• Read more about Repeated Circuit Breaker Trips and Garage Door Access: Strata Safety and Electrical Compliance Issues
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An Electricity Meter Room in our building houses breaker switches for each unit’s locked-up garage roller doors. For the 12 doors, two breaker switches each cover six doors. When one switch trips due to, perhaps, overload, six garage doors cannot be opened with a remote. Some of the EC Members had keys to the Electricity Meter Room, and a member would enter the room and flip the switch.

• Read more about When Common Property Upgrades Create Safety Risks: Dealing With Slip Hazards and Owners Corporation Inaction
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A common property deck within our lot must be replaced because it is in a Flame Zone, and no combustible material is allowed. The owners corporation has gone for the cheapest quote. The new fibre cement decking surface is a slip hazard when wet.

At AGM, I asked what would be done about the safety concern. The strata manager and owners corporation said they would address the issues once the deck was built. As the strata manager and owners corporation are not listening, who do I talk to?

• Read more about What Happens When a Strata Vote Is Tied? Resolving Critical Safety Issues Like Asbestos Reports
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Our 100-year-old self-managed strata has four units. Two owners suspect bonded asbestos might be present. Despite the information provided, the other two owners refuse an inspection, citing the lack of legal requirements. What can we do when the vote is tied on such a critical issue?

• Read more about Do Current Strata Owners Need to Fund Future Roof Replacement? Capital Works Planning Obligations Explained
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I am a strata owner and secretary of a small three lot strata plan for over 50s on Sydney's northern beaches. Our buildings are 21 yr old two-story townhouses with an expected life of 40 - 60 years. All three resident owners are over 70.

• Read more about Strata Liability for Visitor Parking Risks: Heritage Trees, Safety Obligations and Insurance Considerations
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When our strata was being developed in the 1980s, the developers put a paved visitor parking space right next to a 200-year-old red gum. It's a heritage tree so it can't be removed. If visitors park under the tree, they risk car damage if the tree drops a branch.

Are strata liable if we fail to move the car park? We can and should we move the visitor parking space to a safer spot?

• Read more about Fidelity Guarantee Insurance for South Australian Strata Corporations: When Is It Required and What Does It Cover?
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• Read more about Can a Strata Committee Switch Off Ventilation Systems if It Causes the Building to Breach Australian Standards?
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The strata committee chair has decided to switch off the fans that form part of the ventilation system for both the garage and the residential floors. Their view is that this will save electricity.

The air conditioning firm manager contacted me last week to inform and say that as a result of this economy the building falls below the Australian Standards. The committee dismisses this view. Is this a local council issue? Can a building be forced to comply with the relevant Australian standard?

• Read more about Who Is Responsible for Ventilation Compliance in Apartments That Don’t Meet Current Building Standards?
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If an apartment doesn’t meet the requirements for ventilation (BCA), is it mandatory to comply? If so, is this the responsibility of the lot owner or the strata?

Our building was built around 1940 and has been converted, possibly from a woolshed. The conversion may have been done around 2000. Over the years, there have been a number of changes such as entrances being moved and doors and windows being sealed. These changes have resulted in no opening windows and we are unable to create cross-flows of air.

• Read more about Is a Committee’s Blanket Ban on Balcony Awnings or Sun Shades Unreasonable?
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I am on the committee of a fairly new Body Corporate in a Gold Coast high-rise. Several unit owners have asked permission from the committee to install some form of sun shade on their balconies. We have fairly large balconies, and unfortunately in the summer months it's unbearable to sit outside because of the sun blaring onto the balconies.

• Read more about Are ‘No Noise’ Conditions in Strata Pet By-Laws Unreasonable or Oppressive?
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Our strata bylaws have a pet with approval policy. We have been given approval subject to a separate list of conditions, one of which we feel is unreasonable and oppressive.

It states "The dog is not permitted to make noise or otherwise cause a nuisance, such that it interferes unreasonably with any person’s use or enjoyment of another Lot or common property".

We feel the first part of this statement regarding noise is oppressive, how is it possible for a dog to make no noise?