Help Body Corporate Issue

Bricks & Mortar

Bricks & Mortar

Got a call from the Body Coporate Manager which started with all the pleasantries and basically end with threats of legal action if we dont act on her directives.

OK, just how powerful are these managers
Is this a big bluff or what?

Our tenants have NOT been parking their vehicle in the garage
They have been leaving their rubbish bin in front of the garage INSTEAD of the backyard or inside the garage, and they occasionally have had a guest stay OVERNIGHT and park in the common area overnight.
I was also told they should also only have ONE car as we only have one car garage.

The ground can well accomodate an additional car without encroaching on access both in and out of the property, and personally I believe is a racial issue :( from one of the owners who has just returned to live in the unit after completing renovations as she no longer rents it out.

Has anyone experienced, troubles with body corporates,
Apart from advising the tennants, how do you overcome these issues?
and exactly what steps need to be put into place by the body Corp. before we receive that solicitors letter?

I would appreciate any advise

Timm
 
From my experience, the Body Corporate Manager is meant to write to the occupants of the property direct and cc a copy of the letter to all the owners in the block.

Do you have a property manager? If so, bring the issue up with them and get them to liaise with the tenants.

Your tenancy agreement with them should have a clause stating something like neighbours’ right to quiet and peaceful surrounding (something like that, can’t remember the exact wordings), so the property manager should be able to point out that breach to the tenants.
 
Body Corporate

I am with Timm on this one - I was recently threatened by the Secretary of the Body Corporate with the removal of my front door as it did not comply with the common look!!! It was a solid timber $1200 that matched the timber on the upper level of the townhouse.

When I rang the Manager of the Body Corporate Managers I was told that he was the meat in the sandwich and could only act on behalf of the elected committee.

I was forced to stick a sheet of plywood over the wonderful door and paint it white. As I was unsure whether I was being bluffed or not and could not take the risk of having my townhouse left without a front door. :eek:

Advice please on what powers do the Secretary and the committee have?

Chris
 
Bricks & Mortar said:
Got a call from the Body Coporate Manager which started with all the pleasantries and basically end with threats of legal action if we dont act on her directives.

OK, just how powerful are these managers
Is this a big bluff or what?

Our tenants have NOT been parking their vehicle in the garage
They have been leaving their rubbish bin in front of the garage INSTEAD of the backyard or inside the garage, and they occasionally have had a guest stay OVERNIGHT and park in the common area overnight.
I was also told they should also only have ONE car as we only have one car garage.

The ground can well accomodate an additional car without encroaching on access both in and out of the property, and personally I believe is a racial issue :( from one of the owners who has just returned to live in the unit after completing renovations as she no longer rents it out.

Has anyone experienced, troubles with body corporates,
Apart from advising the tennants, how do you overcome these issues?
and exactly what steps need to be put into place by the body Corp. before we receive that solicitors letter?

I would appreciate any advise

Timm
Click to expand...

Hi Timm

It sounds like your BC Manager could do with some nice pills;)

Firstly do you have a copy of the Body Corp rules applying to the block. If not, ask her for a copy so you can see what special laws have been passed.

The car parking is one of the basic laws I think. ie: tenants/owners can only park in designated parking areas.

I suspect the rubbish may be covered by a special rule in your case, in which case the tenant should have been given a copy of all relevant BC requirements as part of their lease.

Generally the BC manager at the request of the committee, gives 28 days written notice to rectify any problems.It shouldn't get to solicitors letters until way down the track.

And do go to any AGM's or special GM's that happen, if you live close by. Otherwise utilise that proxy vote!

Not having a go here, but I get really peeved when owners don't bother about the management or where their strata levies are going then complain because they don't like being called to task on some issue.

A returning owner in my block is threatening legal action on all the committee now as things don't "suit" her.She has owned the apartment for 8 years and has never voted on any major issues - go figure! Needless to say she is getting no sympathy from the committee and we will fight tough with her now.

So stay calm even though the BC manager sounds over the top. Get the rules and go from there with your tenants.
 
Hey Timm,

I am the secretary of the owners corporation where I live. Technically the secretary has no power at all. We need to comply with the rules and regulations of the Strata Laws and work with the Strata Manager to ensure that these regulations are followed. However if I wanted to make life difficult for someone I certainly could.

