laws which will have a dramatic impact on the way overdue strata levies are recovered.

In this paper we provide we explain:

• A Snapshot of the Changes to Levy Recovery Practice
• An Overview of those Changes
• Details of the Ramifications of the Changes
• Information about Payment Plans
• Information about Template Payment Plan Documents

After reading this paper Levy Recovery Practice Changes Due to Coronavirus if you would like a copy of our ‘template payment plan documents’ and/or would like assistance with managing your levy recovery payment plans please email jsmmarketing@muellers.com.au

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

We value your business, but even more importantly, your health and wellbeing.

For that reason, and in an effort to prevent spreading the Coronavirus (COVID-19), we have decided to postpone our upcoming Strata Managers’ Forum ‘Strata 2020 and Beyond’.

The event which was due to be held on Monday 23 March 2020 will be rescheduled at an appropriate time in the future.

All amounts paid for tickets for the event will be refunded.

The Coronavirus has presented new and fundamentally different challenges to strata managers and owners corporations and these will be the subject of a newsletter we will send you shortly.

Thank you for your understanding in these challenging times.

Adrian Mueller I Partner I JS Mueller & Co Lawyers

If you have any questions regarding the Forum you may contact our office.

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

The marvels of modern technology: Consolidated Strata By-Laws will soon be ready for electronic registration.

The Office of the Registrar-General has updated its guidelines on the dealings that will be able to be lodged for registration electronically.

The updated guidelines reveal that by the end of April 2020 it is anticipated that Consolidation/Change of By-Laws and Change of Address of Owners Corporation forms will be able to be lodged for registration electronically.

These dealings will only be able to be lodged electronically through an Electronic Lodgement Network Operator (ELNO).

Our firm has arrangements with an ELNO which will enable us to lodge Consolidated Sets of Strata By-Laws and Change of Address of Owners Corporation forms electronically with NSW Land Registry Services from the end of April onwards.

The Registrar-General’s updated guidelines indicate that it is expected that all strata dealings will be able to be lodged for registration electronically by the end of 2020.

The ability to register these documents electronically will streamline and speed up the registration process and is a welcome development.

If you want to know more about our by-law registration services, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us.

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

Finally there has been a conclusive decision from NCAT regarding lot owner compensations.

The President and Deputy President of NCAT have recently handed down an important decision. They have concluded that NCAT does not have power to award a lot owner compensation. This is a result of a failure by an owners corporation to repair defects in the common property.

This decision around NCAT and lot owner compensations is likely to be followed by NCAT in the future and resolves a longstanding controversy about this issue.

What does this mean? Read our recent cases regarding NCAT’s decision around Lot Owner Compensations

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

There are many strata managers who are preparing and registering consolidated sets of by-laws for the strata schemes they manage.

We have recently come across several by-law consolidations prepared by strata managers that contain critical and costly errors.

In many cases, the professional indemnity insurance policies held by strata managers may not cover the negligent preparation of consolidated by-laws.

Here are some examples of mistakes we have seen… By-law Consolidations – When they go Wrong?

CLICK HERE FOR HELP WITH YOUR BY-LAW CONSOLIDATIONS!

Does NCAT have power to make an order for the payment of money?

In a recent case, NCAT decided that it did not. The outcome of this case has created doubt about NCAT’s power to make money orders in strata matters.

The case touches on a broader controversy that is currently playing out in NCAT. That controversy relates to the fundamental question as to whether or not NCAT has power in strata matters to make money orders at all whether for payment of damages or the recovery of a debt.

So, how did this matter play out, does NCAT have the power in strata matters to make money orders?

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 decision that has produced a confusing outcome, the Appeal Panel of NCAT has decided that NCAT does not have power to award damages (but might be able to order payment of compensation) where there are defects in common property that an owners corporation does not repair.

The outcome of this case has added further uncertainty to an already uncertain area of law concerning NCAT’s power to order payment of money in strata disputes.

So, what power does NCAT have to order payment of compensation according to this recent case? Common Property, Strata Disputes, NCAT and Compensation Payments

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

Pecuniary Interest Disclosures – When are they Required?

When does a strata committee member need to disclose a pecuniary interest they have concerning a decision to be made by the committee?

The position is clear when a committee member has a direct pecuniary interest in a matter to be decided by the committee. A disclosure of that interest must be made by the committee member.

But what about indirect pecuniary interests? What are they and when do they need to be disclosed?

An example is where a committee member wishes to engage a company to carry out work for an owners corporation and his or her relative is a director or shareholder of that company. Is that an indirect pecuniary interest which must be disclosed?

The most likely answer is “yes”. This is because a committee member will have an indirect pecuniary interest if a person connected with them (such as a relative) has a direct interest in the matter to be decided by the committee.

What are the Grey Areas?

There are some grey areas. For example, can it be said that an indirect pecuniary interest arises when the committee member’s relative is merely an employee of the company that will be engaged by the owners corporation? In those circumstances, does the relative (as an employee rather than director or shareholder of the company) stand to benefit from the company’s appointment by the owners corporation?

The answer to that question is also most likely “yes” because the legislation simply requires the relative to have a “direct interest” (not necessarily a direct pecuniary interest) in the matter in order for the committee member to fall under an obligation to make a pecuniary interest disclosure.

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

Getting Your By-Laws Right: Making Landlords Accountable

In 2018, NCAT decided that a landlord is not responsible for ensuring that his or her tenants comply with the by-laws that apply to a strata building.  That decision was confirmed by the Appeal Panel of NCAT in Feletti -v- Eales [2019] NSWCATAP 100.

Therefore, if a tenant is breaching a by-law, the owners corporation of the building is not normally entitled to take action against the landlord to require the landlord to ensure that his or her tenant complies with the by-law.

This means that the owners corporation needs to take action against the tenant instead of the landlord which it may not want to do because tenants come and go and it can be difficult to enforce NCAT orders against them.

So, what is the solution to this problem for owners corporations?

There is, however, a solution to the problem.  An owners corporation can make a by-law that requires landlords to ensure that their tenants comply with the by-laws.  That by-law will give the owners corporation the right to take action against a landlord when his or her tenants breach the by-laws.

We have drafted that by-law and a number of strata managers have introduced the by-law into the strata schemes they manage.

We expect that the by-law will prove very useful for owners corporations who introduce it because it will allow those owners corporations to take action against landlords whose tenants are breaching the by-laws.

The by-law goes one step further and will also allow an owners corporation to take action against both landlords and tenants whose guests and invitees breach the by-laws.

Order Your By-law Here!

If you would like to find out more about the by-law, or you are interested in purchasing the by-law from us, please email us here or call 9562 1266 now.

In at least two recent cases, NCAT has decided that “no pets” by-laws are invalid.

Are strata pet by-laws banning the keeping of pets no longer worth the paper they are written on?

What about the basic habitation rights of owners who want to live in a “pet free” building?

Where does this leave “no pets” buildings?  Pet By-laws – Is it the End of No Pets By-laws?

Need a pet by-law or some advice contact us now!

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