Strata apartment living is the fastest growing form of property ownership across Australia with more than half of these apartments located in the greater Sydney area.

Alarmingly, recent and extensive research* has found that up to 85% of these buildings built in NSW since the year 2000 have some form of building defects.

Sydney Olympic Park Opal Tower

The recent controversy surrounding the Opal Tower located in the Sydney Olympic Park precinct highlights the seriousness of some of these defects, leaving home owners lives turned upside down. So, what are their rights?

Statutory Warranty Scheme

Under NSW law all residential buildings:

• Less than 6 years old are covered by a ‘statutory warranty scheme’ for major defects
• Major defects claims can be made for up to 6 years
• Any non-major defects can be claimed for up to 2 years
• Buildings older than 6 years may have different warranty periods and it is recommended to seek legal advice

All owners who are still covered by these warranties have the right to pursue the developer and builder for rectification of building defects.

How do building defects affect strata levies?

Strata levies are a critical and essential part of ensuring the value of a property is protected.

The owners corporation has the statutory duty to ensure common property is safe and kept in good repair, therefore apartment owners in structurally unsafe buildings could face increased special levies.

When a building defect is on common property the owners corporation should add the repair of the defect to the agenda of a general meeting for consideration and resolution.

The good news is that Opal Tower home owners are covered under the statutory warranty scheme however the not so good news is that it leaves home owners forced to find alternative accommodation or perhaps live in unsafe conditions with the possibility of facing a hefty special levies bill whilst the situation is being resolved.

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

*University of NSW City Futures Research Centre.

Do explanatory notes need to be included in the agenda of a general meeting of an owners corporation?  The answer might surprise you.

Since the commencement of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 on 30 November 2016, a practice has arisen for explanatory notes to be included in an agenda of a general meeting of an owners corporation.  The purpose of the explanatory notes is to provide a brief explanation of the purpose of each motion that appears on the meeting agenda.

But are these explanatory notes necessary? Click here to find out – Are Strata Meeting Explanatory Notes Required

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

The procedure for registering by-laws under the new strata legislation is completely new. Land and Property Information (LPI) NSW will no longer allow by-laws to be registered unless a consolidated version of all by-laws including any new by-laws is lodged for registration.

What Has Changed?

The new strata legislation requires any change in the by-laws for a strata scheme that are lodged for registration to be in the form of a consolidated version of all of the existing by-laws that incorporates the changes to the by-laws as well. The consolidated version of the by-laws must include any relevant model by-laws.

What Does the Change Mean?

If you attempt to register a change in the by-laws without the consolidated version of the by‑laws, Land and Property Information will reject the document you lodge.

Do I Have to Comply?

There is a limited exemption to the requirement to lodge a consolidated version of the by-laws each time you need to register a change to the by-laws.  Land and Property Information may permit a change in the by-laws for a strata scheme to be lodged separately, and not in a consolidated version, if satisfied that it would be too onerous for a consolidated version to be lodged and there are no more than five separate change of by-laws recorded on the title of the common property.

Can you get an Exemption?

The new procedure for registering changes to the by-laws for a strata scheme at Land and Property Information is untested. However, we expect that it may prove difficult to secure an exemption from the need to lodge a consolidated version of the by-laws when registering a change to the by-laws. Where that occurs, every change of by-laws will require a new consolidated list of by-laws.

Why the Change?

The rationale for the change is to ensure that a consolidated set of all of the by-laws for a strata scheme is recorded on title much like the by-laws in a management statement for a community scheme or neighbourhood scheme.

What Happens to the Existing Registered By-Laws?

Once the consolidated version of the by-laws is registered, all current notifications of by-laws appearing on the common property title will be removed and the common property title will be updated to refer to the consolidated version only.

What Happens if I Get it Wrong?

When the consolidated list of by-laws is prepared, care will need to be taken to ensure that the list is complete and accurate. Land and Property Information will not examine the consolidated set of by-laws against any existing change of by-laws recorded on the common property title to ensure that the consolidated set is complete and accurate. If the consolidated set of by-laws is wrong, for example, an existing by-law is not included in the consolidated set; a person aggrieved by the error may make a claim against the owners corporation or strata manager who registered the incorrect consolidated set of by-laws.

Where is the Change Found and What does it Mean?

The new requirement concerning the registration of changes to by-laws for strata schemes is contained in clause 24 of the Strata Schemes Development Regulation 2016.  We expect that this new requirement will create significant problems for strata managers and others who attempt to register changes to the by-laws without a consolidated version of the by-laws.

How Can we Help?

