Question: Our strata company levied $7,500 for waterproofing works with only 30 days to pay and no prior warning, despite knowing the cost for nearly 12 months. Is this legal?
At a recent meeting, the strata company informed owners that some balconies in the complex need waterproofing work. The total cost is approximately $220,000, and our lot’s share is $7,500. A levy notice followed shortly after, requiring payment in full within 30 days.
The strata company had been getting quotes and discussing this work for nearly 12 months. They knew last year the cost would be around $200,000, yet they did not inform owners until the meeting. The works themselves are not scheduled until October, but the money is due by the end of June.
Is there a minimum notice period required before large special levies are due?
Answer: 30 days is legally sufficient for a special levy in WA. The legislation sets no minimum payment period based on the amount of the levy.
There is no minimum payment time period for a special levy to be due, once it has been passed at a duly convened meeting under the Strata Titles Act 1985 (WA) (the Act).
If the special levy was included on the notice of the meeting and the meeting was convened with the required notice period under the Act, the strata company can generally require payment within the timeframe approved at the meeting.
While a 30-day payment period for a levy of $7,500 may seem short, the legislation does not require a longer payment period based on the amount or size of the levy. It is also worth noting that there is generally a 14-day period after the due date before interest can be charged on unpaid levies.
The fact that the strata company had been discussing the works and obtaining quotes for some time does not, by itself, require owners to be notified before the matter is formally put to a meeting. The important issue is whether the levy was properly notified via a motion on notice and approved at a validly convened meeting.
The shorter payment timeframe may also reflect the urgency of the waterproofing works or the need to have funds available before contracts are entered into or deposits paid, even if the works are not scheduled to commence until October.
This post appears in Strata News #797.
Jamie Horner
Empire Estate Agents
E: JHorner@empireestateagents.com
P: (08) 9262 0400
The reply is wrong. The question does not specify what kind of meeting was in question. Budgets are made at an annual AGM, and the amount had to be approved by a resolution put to the strata company. An ordinary resolution is sufficient. – If the meeting was a general meeting and not an AGM, the budget was already approved at the previous AGM, and it could not be varied other than under provisions of s 6. If s 6(a)(i) did not apply, then the regulations provide that the maximum can be $500 per year. The question is not if 30 days is sufficient, but if there was a resolution made in compliance with the Act.
Thanks for your comments, Eliana. As Jamie states in her response above:
“The important issue is whether the levy was properly notified via a motion on notice and approved at a validly convened meeting.”