Lot Owners Forum at NSW Strata Conference

This year the NSW Strata Conference (being held by Strata Community Australia (NSW) - formerly the Institute of Strata Title Management) includes a Lot Owners Forum.

It’s being held on Saturday, 8 October 2011 from 9.30am at the Southee Pavilion at Sydney Showground, Olympic Park, Homebush Bay.

This year the Forum grows from a half to a full day event including morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea and entry to the trade exhibition.  The presentations cover Executive Committee Politics, Meetings, CTTT Cases, Defects and Renovations.

You can register here.

So, if you’re a lot owner or committee member, why not join everyone else in a few Saturday’s time?

Francesco …

No More Nuisance Committees in the ACT

I was reading some of the material published by Teys Lawyers recently and learned that in the Australian Capital Territory there's specific rules about how committee members can behave.


Apparently, ACT committees must not cause a 'nuisance' on the strata land or do things that unreasonably affects someone else's use or enjoyment of a unit or common property.  


The rule seems pretty reasonable and sensible.  But it makes me wonder what committee members in the ACT have been doing that means they need such controls.  I'm imagining some pretty disturbing things and wild behavious!


I guess ACT strata owners can now relax a bit more than before.


You can read more about it here.  And, thanks Teys Lawyers for the information.




Francesco ...

OCN Trains more Committee Members

In 2010 the Owners Corporation Network ran two committee members training days in Sydney and this year they’re at it again.

On 7 May and 28 May 2011 the OCN ran and is running training session for NSW committee members.

The next session is at the Kirribilli Club (11 Harbourview Crescent, Lavender Bay) between 9.30am and 4.00pm on Saturday, 28 May 2011.  It’s $60 for non-members and $45 for OCN members (which includes morning and afternoon teas and light lunch).  And, since the maximum number of participants for each workshop is 80, register now at the OCN website.

The OCN is a peak organization for strata title buildings, strata corporations, committee members and owners in NSW; representing their interests with government, other groups and the media.

See you at another OCN training session soon.

Francesco …

Vote 1 for Me … Woof !!

We’ve heard a lot about what it takes to be a strata committee member. 

It’s a thankless job for a volunteer who needs to learn all about the building, how strata runs and devote their private time for their neighbours.  So, it’s hard to get people to volunteer for the job.

In many ways it’s a job that requires loyalty and devotion that’s more suitable for a dog than a person.

So, it’s no surprise that they’ve finally elected a dog to a strata committee.

As this very funny story in the Washington Post reports. Beatha Lee was elected president of the Hillbrook-Tall Oaks Civic Association in Annandale, Virginia unanimously by the 50 people at the annual meeting.  Beatha was described as “a relatively new resident, interested in neighborhood activities and the outdoors, and who had experience in Maine overseeing an estate of 26 acres”.  And, since it’s always hard to get anyone to volunteer to devote the time needed to serve as an officer, she was an obvious choice.

Only weeks later did owners discover that their new president was, in fact, a dog when she promised in the association newsletter to "govern with an even paw" alongside the dog's photo under the heading, "Dog Rules, Humans Apathetic (Pathetic)".

In fact, Beatha Lee is a shaggy, dirty-white wheaten terrier.  

And, here she is ...

As it turns out, Beatha is actually the pet of the former president, Mark Crawford, who inherited Beatha in 2008 from his mother and stepfather in Maine.  Mark Crawford had served three consecutive terms as president and could not run for the office again. After weeks leading up to the election, he begged, pleaded and cajoled neighbors to run for the often-thankless volunteer post. No one bit. Newer, younger families told him that they were too busy juggling work, long commutes and kids. And long-time residents, were burned out.

So, he decided to nominate his dog … to motivate owners to participate.

You can read the whole article here.

It’s not clear if the strategy worked but the article suggests that the association is running fine with it’s new president.

Maybe it’s better to have dogs than people on strata committees?

See you at the pound looking for nominations for next year.

Francesco …

No Strata Questions Allowed

Last week I blogged about Florida committee members having to certify their knowledge (see Florida Strata Committees Sent to Boot Camp) and now’s there’s this follow up. 