In saying that, I personally wouldn't and don't. However I have had situations in my block where I have had to "play the heavy" and issue letters to troublesome tenants. I always check with the Strata Managers on the exact laws and what we can ask a tenant (or an owner) to do without overstepping the boundaries.

There are very specific by-laws that everyone needs to follow. With respect to the look of a building, the Owners Corporation can ask people to comply with certain building materials or colours and so on and owners need to seek written approval to make changes. This all needs to be voted on though by owners either in the Owners Corporation (voted in members i.e. secretary, president etc) Executive Committee Meeting or general owners at an Annual General Meeting. So by law, people can't just request things willy nilly.

I guess I would ask everyone to keep in mind that the owners that live in a block generally speaking really care about the block. All of the owners in my small block of 13 units (only five are tenanted) all are very considerate and we don't park anyone in, all close the security doors quietly, we make sure that rubbish is in the right bin and so on. I am generalising however every time something goes wrong in our block or there are inconsiderations, 9 times out of 10 it is a tenant as they just don't give a damn. So whilst we are reaping the benefits of our IP's keep in mind that our tenants might be reeking havoc for other owners.

I guess having lived through the difficulties first hand I can sympathise with the Owners Corp. One of our owners now has their unit up for sale due to the tenants that moved in above them. They are so noisy and inconsiderate that these guys couldn't stand it any more. A few years back I almost sold up and moved due to the tenants above me having parties all night. And yes, quite truthfully, certain nationalities are worse than others.

All I am saying is cut your Owners Corporate some slack. There are two sides to every story. It's a tough gig managing a strata block and generally a thankless one. Make sure you know what's going on in the general meetings and stay in touch with what your tenants are doing.
 
Sorry but I think you are all living or own in Body Corporates where you have pleasant people!!! I am currently living a nightmare with mine. The person who has pushed himself into the Secretary role is a power hungry person and is making every renter's life a misery!!!

Yesterday's episode was that the hose from the airconditioner was on the wrong side of the building should be going down the left hand I had it going down the shortest path on the righthand side and had painted the flexible hose to match the wall.

Today's episode...I am now back in Melbourne and received an email from my Property manager advising that the Secretary had phoned and demanded that the To Let sign be removed from my front window

I believe this is beyond his powers, hence my request for advice on Body Corporate Secretaries roles in Queensland.

Any link to documentation in queensland would be appreciated

Chris
 
I will just add that I have other units and am actively involved in the Body Corporate and we all work together very well. I have been Secretary, Chairperson and am always involved in the committees. What I and Timm are talking about is where Owners take the power over the top!!!

I understand that disruptive tenants can be very annoying. While I was in Cairns the super dooper block opposite had a unit let to a group of Uni Students who thought it was a good idea to party from 10 pm until 7 am.

After my first 2 nights back at Cairns I rang the Property Manager and told her I was a very grumpy old woman who had been without sleep for 2 nights, if they continued again that night I was phoning the Police. That night there was such silence it was deafening.

The others living in the units where I own said the minute I came back to Melbourne the parties started again. I was home for 2 weeks then went back and the parties stopped again!! :D

Chris
 
Thanks for the responses

Altitude, We informed the tennants and asked if they received notification, but they said they hadn't (which I suspect may not be the case)
This is the only property we self manage because it is so close to home.
Yes there is wording in the contract but it very ambiguous.
it states: " member must not, and must ensure that the occupier of a member's lot does not Park or leave a vehicle on the common property so as to obstruct a driveway or entrance to a lot or any place other than in a parking area specified for such a purpose by the body corporate" :confused:

Ricardo29, I believe you may be mistaken, The current body Corporate manger recently served papers on one of the owners for failing to pay their body corporate fees. Admittedly they were "well in arrears" and it is "a different issue", but it also shows that this person will possibly act when necessary.

Ani, I think I need the pills! OK,What costitutes a designated parking area?
there is ample room for vistor parking and that's where the second car is kept
This lady is trying to tell me our tennant can only have one car because nobody should be allowed to park in the visitors... 1 car garage, 1 car. Yet they is more than enough room for parking and access. A b*$dy truck would fit past the parked cars.
As far as the meetings go we do attend and have noted that not enough people attend, only 5 owners atended and there are 11 units.
Perhaps we should source the owners who have tennants and write a letter requesting they attend or let us act as their proxy vote for the next meeting regarding this matter... doesn't the majority Rule in this case?

