Question: Can the committee require the building manager to take on additional maintenance tasks not covered by the caretaking agreement, and does this entitle them to extra pay?
Our complex gardens run on an automated watering system. The committee decided to plant new shrubs and introduce pot plants in locations that have never had plants and are not connected to the watering system, all without consulting the building manager.
Can the committee demand that the building manager spend 3 to 4 hours per week hand-watering these plants? Does this count as a variation of the caretaking agreement, and is additional remuneration required? If so, can the building manager claim that payment retrospectively?
Answer: In most cases, a change to common property does not constitute a variation of the agreement or entitle the building manager to extra pay.
This depends on the clauses within the caretaking agreement. Usually, there will be a duty to maintain gardens generally. That does not mean the duty is limited to maintaining only gardens that were in place at the beginning of the community titles scheme. New plants would need to be looked after as well.
Some agreements have clauses that allow for the remuneration to be adjusted, but this is not particularly common. In the absence of this mechanism, the building manager would not be able to insist on additional remuneration or claim retrospective payments.
A change to the common property does not amount to, or necessitate, a variation of the agreement.
This post appears in Strata News #790.
Todd Garsden
Mahoneys
E: tgarsden@mahoneys.com.au
P: 07 3007 3753
Leave a Reply