Thanks strata for attending our recent forum. In the busy and hectic world of strata, we appreciate you taking the time and effort to join us.

We hope you enjoyed the forum as much as we did presenting and sharing our knowledge.

As promised, please find below copies of all presentations and papers.

If there is anything we can assist you with please do not hesitate to contact us here or one of our lawyers below.

How have the New Laws Shaped Up?

Warwick van Ede 
The Dawn of a New Era  I  Strata Renewals  and Collective Sales  Presentation and  Paper

Daniela Terruso 
How to Avoid the Pitfalls and Correct the Mistakes  I  By-law Reviews  Presentation and Paper

Faiyaaz Shafiq
The New Procedures and Traps for Young Players  I   Levy Recovery  Presentation and Paper

Adrian Mueller
Goodbye, Thoo  I  Novel Compensation Claims Against Owners Corporations Presentation and Paper

Adrian Mueller
How to Make You Look Good  I  The 5 Most Useful By-laws Presentation and Paper

Helen Amanatiadis
The New Regime  I  Building Bonds and Inspection Reports  Presentation and Paper

Adrian Mueller
The Good, Bad and Ugly  I  The New Strata Laws Presentation and Paper

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 has been serving the strata industry for almost four decades, since 1979, and as our business grows, so does our team of strata experts. As such, we’re proud to announce the addition of three new strata lawyers to our team.

Adrian Mueller partner JS Mueller & Co said “our team of strata lawyers is growing fast and we pride ourselves on recruiting experts with the right mix of experience and knowledge helping us to continue to expand our presence as a leader in the strata industry. We’d also like to thank our existing clients for their ongoing support.”

“In my 40 years as senior partner of our firm I have not experienced a team of lawyers as proficient as the team we have today. I am proud that we are able to provide unparalleled service to our clients from the best strata lawyers in NSW”, said Jeffrey Mueller.

Please join us in giving a warm welcome to our newest team members.

Warwick VanEde I Lawyer I 28 Years I Strata Law I Property Law I Litigation
Warwick is a NSW Law Society Accredited Specialist in property law who has significant experience advising on strata and community title developments. He has a focus on providing assistance to developers and owners corporations including drafting by-laws, community and strata management statements, conveyancing and all aspects of strata law. He is also an accomplished litigator having appeared as advocate in most senior courts in NSW. Full profile.

Helen Amanatiadis I Lawyer I 20 Years I Strata Law I Property Law I Litigation I Construction
Helen has extensive experience acting for owners corporations, particularly in relation to construction related matters. Her experience includes building contract negotiations, preparing payment schedules and adjudication responses in security of payment claims by contractors against owners corporations, and acting in building contract and defects disputes. Helen also advises on insurance claims, easements, compulsory acquisitions, strata disputes and by-laws. Full profile.

Daniela Terruso I Lawyer I 15 Years I Strata Law I Property Law
Daniela has significant experience in providing legal services to owners corporations and developers in a wide variety of areas. Her background includes working on the acquisition of development sites and preparation of off the plan contracts, by-laws and management statements for vacant land, housing and strata and community title developments. Daniela also specialises in drafting complex by-laws. Full profile.

Our Team
We are continuing to build our team. In our view, there is no substitute for experience and that is why we have assembled a team of lawyers that have real expertise in strata law. As our firm further grows, you can expect that we will continue to keep you up to date with all of the latest developments in strata law.

If you are interested in working for JS Mueller & Co Lawyers please send us a covering letter and resume.

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

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.

Another new law

In 27 days owners corporations must comply with another new law – window safety devices (window locks).

In NSW, window safety devices must be installed on certain windows by 13 March 2018 otherwise owners corporations may face hefty fines if requirements are not met by the due date.

Frequently asked questions?

Can an owners corporation force lot owners to install window safety devices by making a new by-law?

Can the owners corporation force lot owners to maintain and repair window safety devices after they are installed if there is no by-law in place?

If there is no by-law in place, who is responsible for the installation, maintenance and repair of window safety devices?

And if there is no by-law in place, who is responsible for the costs associated with deliberate damage and /or removal of the window safety devices?

Be prepared!

A window safety devices by-law will ensure the rules are clear should any of the above circumstances and more arise.

For NSW by-laws advice please contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.

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.

The Logo

The Website

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.

Stationery and More

Feedback

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.

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 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.