Levies are generally pretty fair:  the more valuable your apartment, roughly, the more you pay  … unless the developer decided selling premium apartments was easier with lower levies attached.

QUESTION: I have just discovered that that I am paying significantly higher strata fees than other units in the block the same size as mine, and even some with more rooms than mine.

I am paying around $150 extra per quarter and have been overpaying for the whole time I have lived here. Identical units directly below me are also paying these higher fees.

Our strata manager says I can bring this up at the annual general meeting but it will take a unanimous vote to approve the changes.  Otherwise I will need to take legal action.

Isn’t the owners corporation obliged to have these unit entitlements reviewed and corrected? – Baffled of Beecroft

ANSWER: In a word, no.  And this problem is more common that you might think. Developers often give their more expensive apartments and commercial units lower Unit Entitlements (the basis on which levies are calculated) to make them more saleable.

It’s true that you can alter them with a unanimous vote but that’s asking turkeys to vote for Christmas as those paying too little would have to pay more.

However, the Consumer Trader and Tenancy Tribunal can correct this but it will need cast-iron documented evidence that the allocation wasn’t fair.

Ask your strata manager to recommend a couple of specialist strata surveyors who could run this case for you and invite the other owners affected to share the cost of this action (since they will be sharing the benefits).  If you win, the CTTT can even order the developer who established the skewed levies to repay owners the excess money they have paid over the years.

And why not ask your Owners Corporation to fund the case – all that takes is a simple majority – not a unanimous vote -  and it could be in the interests of all but a fortunate few.

Please email your questions to mail@flat-chat.com.au.

QUESTION: What do I need to be aware of if planning to rent out an apartment as a short term rental? I am thinking of purchasing a unit for partial personal use, and partial short term rental for tourists. Would I be in conflict with strata or other laws? – Shorty, Sydney

ANSWER: Many apartment blocks don’t allow short-term rentals because they are unfair on long-term residents, including both owners and tenants.

Local councils may get involved if the short-term lets contravene their planning regulations and residents can (and often do) fight short-term lets through  Fair Trading.

There are many buildings in the city where rogue short-term lets have been operating but residents are fighting to have them stopped.  You don’t want to buy into that fight because you will lose, one way or another, and could find you either can’t let out the apartment or can’t use it whenever you want to.

However, there is a legitimate need for short-term lets in the city and you should look for buildings where the by-laws and planning laws permit them.

So check the by-laws and planning consents before you buy an apartment and you’ll save yourself and your prospective neighbours a lot of grief.

Send your questions to rentals@flat-chat.com.au.

They need no training in, knowledge of or even interest in the law that governs their actions, yet they are controlling budgets that can run to several million dollars per year.   They can range from committed, community-minded professionals to a collection of clowns, crackpots, despots and busybodies.

These are the executive committees of Australia.

Let’s not be too harsh.  They might be wise and willing retirees or overworked executives and self-employed business people giving up their truly precious time. Or they could be hopeless has-beens, unemployed if not unemployable, or selfish investors trying to make sure their dodgy dealings are never challenged.

Whoever they are and whatever their motives, they are in charge of billions of dollars of our money and have a profound effect on the value of our homes and the quality of our lives. And many of them don’t have a clue what they’re doing.

You can’t force people to take strata courses but what if you paid an expert in strata law and conflict resolution to sit  in on meetings and provide wise counsel as well as a minute-taking and book-keeping service?

Strata managers could do it but many are reluctant to offer advice on what could or should be done (rather than what can and can’t be done) because that’s not really their remit and it’s a legal minefield.

And it wouldn’t be cheap. A competent qualified person with secretarial and book-keeping backup might charge $200 to $300 an hour.  For a three to four hour meeting once a month, that adds up to around $10,000 a year.

$10,000 a year for someone to do what Mrs McNulty will do for free between her pilates class and Meals On Wheels run?  Hey, $10K is nothing when one ill-informed decision can see you dragged through court by disgruntled owners.

As strata blocks multiply and get bigger, expect to see more professional EC consultants offering their services.  But, I hasten to add, not this little black duck.

Email your questions to mail@flat-chat.com.au.

QUESTION:  I have been renting my apartment for five years from people who left me alone and never put the rent up. However, they recently got a managing agent who’s sent me a notice  telling me my rent is going up by about 20 percent.

I know I’ve had an easy run without any rises but 20 percent is too much.  Surely this is illegal. Who do I call to get them to back off?  – Skipper, Bondi

ANSWER:  You’re right about having had a good run with no rises all those years but your landlord is entitled to raise the rent now – the question is, by how much.

This isn’t really a case of the size of the rise but whether or not the rent is fair.

The landlord can’t raise the rent to make up for all the money they didn’t collect for the past few years.  In fact, you can challenge any rent rise that takes it above the current market figure for a similar apartment in your area (call Fair Trading on 13 32 20).

The landlord has to give you 60 days notice and you have 30 days in which to appeal.