When Alan Weiner, an owner at Bonaire Village Condominium Association of Delray Beach, wanted to ask his condo board a question he found out the hard way that he couldn’t.

Florida meeting law is clear:  No matter what your governing documents say, condo boards must notify owners 48 hours in advance of a meeting and the notice must include a copy of the agenda. Owners and board members are only allowed to address agenda items.  So, if an issue is not on a condo meeting agenda, it is off limits for board members and owners alike to discuss.

Alan only wanted to ask a simple question of the condo board: “How many are certified to serve as required by a new Florida law?” 

But there was no question and no answer.

"This was the first time I had requested to speak," Weiner said.  "And was told that the board recently ruled that those wishing to speak had to have prior clearance from the board office."

Bonaire Village Condominium Association’s lawyer, Melissa Beigel, of Becker & Poliakoff. Beigel said the condo board was not trying to be bad guys here, but were instead attempting to follow Florida condo codes and statutes and be fair to all owners who must follow the same state-mandated rules.

So, it’s no no to questions in Florida strata corporations.

But, it’s almost the same in many Australian strata corporations where the laws say that –

• whilst owners can attend committee meetings as observers, they can’t address the meeting (including asking questions) without the approval of the committee, and
• strictly speaking the only legitimate business at a strata meeting is the agenda and formal matters about agenda items.

So, if a committee takes a strict view of things and doesn’t want to let owners speak … Australian strata owners will find themselves unable to ask questions at meetings and not able to get any answers either.

This seems completely at odds with concepts of transparency, owner participation, democracy and community spirit. At least to me.

So, see you (staying quiet as a mouse) at the next committee meeting.

Francesco …

Strata Owners are Revolting

Strata owners in the USA are revolting!  

No, not in themselves.  But by lobbying and marching to protest abuses of power by committees and boards.

That involves a few new phenomenon like a protest march in Carson City, Nevada where more than 50 people rallied against abusive power, harassment and exorbitant fines.  They're calling on legislators to introduce laws that would cap the amount of home owner association fines and collection agency fees, eliminate "kangaroo courts" run by homeowners association boards and limit the mandatory arbitration requirement.

You can read more about the rally here.

The revolting owners tell stories like these.

• Brigitte Porter who was fined $3,110 by Heather Ridge Homeowners Association because the color of her driveway paint was a different shade from the previous colour
• Doris Vescio of Sun City Anthem fined $100 a week since November for a fence that's more than 6 feet high, even though it was approved by the architectural committee the Mount Charleston Golf Estates board who illegally approved a $2,500 special assessment without putting the item on a meeting agenda and under false pretenses to intimidate owners

And they complain about dispute handling processes in Nevada where lawmakers thought they were doing homeowners a favor allowing only $100 fines per violation, with repeat violations up to $1,000.  But because committees, lawyers and arbitrators always opt for arbitration they're also awarded tens of thousands of dollars in fees.  

Or, so says Bob Sullivan, a Las Vegas attorney who represented several homeowners in cases against their associations.  He said that “Homeowners are forced into mediation before they can file a lawsuit”. "You've got $25,000 to $40,000 in legal fees before you step into court. It's absolutely ridiculous," and that “the alternative dispute resolution process administered by the Nevada Real Estate Division is broken, said Bob Sullivan,. It needs "transparency and honesty".

Sound familiar?

Bob Robey, a Sun City Summerlin resident and rally organizer sees this as a civil rights returned.  He says “there's no separation of power with the HOA board of directors. They write the rules, enforce the rules and issue the fines” So, he’s set up

And, one owner has gone even further. 

Jonathan Friedrich, an eight-year resident of Rancho Bel Air has set up a website, www.hoa1234.com to draw support for the homeowners' cause and keep people abreast of happenings.  There are about 15 bill drafts in the Legislature dealing with associations including a home- owners' "bill of rights" introduced to the legislature last year by Assemblyman Harvey Munford, D-Las Vegas.  Friedrich says it got "trampled on because it would hurt attorneys, collection companies and community association managers”.

So, it appears that unhappy owners are not staying quiet and still any more.  Speaking their mind and challenging authority they herald a brewing revolution in strata.

See you in the strata trenches.

Francesco ….