From 15 December 2016 the civil dispute jurisdiction of the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal (ACAT) has increased from $10,000 to $25,000. This means that owners corporations seeking debt recovery of up to $25,000 may proceed in ACAT rather than in the ACT Magistrates Court, unless a request is made by either party to proceedings to…
Christopher Kerin
The following article provides an update on our article published 21 March 2016 titled ‘ACT Case note: Recovering costs in levy recovery matters’. In The Owners – 840 v Richardson [2015] ACAT 77 Member Daniels determined that awarding legal costs in levy recovery proceedings was contrary to the provisions in the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal…
The Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW) has brought about many changes. Among the changes is a significant change to how an Owners Corporation or a Strata Committee can obtain legal advice and take legal action. Previously, section 80D of the Strata Schemes Management Act 1996 meant that legal advice or legal action that may have…
The most recent amendment to the Home Building Act came into force on 15 January and 1 March 2015. The table (link below) summaries the changes it made to statutory warranties and compares them to previous iterations of the Act. Read summary here.
On 20 August 2016, the Building and Construction Legislation Amendment Act 2016 (the Legislation) commenced operation. The Legislation is the culmination of several years of consideration by the ACT Government and amends the following laws: Building Act 2004; Building and Construction Industry (Security of Payment) Act 2009; Building (General) Regulation 2008; Construction Occupations (Licensing) Act…
A class action is being mounted against the developers of at least 13 apartment buildings across Canberra for the refund of GST incorrectly charged as part of the purchase price on new residential units. Read more by Katie Burgess.
Energy efficiency is a concern for many strata schemes that we talk to with several schemes recently upgrading their common property to capitalise on new technology and the ability to save money. This is becoming increasingly important with energy costs rising and councils signing up to carbon emission reduction programs. For instance the City of…
Chris Kerin has been asked to present at the 2016 Fire and Hazmat Convention in Melbourne this year and will also take part in the group panel discussion. See link below for more details: httpss://www.fpaa.com.au/events/fire-australia.aspx
Read the article at httpss://www.domain.com.au/news/rewriting-the-strata-rules-taking-longer-than-the-government-expected-20160225-gn103m/
Read the article at httpss://www.news.com.au/finance/real-estate/buying/sydney-mum-threatened-with-550-fine-for-noisy-toddler-in-strata-apartment/news-story/dcf61b05c18bb653ae02740ce09f8446
Read the article at httpss://www.domain.com.au/news/building-reform-submissions-paint-picture-of-substandard-work-in-canberra-20160313-gndk61/
Read the article at httpss://www.domain.com.au/news/concerns-act-strata-laws-inadequate-for-mixeduse-precincts-20160307-gnc5m8/