Goddessk I can appreciate problem tenants and know all to well of similiar tennants that Chrispy has experienced with noise control.
You may think that being the owner I am biased, however my mother in law lives in the same complex and that was the reason for purchasing the unit in the first place as she was very ill at the time and we anticipated moving in ourselves. But we too would have Two cars!!! and be faced with this same dilemma.

Chrispy your troubles seem to be escalating, you certainly aren't the flavour in that block, Thank goodness everything is under better control elsewhere.
It seems that certain people get a bee in their bonnet and make it a persistant challenge to make you day full a grief, perhaps they haven't got anything better to do with their time. The particular person making it difficult for us is a retired person, so perhaps it's her form of entertainment.

Thanks or your replies thus far, I really appreciate it! ;)
Timm
 
I suspect that a designated parking area must be signposted as such- like "visitor parking". It's not enough that there is ample room.

It would probably be worth sourcing the other owners. Having a space for parking but not being designated is just one of your issues. But have your presentation to them well thought out, and checked by at least one other person. It's got to be simple and persuasive.
 
how long does it take, with a new OTP development for instance, for a body corporate to be setup, and will I receive notice about it ?
 
How do we find the owners?

geoffw said:
I suspect that a designated parking area must be signposted as such- like "visitor parking". It's not enough that there is ample room.

It would probably be worth sourcing the other owners. Having a space for parking but not being designated is just one of your issues. But have your presentation to them well thought out, and checked by at least one other person. It's got to be simple and persuasive.
Click to expand...


NO signage, Vistors parking or otherwise on the premises, Geoff.
Only noted in the body corporate rules.
Is it normal practice for the Body Corporate manager to disclose the owners of the units. I thought we may have trouble with the privacy laws etc.
Can they be sourced via council records?
 
B&M

Sorry, I'm not sure how to source, I've not had to do it. I would have thought that the BC books would be open to any owner- but I don't know.

It's a bit rough, not having any signange, to expect tenants to know and obey the rules. Tell them to put some signs up, the tenant will not have any reason to mispark. I've found tenants generally respectful of parking signs on a property- though they may need a gentle reminder from time to time..
 
Bricks & Mortar said:
Is it normal practice for the Body Corporate manager to disclose the owners of the units. I thought we may have trouble with the privacy laws etc.
Click to expand...

We've never had trouble sourcing owners details before. My strata manager has given them to me (the secretary) to provide to other owners when they have needed to contact the owner of a unit above them. I would have thought all owners have access to the other owners details however I could stand corrected!
 
Each Body Corporate I have been involved in has always sent out an updated Owners list to all owners each year. I thought this was standard practice.

My latest....the Secretary has taped newspaper over the To let sign as it was not removed within 2 hours.

Can anyone point me in the direction of Queensland Regs for Body corp??? pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeese

Chris
 
I really feel for you here chrispy. we have gone through 2 years of hell because of one #^*** in our strata group. finally she sold up and left.It was getting to the point the rest of us were going to sell up. She caused problems over everything, right down to the times that one owner was raking leaves.She turned the water off to all 8 units because she thought we were useing too much .We were all summonds to court by her at one stage but she with drew at a last minute. we ended up employing an ex strata lawyer to guide us through the mess.It was hell.Really turned us off strata title ips
I think your secratary is acting outside the strata law and has got a little bit to big for his/her boots.
If you cant put signs up it should be written in YOUR rules of strata.
You should have a list of all owners.
All l can say is good luck and dont let them bluff you
cheers yadreamin
 
names

Done a quick snoop around to discover that this parking issue will effect
6 rental owners as opposed to 5 owners/occupiers. (11 units on site)
The last Body Corporate meeting didn't have enough members attend to represent a chorum so maybe the next step is a letter drop asking for a proxy vote in regard to this matter from the members who's tennants will be equally effected.
I need to draft a letter and find these addressess
I dont like being confrontational, but I feel I'm being backed into a wall and believe being prepared before the next meeting or next attack might be the best option.

What you think?



Chris,
Did you explain to the secretary that the newspaper covering the window was not conducive to the unit colour scheme and as such should be removed, fancy if all units suddenly had newspapers decorating their windows, it would certainly bring the value down.

Serious though, I believe like us it's 'one individual' behind it all. It's probably time to find the best way to get back at the individual, befriending is the first line of attack, if that doesn't work find out what grievances everyone else has which might help your case.
Good Luck!


cheers

Timm
 
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