Should owners get costs back when repairs are delayed for years?

By Neziah,

I've lived through a dispute where the body corporate had independent expert advice on a structural problem for years before it acted. All that time, the cost and the risk sat with the owner, first to keep proving the problem was real, then to force any action at all.

Shouldn't the Act make cost recovery automatic in that situation, once it's shown the advice existed and wasn't acted on? Now, owners have to fight a second, separate battle to get their money back.

Could better communication have resulted in an approved sinking fund budget?

By Neziah,

We're a six-lot complex under the Standard Module. At our recent AGM, the motion to approve the sinking fund budget and raise levies was defeated, with three votes for and three against. The three owners who voted against didn't attend the meeting. They submitted their votes in writing beforehand.

Can the chair approve a plumber’s invoice for work on their own lot?

By Neziah,

Our chairperson engaged a plumber for a water leak on their own lot (Lot A). They approved payment of the invoice directly with the body corporate manager, without the rest of the committee knowing. I'm treasurer. The committee only found out a couple of months later.

Christopher Ng

By Neziah,

Christopher Ng is the Director of High Demand Electrical, a Sydney electrical contractor specialising in Level 2 electrical work, switchboard upgrades, consumer mains, EV charging, solar, battery systems and electrical defect rectification. Christopher is a Level 2 Accredited Service Provider, solar accredited technician and air conditioning technician. He works across residential, commercial and strata properties, with a strong focus on electrical safety, compliant infrastructure upgrades and practical solutions for owners, committees and strata managers.

Do you need a special fire extinguisher for an EV charger?

By Neziah,

An owner in our complex recently installed an EV charger for their vehicle, with the strata committee's approval. The owner paid for the charger in full, and it connects to their own electricity supply, not common property.

At our recent half-yearly fire assessment review, the assessors told us we must now install a dedicated F-500 Li-ion fire extinguisher. We asked the fire company and our strata managing agent which legislation requires this. Neither has responded.

Can we sue our strata manager for decades of maintenance neglected maintenance?

By Neziah,

Our 22-lot strata building hasn't had any waterproofing done on the roof since it was built forty years ago. We now need major rectification work costing $2,000,000, including treatment of concrete cancer.

We don't have a capital works fund plan in place, and on inspecting the records, we've discovered missing strata plan records.

I believe our strata managing agent, who has managed the building for 20 years, has failed in the management of our building. Can we sue them for failing to insist that the strata committee address the building's maintenance?

Can a member be removed from the strata committee for taking the owners corporation to NCAT?

By Neziah,

We are in an NCAT dispute over the owners corporation's failure to repair the common property. Concrete cancer is damaging the flooring in our unit, and the owners corporation hasn't made any repairs for nearly two years.

I hold a general position on our five-member strata committee. I joined at the AGM a year ago. At an upcoming general meeting, there is a motion to remove me from the strata committee because of a "conflict of interest". I presume the conflict is that we are taking the owners corporation to NCAT. Is this valid?

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