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…
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)…
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…
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…
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.
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