Is NSW Strata Defective?

Over the last few weeks there's been a bit of press in Sydney about strata building defects and why they are a problem.  The articles have suggested that it's not the developer or builders fault but rather that it is 'ambulance chasing lawyers' who have escalated claims when the situation is not that bad.


I'd expect this from developers and builders.  After all, they are entitled to try to protect themselves in whatever ways they can legitimately get away with.  And, lawyers are a tough bunch that are unlikely to stop representing strata corporations or making defect claims because they get criticised.


But, when the NSW Minister for Fair Trading, the Honourable Anthony Roberts, says the same thing I start to get worried.  He was quoted in this SMH article as saying that lawyers can “find another ambulance to chase” and that “the banquet is over” which is pretty surprising.  


After all you don't have to speak to very many strata owners, committee members or managers to hear them speak about building defects and the challenges they have faced (or are facing) to get them fixed.  Far from being a 'beat up' by lawyers, building defects are very prevalent and a normal part of owning a strata apartment these days.


For example, in 2011 the City Futures Research Centre at UNSW identified that almost half the strata owners and committee members they surveyed reported experiencing building defects in their building and issued this Information Paper about Defects in Strata Schemes. That's a lot of defective buildings and a lot of problems for a lot of people that need fixing.


My worry is that if the NSW Minister responsible for strata buildings actually thinks there isn't a serious problem with apartment building quality and really believes its just litigation focused lawyers, he'll do things to limit legal actions for building defects rather than do things to ensure we get better buildings.  We've seen it happen before.


So, before you join the lawyer bashing bandwagon - remember the defects that lawyer may be litigating about might just be in your building and causing water to flood into your lounge room.


Francesco ...

Strata Tips & Traps for Tradespersons

This week I spoke at a seminar arranged by Advanced Community Management for the contractors who work for its strata corporation clients.  I spoke about the peculiarities  about working in strata buildings and was titled Strata Trades Traps & Tips (or things to watch out for when you're working for strata corporations).


It was a great opportunity to convert complex strata titling and legal processes into practical messages which also I'm sharing here.


Who’s Who in Strata - It's important to understand who your client is (and who it's not) since strata corporations are not real and operate through people like Office Bearers, Committee Members, Owners, Tenants, Strata Managers and Building Managers.  But not all those people have authority to organise work, vary work and authorise payment.  So, make sure the people you're dealing with can do what they say.


Common Property Ins & Outs - In strata corporations parts of the building are either common property or a lot (since there's nothing else).  In general terms the lots are the air space between the floor, ceiling and perimeter walls of the apartments, garages and storage areas and everything else is common property. So most of the building structure is common property and the strata corporation's responsibility.  But, there's also some oddities like structural cubic space and exclusive use areas and not everything is what it seems.  So, make sure you're working on common property and if in doubt ask someone who knows.


Watch out for Insurance - Strata corporations must insure things including the building (which covers more than just the common property).  So, often trades work may be done under an insurance claims with limits on covered work and charges and requiring insurer approval.  Since getting paid means following the rules make sure you and watch out for unexpected extras which significantly change the required work.


Managing Everyone Else's Risk - Many people are affected by activities in strata buildings like owners, residents, visitors, neighbours, managers, insurers, workers, etc.  And since trades activities in the building creates risks so, tradespeople need to manage things to reduce or eliminate those risks for themselves, strata corporations and others.  For instance, strata corporations are usually liable for damage in lots and to owners' property when they do work in the building.


Getting Paid (or Not) - Getting paid by strata corporations means correct paperwork.  Quotations need approval (strata corporation, manager and/or insurer) and larger jobs may need meeting approval.  And, invoices need to be be properly addresses to the strata corporation, comply with tax invoice requirements, sent promptly after completing work and explain any extra charges because many people see (and check) invoices.  So, get your paperwork right.


Missionaries for the Strata Manager - Strata Managers rely on tradespeople to handle building needs and strata corporations rely on strata managers for tradespeople. So, when things go wrong both look bad, tradespeople risk losing that work and future work and strata managers risk losing building management.  But, the opposite occurs when things are done well: so there's more work for the strata corporation and the strata manager.


Although these messages are strata focused, they're also just common sense.  So, why not avoid the strata traps by following these tips?

And, thanks to Advanced Community Management for the opportunity to share some more strata information. 


Francesco ...

Sydney Strata Owners Get Together

Sydney strata owners get another chance to get together next week, when the Owners Corporation Network holds its next General Meeting. 


It's an opportunity to learn more about what should (and shouldn't) happen in your strata building and share your views, experiences and concerns.  There'll also be a workshop on Work Health & Safety issues for residential strata buildings.

