Sydney Morning Herald (SMH), talks with Adrian Mueller, partner, about building defects and the new inadequate laws.
Is the new system doomed to result in more cost and litigation?
Read the full Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) article here.
For NSW strata legal or levy collection advice please 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’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.
Nothing’s changed on the inside we’re still the same firm, with the same passion to deliver strata and property legal services of the highest order.
Our exciting new look and feel has been designed to reflect the growing business we are today and into the future.
You’ll start to see our new branding reflected across our website, legal documents, stationery, promotional materials and much more.
As we continue to grow JS Mueller & Co, we want our brand to best reflect why we exist, what we believe in and most of all we hope you like it!
PS: To get the full impact scroll down to the end and let us know what you think.
Our new website reflects our new brand and is clean, simple and easy to navigate with some great new features such as…
Searchable Resource Library
We’ve created a strata ‘resource library’. The latest on all the new strata laws. And the best news is, whatever you’re looking for is easily found with a simple search.
Full Mobile Optimisation
We’re thrilled to say that our website is fully mobile optimised and will work across a whole range of devices, operating systems and browsers. So now you can access our site whenever and wherever you need to.
And much more! Check out the new website now at www.muellers.com.au.
At JS Mueller & Co we’re always looking for ways to improve and we’d love to hear your feedback or suggestions.
Please email jsmmarketing@muellers.com.au and we’ll consider your feedback.
Thanks strata!
PS: For the latest strata updates connect with us on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Sydney Morning Herald (SMH), Domain talks with Adrian Mueller, partner, JS Mueller & Co Strata Lawyers about gaping loopholes in the new strata laws.
Read the full Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) article here.
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 a residential apartment building in Rhodes, Sydney claimed damages against Walker Group Constructions, inferring they had breached statutory warranties.
However, after a five day hearing, the referee came to this surprising conclusion: Were Statutory Warranties Breached?
For NSW strata legal or levy collection advice please contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.
Are you aware that it’s now less than 12 months before owners corporations must comply with another new law?
That’s right, in NSW, window locks must be installed on windows by 13 March, 2018. Otherwise, owners corporations will face hefty fines if requirements are not met by the due date.
According to Westmead Children’s Hospital around 50 children fall from windows and balconies every year. To reduce the risk of these incidents occurring the Strata Schemes Management Act (for existing buildings) and the Building Code of Australia has been amended (for newly constructed buildings).
To ensure you comply by the due date we suggest taking this approach:
Did you also know?
Remember, leaving it to the last minute places your scheme at risk of not complying by the due date. So, to avoid incurring a hefty fine, ensure it’s an agenda item at your next meeting (if you haven’t already done so).
For further information on the new window lock requirements visit – Fair Trading NSW.
For NSW strata legal or levy collection advice please contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.
As the notion of living a healthy lifestyle continues to become increasingly prominent within contemporary society on a global scale, smoke-free environments are now being enforced in the form of strata by-laws.
While it is clear that Australia adopts strict smoke-free regulations within public areas and indoor workplaces, restrictions within apartment buildings and/or other multi-unit residencies are a fairly new phenomenon. This can be attributed to the increasing growth of community concern in relation to the harmful health effects that arise as a result of exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke.
Should strict by-laws be adopted?
One of the primary justifications as to why smoke-free strata by-laws have come into effect is due to the drifting of second-hand smoke into non-smoking residential property. The Cancer Council NSW offers a ‘Smoke Free Apartment Living Kit‘ and substantiates such claims by informing community members that their concerns are valid by stating “Scientific studies have measured significant levels of tobacco smoke contaminants in the apartments of non-smoking residents who live in a building where people smoke in other parts of their building”.
Smoke has a tendency to drift throughout a building within apartment lots and common property. Drifting may occur through various mediums including but not inclusive to air conditioning systems, stairwells, balconies and elevator shafts. Resultantly, individuals living within apartments and other multi-unit residencies are placing pressure on owners corporations to pass strata by-laws to prohibit smoking and encourage living in a smoke-free environment.
If smoke-free strata by-laws do come into effect there is no doubt that various positives are apparent. For example, non-smoking individuals will have a reduced exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke and thus reduce the possibility of encountering potential health risks such as asthma. Financial benefits are also evident as smoke-free environments contribute to a reduced risk of fire and cigarette related damage including burn marks on furniture, benches, carpets and walls; equating to reduced cleaning and maintenance costs. Most importantly, individuals living within a smoke-free environment may feel peace-of-mind within a residency that takes preventive measures to improve the health of all.
Or…should people have a right to smoke?
On the contrary, smoke-free by laws have sparked a great deal of fury, particularly towards individuals who prefer to adopt a smoking lifestyle. Smokers believe that such by-laws take away a right of one group at the expense of another and feel it is a denial of their legal rights, believing they should have a right to smoke within the boundaries of their lot. Subsequently, many questions raised include: Are my legal rights infringed? Will a designated smoking area be provided? Can a balance between smokers and non-smokers be struck? & How do I know if I live in a smoke-free environment?
Adrian Mueller, specialist strata lawyer with JS Mueller & Co, says, Strata buildings have the ability to enforce by-laws prohibiting smoking. Existing strata schemes that do not have smoke-free by-laws can bring them in, but only if a 75% majority vote is obtained ”.
Adrian continues by saying, “There are available options to address the problem of smoke drift within apartment blocks. The level of detail within a strata by-law prohibiting smoking will vary due to individual circumstances. The by-law might ban smoking on any or all of the common property, a lot’s outdoor areas and even a lot’s indoor areas.”
For NSW strata legal or levy collection advice please contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.
Key reforms to support residents living in nearly 2,200 community, neighbourhood and precinct schemes in NSW have been unveiled in a new community schemes law reform position paper.
A snapshot of the proposed changes includes:
To find out more visit the review of the strata and community scheme laws where you can read the positioning paper giving details on the reforms.
For NSW strata legal or levy collection advice please contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.
Disputes between neighbours take many forms. This paper will consider the law relating to some of the most common and challenging types of neighbourhood disputes that affect owners corporations and strata managers. These are: disputes about access to neighbouring lands; hazards such as collapsing retaining walls, landslips and rock falls; dividing fences and tree disputes.
In modern cities, neighbourhood disputes involving strata schemes are commonplace. And these disputes are likely to increase as the drive towards urban consolidation literally pushes neighbours closer together and into greater conflict.
It is therefore important that participants in strata schemes, from owners corporations to strata managers, have a basic understanding of the most common types of disputes and the laws applicable to them.
Click here to download the full paper – Neighbourhood_Disputes
For NSW strata legal or levy collection advice please contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.