Bruce Bentley, Partner JS Mueller & Co presented this week at the REINSW Conference on ‘Trading Within your Strata Management Agency Agreement‘.
To view the presentation please click here – Trading within your Strata Management Agency Agreement
For NSW strata legal or levy collection advice please contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.
According to a recent survey, 85% of new strata buildings suffer from building defects.
Sometimes the builder responsible for the defects wants to return to repair them.
But do you have to allow the builder back particularly if you don’t want to?
To view the full article click here – Building Defects and Your Builder
For NSW strata legal or levy collection advice please contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.
The Government has released draft regulations to the Home Building Amendment Act 2014 which provide for operation of that Act to commence on 1 December 2014.
A number of organisations made submissions to the Government in relation to those regulations and a final start date has not yet been confirmed. Anyone with a defect claim:
should immediately seek legal advice to confirm whether those defects will be covered as a major building defect under the new legislation.
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.
Neighbouring properties often need temporary or permanent access to a strata scheme in order to develop their land – neighoubouring land access.
The usual scenario is that the neighbour contacts the executive committee or the strata manager, offering a simple form to sign to expedite the process. The neighbour will not voluntarily make any mention of liability, indemnities, compensation or other costs.
Most types of access only require an ordinary resolution at a general meeting. However, the registration of an easement (such as drainage easements, easements for services etc.) requires a special resolution, in accordance with section 26 of the Strata Schemes (Freehold Development) Act 1973.
Click here to download the full paper – Easements and Neighbours Accessing Strata Schemes
For NSW strata legal or levy collection advice please contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.
What should you be aware of?
On 9 May 2014 the Home Building Amendment Bill 2014 was introduced to the Legislative Assembly of the New South Wales Parliament. It passed that House on 14 May 2014.
The object of the Bill is to amend the Home Building Act 1989 (“HBA”) in connection with matters including:
The HBA is an act with which strata title lawyers need to be familiar. Building defects are one of the largest areas of complaint from those living in strata schemes in this state. Unfortunately for those practicing in the area, the HBA is one of the most frequently amended pieces of legislation in New South Wales.
The emphasis of this paper is on the amendment of those areas of the HBA which are most commonly used by strata lawyers. This paper is not designed as a general overview of the HBA and the amendments and assumes a basic knowledge of the HBA from a strata perspective.
Click here to download the full paper Home Building Act Amendment
For NSW strata legal or levy collection advice please contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.
Does an owners corporation have to approve development applications and renovations?
Strata buildings are becoming older. This has given rise to an increasing number of renovations that are carried out in strata buildings. This, in turn, has resulted in more owners corporations and strata managers being asked to approve development applications, and building works associated with renovations.
Often requests for development applications or building works to be approved are made urgently and owners corporations and strata managers are threatened with legal action if approval is not given promptly. But does an owners corporation have to approve a development application or allow an owner to renovate his or her unit?
What happens if the owners corporation refuses to approve a development application or permit renovations? Can the owners corporation’s decision be overturned? If so, how? This paper will provide the answers to these questions.
Click here for the full paper – Strata Applications and Renovations
For NSW strata legal or levy collection advice please contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.
How are most strata disputes resolved?
What is the difference between strata mediation and strata adjudication?
How long does the process take?
How much does it cost?
To view the full article please click here – Strata Dispute Resolution Explained
For NSW strata legal or levy collection advice please contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.
Should anyone who turns up to a strata meeting with a gun in their pocket be banned from ever living in a community scheme?
For those of us who have been involved in strata for a while, it’s only a matter of time when a strata meeting will turn ugly.
You’re usually dealing with some very volatile elements in any given strata scheme – it’s about people’s rights and responsibilities. There are people for whom the right to do what they want in the home that they own, goes without saying – which is rarely the right fit with a lifestyle that depends on a sense of community such as strata living.
Logic and reason can be quickly forgotten as recently seen in the news where an elderly Sydney man was involved in the shooting of his building manager during a bitter strata meeting.
Click here to view the full media article.
For NSW strata legal or levy collection advice please contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.
Historically, with each of the individual states and territories throughout Australia having their own strata legislation, the downside has been that the lack of national uniformity has presented significant challenges with interpretation and enforcement of the relevant legislation across different jurisdictions.
There are currently three principal jurisdictions throughout Australia − New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland − each having introduced strata laws during the 1960s, with New South Wales leading the way in 1961. However, over the decades, each of the states has replaced and consolidated legislation at differing times, with regular, ongoing reviews of strata and community legislation taking place at a different pace across the country as governments endeavour to harmonise communal living environments and address issues which arise as communal living density increases.
Three law firms in these principal state-based jurisdictions have formed an alliance, aptly named Strata Lawyers Australia, comprising one law firm from each state which specialises in the practice of strata and community title law. The purpose of this alliance is to combine the local expertise of each firm in order to provide a quality, nation-wide legal service which will maximise the effectiveness of strata law services for stakeholders in the strata industry in each state.
Sydney-based firm, JS Mueller & Co, is an active member of this strategic alliance and draws on local expertise to provide industry-leading legal services and advice, enabling them to operate across state borders and provide the most relevant and comprehensive legal service possible.
Recent developments within the strata industry across the country have meant that the implementation of a national alliance of strata law firms will have a direct and meaningful impact on the efficiency and delivery of legal services in this industry. Indeed industry growth and consolidation have seen an emerging trend of strata management businesses operating across multiple jurisdictions.
A number of other states and territories, particularly the ACT, have recognised the need to modernise regulatory arrangements for the strata sector and are keen to see the various jurisdictions brought into line.
JS Mueller & Co strata lawyer, Adrian Mueller, says that, for example, “ACT strata laws are quite different from strata laws in other jurisdictions. The ACT Unit Titles Management Act has some unique provisions”.
Adrian’s extensive expertise has seen him deliver ground-breaking papers and seminars to strata lawyers and managers throughout the country − a definite asset to the services offered by the Strata Lawyers Australia alliance.
It is Adrian’s recommendation that comprehensive legal advice is always obtained from a specialist in the relevant jurisdiction when dealing with contentious strata issues, particularly in light of the significant variations nation-wide.
National consolidation in the strata industry will see growth in the number of strata management businesses and law firms operating across borders including through strategic alliances such as Strata Lawyers Australia. And consolidation of national licensing is expected to bolster confidence among strata managers and make strata communities a more viable option for our ever-expanding population density, but will almost certainly require continual monitoring and ongoing legislative reform well into the foreseeable future.
For NSW strata legal or levy collection advice please contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.