Short term lettings might void strata insurance policies leaving no cover for property damage caused to strata apartments and common property by unruly tennants.

This issue came to the fore again last month when a Canadian couple returned to their property to discover it had been wrecked by visitors who had booked the property via the popular Airbnb site.

Unfortunately, short term lettings of strata units are becoming a major contributor to building disharmony with the current law not providing effective solutions.

At JS Mueller & Co we believe each building is different and that the problem of short term lettings can only be dealt with properly by way of specific by-laws giving owners corporations greater powers to deal with the problem.

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 recently at a Legalwise Seminar ‘Strata & Community Title Law Reform’ and Complex Group Title.’

For more information read the paper here – Strata & Community Title Law Reform and Complex Group Title

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

Cantonese speaking, JS Mueller & Co Lawyer, Clifford To, talks Strata Law with SBS Cantonese Radio, nation-wide.

If you understand Cantonese and/or have Chinese Cantonese speaking clients listen to the full radio interview here – Chinese Property Owners in Australia

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

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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.

JS Mueller & Co Headquarters
Level 1, 240 Princes Highway
Arncliffe Sydney Australia 2205
www.muellers.com.au

Media inquiries: Contact Julie Schoneveld on 02 9562 1266 or 0435 939 491

Short term tenancies have long posed problems for community living.  The problem most commonly arises in communities where there is a mixture of permanent residents and short term tenants.  Issues of noise, damage to common property and inappropriate behaviour are often attributed to short term tenants.  Short term tenants vary from backpackers to holidaymakers to short term workers.

Strata schemes have tried to both regulate short term tenants and prohibit short term tenancies by use of by-laws.

Effectively regulating the behaviour of short term tenants has proved difficult.  Short term tenants are exactly that, short term, and are not generally around long enough to be effectively subjected to the laborious and lengthy procedures set out in the Strata Schemes Management Act 1996 (“the Act”) for enforcement of by-laws.

Click below to download the presentation and full paper on Short Term Tenancies from our April 2015 seminar:

• JS Mueller & Co Forum Short Term Letting Paper_Apr15
• JS Mueller & Co Forum Short Term Letting Presentation_Apr15

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?

The NSW Government wants most strata disputes to be resolved quickly, cheaply, and out of court. For this reason an entire Chapter of the Strata Schemes Management Act 1996 (“Strata Act”) outlines, in considerable detail, a process for resolving most types of strata disputes.

This process typically involves, first, strata mediation, followed by strata adjudication, and then an appeal to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

Click below to download the presentation and full paper on Strata Adjudications and NCAT from our April 2015 seminar:

• JS Mueller & Co Forum Strata Adjudications and NCAT Paper_Apr15
• JS Mueller & Co Forum Strata Adjudications and NCAT Presentation_Apr15

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

1 December 2014 the home building legislation in NSW will change. The changes to the legislation may mean that some owners corporations will lose all of their rights to make claims for building defects.

• 34 Days until 1 December 2014!
• Do not get caught out!
• The time to act is now!
• Have your buildings inspected by a building consultant to check for defects!
• Avoid losing your rights to make a building defect claim!

At JS Mueller & Co we work with a number of reputable building consultants and engineers. We can organise a building inspection for any building that you manage to check for defects before the 1 December deadline.

But you must act quickly otherwise you may run out of time.

If you would like to discuss the changes to the NSW home building legislation or have JS Mueller & Co organise a building inspection, please contact us now on the details below.

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

Today, 8 October 2014, the High Court of Australia in the case of Brookfield Multiplex Limited –v- Owners Corporation Strata Plan 61288 & Anor [2014] HCA36 unanimously allowed an appeal by Brookfield Multiplex Limited from a decision of the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of NSW holding that Brookfield, the builder of a strata title apartment complex, did not owe a duty of care to the owners corporation of the complex to avoid causing financial loss resulting from latent defects in the common property.

The judgment of the High Court now confirms once and for all that generally the only claim available to an owners corporation for building defects is a claim for breach of statutory warranties under the NSW Home Building Act 1989.

Prior to this High Court decision, owners corporations were entitled to sue for breach of statutory warranties under the Home Building Act and also for breach of duty of care, i.e. in negligence at law.

Unfortunately, the High Court has now held that in general an owners corporation can only sue for breach of statutory warranties, but cannot sue a builder in negligence for a breach of duty of care because the builder does not owe a duty of care to the owners corporation.

For further commentary on this recent judgment of the High Court of Australia please view the following links:

1. Brookfield Multiplex Ltd v Owners Corporation Strata Plan 61288 & ANOR
2. Brookfield Multiplex Ltd v Owners Corporation Strata Plan 61288 [2014] HCA 36 (8 October 2014)

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

Strata manager Rachael Kwawegen sentenced to 15 months in prison

A Sydney strata manager who stole more than $1 million from the apartment and business owners whose buildings she looked after has been sentenced 15 months in prison.

Please click here to read the full article – Strata Manager Sentenced to 15 Months in Prison

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.