Muellers are able to prepare a consolidated version of the by-laws for a strata scheme for a fee of $750 plus GST where there are no more than two changes of by-laws dealings registered on the title of the common property.  For strata schemes which have more than two change of by-laws registered, please contact us to obtain a price to prepare a consolidated set of by-laws for that scheme.

There is Still Hope!

We will continue to provide a cost effective and efficient by-law registration service under the new regime. If you encounter difficulty registering changes to the by-laws for any strata scheme that you manage, please do not hesitate to get in contact with us so that we are able to help you.

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

The new strata laws will commence on 30 November 2016. Will you be ready?

To help you get ready, the team at Muellers will be running training seminars across Sydney in September and November 2016.

We will explain the most important aspects of the new strata laws and tell you what you need to know to be ready come 30 November.

We will review the new laws concerning strata managers, by-laws, renovations, NCAT, building bonds, collective sales and more.

Look out for the invitations to our training seminars as places are limited and will book out quickly.

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

Today, we officially announce changes to the JS Mueller & Co team effective as follows.

Retirement
It is with mixed emotions that we announce the retirement of Bruce Bentley, partner of JS Mueller & Co, effective 30 June 2016.

New Partner
We are also proud to announce the appointment of Adrian Mueller to partner, JS Mueller & Co, effective 1 July 2016.

“We’ve been providing a range of exceptional, professional strata legal services for over 30 years. Our success is due to our in-depth experience and comprehensive knowledge of strata law and we will continue to deliver our first class service to clients”, said Jeffrey Mueller, partner JS Mueller & Co.

We are continuing to build our team with expertise in the property and strata areas.  As our firm expands and grows, we will keep you up to date with the latest developments.

To read the full article please click here – Muellers Strata Lawyers Announcement

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

Over 90 new strata laws will come into play later this year and of the 90 these are some changes that will most likely make a difference to your everyday.

1. Parking

Owners corporations will be able to reach agreements with local councils to allow parking officers into their schemes to issue fines to rogue parkers. Not only rogue parkers but residents who park over the lines of their parking spaces on to common property or leave their cars in visitor parking (however briefly) could also be ticketed. Read more here.

2. Fines

Almost all fines will be paid to the owners corporation, but this won’t be a cash cow for over-zealous committees; they still have to go through the same tribunal process. Read more here.

3…to read the new ‘top ten’ click here – New Strata Laws – Top 10

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

About JS Mueller & Co

JS Mueller & Co has been servicing the strata industry across NSW for almost 40 years. We are a specialist firm of strata lawyers with in depth and unmatched experience in, and comprehensive knowledge of strata law and levy collection. We are there to assist you every step of the way.

Late last Friday the NSW Government released consultation drafts of the Strata Schemes Management Regulation 2016 and Strata Schemes Development Regulation 2016, with their accompanying Regulatory Impact Statements (RIS).

To read the new proposed draft regulation please click below:

1. Consultation draft – Strata Schemes Management Regulation 2016
2. RIS – Strata Schemes Development Regulation 2016
3. RIS – Strata Schemes Management Regulation 2016

To read the current legislation please click below:

1. Strata Schemes Management Act 1996
2. Strata Schemes Management Regulation 2010

If you have any comments after you’ve read through the regulations, please send them directly to SCA’s General Manager, Rachel Lynn (rachel.lynn@stratacommunity.org.au) by Monday 11 May 2016.

Rachel will ensure a response is sent to meet the Government deadline of 27 May 2016.

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

Trial our new online ‘Levy Collect’ service today. Simply send an email to jsmmarketing@muellers.com.au and we’ll be in touch week commencing 11 January 2015.

Millions of Dollars

We understand that raising and receiving funds for building maintenance and scheme administration is fundamental to an efficiently-run scheme. That’s why, in 2015, the Muellers team collected millions of dollars in outstanding levies.

Access 24/7/365

Based on feedback from our clients, we also enhanced our levy collection service with a new online system ‘Levy Collect’, making it even easier for you to access your matters 24/7/365, anywhere, anytime from your desktop, laptop, tablet or smartphone….giving you back time to focus on other things.

FREE Trial

Anyone who would like to trial our new online ‘Levy Collect’ service can do so by contacting us and we’ll be in touch in 2016 with the details.

Trial our new service today by simply sending an email to jsmmarketing@muellers.com.au and we’ll be in touch week commencing 11 January 2015.

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

From the entire JS Mueller & Co team we wish you a Safe and Happy Festive Season!

We are taking a short break from the 23rd December 2015 and returning on the 11th January 2016.

For NSW strata legal or levy collection advice please contact us here or call 02 9562 1266 and we’ll get back to you following our break.