The meeting will be held on Saturday 19 May between 10.00 am and 12.00 noon at The Station, Jackson’s Landing, Bowman Street, Pyrmont (directly opposite Jones Street).


Francesco ...

500 Strata Blog Posts

When I started this blog as a way of sharing my knowledge, contacts, information and views on strata and community title matters I never thought it would be much more than a casual way to express myself and vent.

But now I've posted 500 blogs since 11 April 2010 that have been read by more than 83,000 people from all over the world.


So, thanks for following my posts and being interested in strata.  


Please keep following and tell your strata friends so they can enjoy the next 500 too.


Francesco ...

A Developer's View on More Strata Title

When Harry Triguboff of Meriton Apartments speaks about high rise development everyone should take notice.  After all he's built many of NSW's and Queensland's strata apartments.


In this Property Observer article Harry Triguboff lists 5 things that would make strata apartments more affordable.


Unsurprisingly, they are all directed to make it easier for property developers to build and sell apartments (which is not a bad thing) and to therefore encourage more supply.  


I liked the first suggestion the best - to build bigger (12 storey or more) apartment complexes in inner city areas rather than the 5 and 6 storey developments that are more common in our cities.  It just makes sense that if you are going to lock a piece of land into a strata apartment development, then being half hearted on density doesn't fix today's problem and creates more density pressure in the future (as these sites cannot be further re-developed).


He also speculates that his suggestions would reduce prices by 10% or more and if affordability doesn't improve the only buyers for new Australian apartments will come from overseas.


Francesco ...

Get Lucky at the Las Vegas Strata Conference

If you're feeling lucky and like strata title why not head to Las Vegas at the end of this month?


The Community Associations Institute is holding its Annual Conference and Exposition between 2 and 5 May at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada.  And they say that if you attend you'll experience -

• 27 different presentation sessions
• Practical strategies to save time and money
• Networking with peers from around the world
• The latest innovations from product and service providers

It's likely to be one of the biggest strata event of the year.  You can find out more about the Conference, the programme and register here.


Plus, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas!


Francesco ...

A Dog's (Strata) Life

I reading about the debate that constantly rages about pets in strata corporations late last night and fell asleep with an image of dogs playing pool in my head causing me to have a very strange strata dream where roles were reversed on this vexed issue.

In my dream the dogs and cats were the strata owners and they kept humans in their apartments as pets and helpers to feed and bathe them, chauffeur them around town, to keep the apartment clean, to clean up after them, and to amuse them by throwing things, patting them and just generally paying attention to the animals whenever they barked or purred.  

Overall things worked pretty well for the dogs and cats (and also for the humans) in their strata building until a new dog called Max moved in.  

You see, Max didn't like humans and didn't keep one as a pet  He spent a lot of time out enjoying himself, relied on home delivery for his meals and wasn't particularly concerned with cleaning up his apartment or his faeces.  Initially, he wasn't too fussed about the other dogs and cats keeping human pets but as the weeks passed they became far more annoying to him.

The humans would often yell out to each other and the other dogs and cats - the small humans were particularly annoying; yelling and screaming more often and in more shrill and piercing tones.  They'd also drive their cars recklessly around the building areas and park them everywhere; ruining many of his favourite sniffing and peeing spots.  He'd also often overhear their conversations which became increasingly maddening to him; they often spoke to each other about the same things over and over, said illogical things and often changed their mind about things.  And, lastly they kept bringing out bags of smelly things from the apartments and leaving them in bins near the entrance to the building;  Max thought the stuff smelt good but he could couldn't get into the bins to eat it.  

After a month or two he decided that the humans were doing all these things on purpose to get back at him.  So, he started yelling back them whenever he saw them - barking madly at them until they were out of his sight.  This only seemed to make things worse as he now also overheard them talking to each other about him.

So, Max decided to try to get the strata by-law changed to stop the humans in the building ruining his lifestyle.  The by-laws banned their most annoying human behaviours and gave the cannine-feline committee the power to require humans to leave the strata building.  And, he'd contacted me for some advice and help with his plans ahead of the next general meeting.

I woke up from my dream in the midst of a meeting with Max where I was telling him that he'd never get enough proxies to pass the necessary special resolution and he was barking at me and reminding me of the dog that became condo president in Florida last year. 

After waking it occurred to me that what's acceptable (or not) in shared strata living depends so much on your personal perspective that we can't be too dogmatic (sorry) about things and must understand that these kinds of compromises will always challenge strata owners and residents.

And, I'm glad that my dog doesn't read this blog.

Francesco ...