If the lifts are out of order, should all residents have keys to access the fire exit doors from outside?

By admin,

I live in an apartment building that has two lifts. These lifts are used to access all levels of our building. If the lifts are out of order, the only way we can access our apartments and cars in the underground car park is through the fire exit doors.

Should we, as people that live in the building, have a key to access these fire exit doors from the outside coming into the building?

Can a lot owner refuse the owners corporation access to erect scaffolding in their courtyard?

By admin,

I own a townhouse that is tenanted. The OC want to erect scaffolding in my courtyard to repair the balcony in the unit above my townhouse. My tenant will lose access to the courtyard for approximately 1-2 weeks.

  1. Can I refuse access to the OC?
  2. If my tenants request a rental subsidy because they can’t access the courtyard, is the OC responsible for this shortfall?

The owners corporation has arranged repairs in my lot but won't keep me informed — shouldn't I be kept in the loop?

By admin,

My property is damaged. During the repair process, my strata’s contracted tradesperson and the strata manager do not keep me informed about what is being proposed. My strata manager insists that any information is the Committee’s business, not mine.

I was under the impression I owned my own home and had the right to know what was happening and when.

Should a body corporate educate residents on lithium-ion battery fire risks?

By admin,

How proactive should the building manager or body corporate committees be regarding educating, warning or banning the charging of devices such as computers, scooters or bike lithium-ion batteries in apartments by residents? Self-igniting batteries/chargers have caused serious fires. Could the building's fire insurance be at risk if pre-emptive action is not taken?

Is the owners corporation obliged to replace access keys one-for-one when switching from a master key to a fob system?

By admin,

Our strata committee is changing the main door and access to our building. We are moving from a master key system to an electronic fob system. This is a positive step as the door does need updating.

The previous keys were $50 a replacement key. Over the years, I've bought an additional three keys. The committee is refusing to either replace our master keys one for one or refund the money spent in the past on additional keys.

Is the owners corporation obliged to replace keys 1 for 1 when they make a change?

Scaffolding for building works has blocked all ramp and lift access to our complex for months — should the committee provide alternate access?

By admin,

We large complex of 162 units it is an older building. I have a new baby and there are only two ways to get to the front entrance of the building with a pram. All other ways involve stairs that I can't navigate on my own.

Structural work has required scaffolding and a small site office to be erected. These will be in place for 6-8 months. This temporary structure has blocked access to a ramp into the garage and a door to a lift. I am no longer able to easily leave the complex.

Can the strata committee refuse a second remote fob for a car space shared between two vehicles?

By admin,

Our strata committee recently installed a gate at our building's car park entrance. Each lot was issued one remote, as there is one car space per lot.

We asked the strata committee if we could pay for a second remote. We have two vehicles, and the space is used by whoever gets home first. We park the other vehicle on the street.

Our strata committee refused to allow a second fob since we only have one car space. A single remote would require pre-planning and does not consider that we work different schedules and access the car space at different times.

Insurers position on e-bike and electric scooter battery fire risks in strata

By admin,

We are hearing about more fires from E-bike and E-scooter batteries. Should the body corporate have a ruling in place? I have raised this question with the chairperson of our body corporate but have not received a reply other than that they will look into it.

What position have insurance companies taken? Would they deny any claim due to fire until legislation covers this area?