Must strata lot owners pay, as part of their levies, maintenance of the common property they do not use?

Are all strata owners responsible for paying for the maintenance of every part of the common property even if some owners cannot or do not use part of the common areas?

Is it possible for an owners corporation to raise a differential contribution that is levied on some but not all owners or is levied in shares that are not proportional to the unit entitlements of the lots?

Here are some typical examples where owners often query if they should pay for maintenance of these areas:

• A strata scheme that contains multiple stages – should they pay for stage 2 if they’re in stage 1?
• The owner of a ground floor lot who does not use a lift servicing the upper levels of the building
• The owner who does not use recreational facilities such as a swimming pool, gym or tennis court

Are these exceptions or are common areas in strata residential blocks treated as a whole?

Read this paper to find out the true position – Common Property Use and Differential Levies in Strata Blocks

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

Short term accommodation, can it be stopped?

Does short term accommodation require Council approval or is it prohibited in most local government areas in NSW?

Is a by-law still an effective way to prohibit short term accommodation in a strata scheme?

We’ve prepared a short paper to help you understand the ins and outs of this area of strata law Short Term Accommodation.

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

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

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.

One year later… what are the 5 biggest impacts of the new strata laws?

In this interview with LookUpStrata, Adrian Mueller, partner, JS Mueller & Co addresses the top 5 new strata laws and the changes to owners corporation fines and how they’ll affect you.

Click on the video below to view Adrian’s interview with Nikki from LookUpStrata as he discusses the following:

1. New Strata Laws in Relation to the Way in which Owners will be Able to Vote at Strata Meetings
2. Prohibition on Proxy Farming
3. Renovations
4. Undesirable Habits
5. Removing Abandoned Goods

And, body corporate fines and the 3 main changes.

The full article can be viewed at LookUpStrata.

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.

In a recent decision, NCAT has confirmed that it does not have power to impose monetary penalties on persons who breach orders made by NCAT.

This decision highlights an important flaw in the new strata legislation which needs to be fixed.

Read on to find out more – NCAT Strata Disputes Floors and By-laws.docx

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

In a landmark ruling, NCAT has ordered an owners corporation to pay compensation to an owner for water damage to the owner’s unit caused by defects in the common property.

This ruling indicates that NCAT is able to resolve strata disputes by making compensation orders.

But has NCAT got it wrong? Read on to find out: NCAT Orders Owners Corporation to Pay Compensation

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 ruled against a short term letting by-law being passed for a Sydney apartment block.

So, was NCAT’s decision wrong?

Can an owners corporation pass a by-law that bans short term letting?

Read on to find out: NCAT Rules Against Short Term Letting By-law

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

Be aware that the deadline for owners corporations to review their by-laws under the new Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 is fast approaching with only 66 business days remaining.

The Act states that owners corporations have 12 months to review and register any current by-laws. This means every owners corporation must review their by-laws by the deadline of 30 November 2017.

For the next 66 business days, owners corporations that have not already done so are meant to consider whether to:

• Introduce new by-laws
• Amend any existing by-laws
• Repeal any by-laws

At JS Mueller & Co we have done hundreds of by-law reviews since the commencement of the new Act. We often recommend that new by-laws should be considered for the following topics:

• Airbnb
• Smoking
• Minor Renovations
• Major Renovations
• Common Property Memorandum
• Proxies
• Electronic Voting

Plan Ahead NOW. Don’t wait until it is too late.

Fixed Fee By-laws

Get your by-law review done now.We can review your by-laws in detail, suggest amendments to the existing by-laws and recommend new by-laws. We do all of that for a fixed fee. for your fixed fee by-laws.

Click here NOW for a fixed fee by-law review.

Template By-laws

We have developed a range of by-laws that cover various topics.

Order a copy of our by-law templates here NOW Strata By-law Templates

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