Question: Our committee has continuously voted against painting our 16 yr old building due to the cost. We don’t have sufficient money in the sinking fund. What do we do?
Our building is over 16 years old and it has not been repainted. The body corporate committee members have continuously voted against having the building repainted because of the high cost. They have also voted against increasing the body corporate levies, so the sinking fund does not have a sufficient balance to pay for painting. What do we do now?
Answer: You will need to get a majority of owners to agree to the works which means presenting proposals at a general meeting.
William Marquand, Tower Body Corporate:
The legislation states that a body corporate must maintain the common property in a good and structurally sound condition. This includes painting, so by implication, the work should be done.
If only life were that easy.
In reality, you will need to get a majority of owners to agree to the works which means presenting proposals for them at a general meeting.
One issue you raise here is that it seems to be the committee blocking the idea. Committees have a fair bit of power, but they are also restricted in their decision making and should be working in the interests of the body corporate. They don’t have a veto on issues like this.
As an owner, you can put forward motions to have the works done at a general meeting. These should be accompanied by quotes, although they aren’t always easy to obtain for an individual owner looking at a large project like this. Contact some relevant contractors to see what they think. If you struggle to arrange good quotes, maybe you could look at a motion that says that the committee must seek and present quotes.
You could also submit motions for the next committee meeting to prompt them toward further consideration – this at least keeps the item on the agenda so people can see how the committee are voting. A softer alternative would be to ask the committee to do a poll of owners to see if they would like the building to be painted. If enough people reply in the positive, it may give some impetus to the project. It’s a bit more extreme, but you could also write to owners yourself and ask them to contact the committee.
If you have a body corporate manager, you should contact them and see what they think is the best approach for your building. They should be able to guide you on the steps you can take and perhaps give you a link to a suitable contractor who can provide a quote.
If you can proceed the matter to a general meeting then owners will have the opportunity to vote on the proposal. If there are no funds, a special levy may be required.
If people vote no to the proposals then you could look at seeking an order against the body corporate for failing to meet its obligations. What would be the chances of success here? It would likely depend on the quality of your submission. It may also be an unpopular step with other owners. Still you have the right to protect your home and investment and when purchasing into a body corporate, all owners are signing up to adhere to the legislation. If that is not happening you may need to push for the outcome you seek.
Chris Irons, Strata Solve:
Will has very clearly highlighted the challenges you face here and they are challenges I think quite a few lot owners face. And you can understand it up to a point. Maintenance costs money, sometimes an awful lot of it, which owners have to fork out for.
The thing is, it’s not optional. One of the many points of difference between owning a lot in a community titles scheme and owning a free standing house is that in a house, you can choose to not maintain (or not be insured, as well as many other things), whereas in strata, you do not have a choice to not do those things. It matters not if the body corporate doesn’t have the funds, thinks it too costly or would prefer to defer. If the maintenance has to happen, the body corporate has to find the money for it, by hook or by crook (preferably not by crook).
Many cases confirm this. In this one, refer to paragraph 120, in the which the adjudicator states that in relation to the body corporate maintaining common property: “If funds do not exist, then the body corporate needs to explore options to raise them. This is not an excuse not to conduct necessary scheme maintenance and rectification work”.
This post appears in the April 2021 edition of The QLD Strata Magazine.
William Marquand Tower Body Corporate E: willmarquand@towerbodycorporate.com.au P: 07 5609 4924
Chris Irons Strata Solve E: chris@stratasolve.com.au P: 0419 805 898