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:

• Helping associations to monitor and fund property maintenance by requiring a builder or developer to provide a building maintenance schedule at the first annual general meeting.
• Limiting proxy votes to prevent an individual or small group controlling a scheme.
• Streamlining by-law enforcement; making it easier to penalise serial offenders and recover enforcement costs.
• Boosting industry professionalism and the responsible management of schemes through strengthened accountabilities, including new disclosure requirements.
• Providing opportunities for tenants to be represented at meetings.
• Accommodating online technology to help schemes communicate and operate efficiently and effectively.

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.

Bruce Bentley, Partner JS Mueller & Co presented this week at the REINSW Conference 2014 on ‘Trading Within Your Strata Management Agency Agreement’. To see a copy of Bruce’s presentation please click the link below.

Click here to view the full presentation – 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.

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.

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.

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:

• Penalties for unlicensed work;
• Contracts to do residential building work or specialist work;
• Contracts to supply kit homes;
• Statutory warranties implied into contracts;
• Provisions relating to contractor licences, supervisor certificates and tradesperson certificates including broadening the grounds for disqualification;
• Notification of insolvency, winding-up or de-registration of licence holders;
• Owner building;
• Resolution of building disputes;
• Disciplinary proceedings;
• Home warranty insurance;
• Owner builder kit homes and requirements for obtaining contractor licences;
• Other minor consequential or ancillary matters.

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.

The Building and Construction Industry Security Of Payment Amendment Act 2013 is proclaimed to commence on 21 April 2014.

The Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 1999 was amended by the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Amendment Act 2013. The amendments will not apply to construction contracts entered into before 21 April 2014. The Act applies to all construction contracts entered into by owners corporations for work on the common property.

The principal changes which affect owners corporations are as follows:

• Owners corporations will now be a principal under the main contract with the head contractor.
  A progress payment is to be made by a principal to a head contractor 15 business days after a payment claim is made or such earlier date as may be provided by the contract.
• It is no longer possible to contractually extend the period for the making of the payment.
  The contractor is no longer required to endorse a payment claim made under the Act in any way. This means that you must treat every invoice or payment claim under a construction contract or any construction arrangement as being subject to the Act.
• You will need to immediately enquire from your principal on receipt of any invoice for construction work, whether there is a dispute in relation to payment and, if there is, ensure that a payment schedule is prepared and served on the contractor within 15 business days of receipt of the invoice. Failure to do so will remove any right to withhold any part of the payment claim.
• Head contractors must now serve a supporting statutory statement with a payment claim which must include a declaration to the effect that all subcontractors have been paid.
• Failure to serve a supporting statement leaves the head contractor liable to a fine up to $22,000.00 but does not invalidate the payment claim.

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

A new decision not only renders void resolutions passed at general meetings called improperly but paves the way for owners who lose valuable rights because a resolution is invalid to sue the person responsible for the calling off the meeting. 

Click here to read the full article – Strata General Meetings

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