Can you challenge ongoing special levies in strata and seek a refund?

By admin,

We purchased a unit in April 2018 with special levies meant to finish in June 2020. The strata have continued to raise special levies and the quote agreed on in 2016 (apparently) has more than doubled.

I want this money back. I do not want the doors and windows replaced. My windows are in excellent condition and don't need replacing.

Must strata special levy funds be used for their intended purpose?

By admin,

Our strata raised a special levy last year for $9,000 for painting. We all paid the special levy but it was used for other expenses. We have received another notice for us to pay a special levy for painting, this time for $15,000.

I contacted our strata manager and raised my concerns requesting that this special levy be used for painting. They've responded that they can not guarantee that no as other expenses may arise. Is this legal?

Is a special levy approved by ordinary resolution and can a poll be called?

By admin,

I live in a 4 unit strata property. An engineer's report has indicated we require significant work to replace our roof and façade features. Due to age and condition, there are also concerns over continued degradation and safety as well. We have shingles, tiles and wooden frame sections gradually falling off onto pedestrian areas.

There’s not enough money in the capital works fund, so we need to raise a special levy.

Can you take legal action if a strata owner is on a payment plan but still in arrears?

By admin,

We have one owner in our small strata block of six that has consistently been in arrears for over 18 months. The owner makes small monthly contributions but is always 6 months + behind. They get charged the standard 10% interest on the overdue amounts.

Our Strata Manager has indicated there's not much he can do if the owner is adhering to the payment plan. Is this correct or are there other options to recover the overdue levies faster?

Are you unfinancial on a strata payment plan and unable to vote?

By admin,

I'm a pensioner living in an over 55 complex. Due to money restraints, I've made arrangements to pay my levies by instalments each month.

At a recent general meeting I was unable to vote because my next instalment was not due at the date of the general meeting.

Should I have been able to vote bearing in mind the Strata Manager, presumably with the consent of the Owners Corporation, approved the levy payment agreement?

Can an owners corporation be penalised for not collecting strata levies?

By admin,

The owners corporation did not renew our strata management contract due to the cost of the service. This has caused us to fall behind in our levy collections and therefore, our capital works funds. Can the OC be fined for not enforcing the collection of levies?

To catch up, each owner needs to pay over $2000. Some owners wishing to sell are concerned they will be liable due to our low capital works fund account.

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