In the light of the current crisis around building cladding, the NSW Government is sending Notices of Intention to Issue an Order to buildings it suspects of having flammable wall cladding. Please see the typical letter being sent to owners corporations by the NSW Government enclosing the Notices of Intention to Issue an Order. The…
Christopher Kerin
B & T Constructions (ACT) Pty Ltd (ACN 105 358 825) was a builder that was responsible for the construction of numerous residential apartment buildings in the ACT. On 18 May 2017, administrators were appointed to B & T Constructions (ACT) Pty Ltd and following this, on 20 July 2017, RSM Australia were appointed as liquidators of this…
On 2 August 2017, the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal (ACAT) handed down its decision In the Matter of Ruling Tribunal, section 31 of the Unit Titles (Management) Act 2011 (Civil Dispute) [2017] ACAT 56. This is a long awaited decision which indicates what expenses an owners corporations can recover after suing a lot owner…
The Australian Building Codes Board has added a new page to its website entitled “Non-Conforming Building Products”. This webpage is presumably a response to various concerns raised about the risks of using substandard products or materials (‘non-conforming’), or using products and materials incorrectly (‘non-complying’). The new webpage has general information on non-conforming building products (NCBP)…
In The Owners – Units Plan 68 v Haughey (Unit Titles) [2016] ACAT 131 the respondent installed a hot water system on the back wall of his unit which was common property where it remained for nearly five years. Ultimately, a question arose as to whether the respondent had permission to place the hot water…
In Floro v Owners – Units Plan No 630 (Unit Titles) [2017] ACAT 4 the applicant, Ms Floro, sought a review of a decision of the respondent owners corporation to decline to grant owners within the complex a ‘special privilege’ to erect support poles for a carport on an area of common property adjoining their…
The Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 has been in force for six months (as at May 2017). Domain.com.au has created a quiz for owners, strata managers and lawyers alike to test their knowledge about the new Act. Have a go here.
Introduction A dispute over the airspace between two balconies in Queensland has provided the most comprehensive authority to date as to what is considered an ‘unreasonable refusal’ by owners corporations for the purposes of granting a common property right. The High Court decision in Ainsworth v Albrecht [2016] HCA 40 (Ainsworth) turned on the exercise…
Strata Community Australia recently released a Strata Data update. According to the update at 15 February 2017 there were 821,044 lots registered with the NSW Land and Property Information. To give a comparison in September 2016 the LPI recorded 808,376 lots in NSW. The data as at February 2017 for the number of strata schemes…
The owners corporation is responsible for recovering unpaid contributions levied against owners. The Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (the Act) came into force after 30 November 2016 and introduced some important changes to the levy recovery process. Pursuant to section 86 of the Act the owners corporation must not commence legal proceedings to recover an…
The commencement of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (the new Act) on 30 November 2016 means that schemes are now required to keep a consolidated list of the by-laws in force for their scheme and register the consolidated list with any new change of by-law. As all strata schemes in NSW are governed by…
The reason the ACT is virtually unique in Australia arises from the idea that as a city develops, the value of land increases. Such was the concern that landholders and particularly land speculators (who had done nothing to create the increase in value) would benefit, a social experiment arose. That experiment enabled the increase in…