So, if you look around and find that the new rent is in fact reasonable, then the best thing you can do is politely ask them to raise it in stages to give you a chance to adjust your domestic budgets.

Email your questions to rentals@flat-chat.com.au or log on to www.flat-chat.com.au to comment on this and previous columns.

It’s not often you get rewarded for speaking your mind but the City Futures Research Centre at the University of NSW is offering $250 Coles Myer gift cards to four lucky participants in their latest survey.

As part of a two-year research project into how strata schemes are run, they are inviting members of executive committees to fill in a survey and be part of a prize draw*. Follow the web link at cityfutures.net.au.

GREEN BLOCKS

Willoughby City Council’s ClimateClever Apartments scheme is offering three grants on a dollar for dollar matching basis for energy reduction projects.

Applications from owners corporations of strata blocks of more than 10 units in the Willoughby local government area will be accepted until Thursday, September 30. There’s also one grant of up to $10,000 for the installation of a solar power system on an apartment building.

For application forms log on to willoughby.nsw.gov.au or phone Willoughby City Council on 9777 1000.

RADIO FLAT CHAT

Jimmy Thomson will be answering your questions live on James Valentine’s afternoon radio show at 2pm on Tuesday 24th.  Renters Rant will be back next week – email your questions to rentals@flat-chat.com.au.

*NSW permit number LTPS/10/00291

The most common complaint about small apartment blocks is that nothing ever gets done.  Then along comes somebody who’s determined to shake things up … whether they are allowed to or not.

QUESTION: Our four-apartment block has been trundling along OK but two new people have bought in and one of them is taking over, as well as making big changes without notice or permission.

He’s taken out walls, removed the ceiling to use the loft area,  ripped up carpets and polished floorboards (against our by-laws).  Now he and the other new owner below him say they want to sack our strata manager and self-manage and he’s demanded the vacant position on the two-person Executive Committee.

It’s two votes against two so can he just do that?  And is self management the way to go? – Shaken, Randwick

ANSWER: Before he’s even moved in your new neighbour has broken a couple of State strata laws, a council planning law and a handful of your own by-laws.

He can’t change floors, walls and ceilings without Owners Corporation permission, he can’t renovate his apartment without giving notice, he can’t alter the structure of the building without council permission, he can’t rip up carpets in defiance of by-laws and he can’t just “acquire” common property loft space.

The by-law changes and special resolutions that he’d need require a 75 percent vote in favour.  He doesn’t even have a simple majority and he’ll have even less support when he starts stomping around on uncovered floors above his new best friend’s flat.

He should be talking to you guys about how he’s going to put things right.  Failing that he faces a raft of action and possible fines at the Consumer Trader And Tenancy Tribunal.

As for self-management and a seat on the EC, would you want this guy in charge of your building? It’s time he had a reality check and you could start by inviting a less aggressive neighbour to fill the EC vacancy.

Please email your questions to mail@flat-chat.com.au.

QUESTION:  I asked my letting agent for a new carpet because the current one is old and worn – I think it was the original one they put down when they built the place.

Now I’ve seen samples of the one recommended by the agent and it’s horrible rough industrial stuff like you’d put in commercial offices.  Can I make them put proper domestic carpeting in?

ANSWER:  The agents think they’re doing the landlord a favour by laying cheaper, longer-lasting carpet.  This happened to me once but I wouldn’t let them lay the new carpet and asked for a discount on the rent until a proper domestic carpet was laid.

The landlord  (once the agent got in touch with them) was happy to comply but the trade-off  was a new lease that incorporated a slight, albeit overdue, rent rise.

Ultimately it was a win for everyone. So just politely ask to be treated reasonably and if they refuse, let them know you will be contacting the owner and, if need be, Fair Trading (Tel 13 32 20).

Replacing domestic carpet with commercial carpet is a reduction in the value of the property and they should be prepared to lower the rent accordingly.

Send your rental questions to rentals@flat-chat.com.au

One of the longer-running sagas in this column a couple of years ago was about a selfish owner in a strata block who wanted to enclose their car space, meaning the person parking next to the space couldn’t open their car door.

Some clown at the Consumer Trader and Tenancy Tribunal had ruled that adjoining parking space owners had no right to open their car door if it crossed the white line between spaces and it took tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees over several years to sort out.

Unbelievably, it’s happened again.

QUESTION: One new owner in our building wants to enclose the car space next to mine. After their proposal was defeated  unanimously at our AGM last year,  they took us to the CTTT.

Despite the fact that adjoining car spaces will no longer comply with Australian Building Standards, a CTTT adjudicator has ruled in their favour, saying I have no right to use the adjoining air space to open my car door. This CTTT decision is contrary to three earlier cases on their own website.  Is there anything I can do?

ANSWER: Where do they get these clots? The decision is wrong for so many reasons and you can and should fight it.  For a start, you can ask for a re-hearing on the grounds that the decision was not fair and equitable.

Failing that, you can appeal to the District Court or even take it to the Supreme Court if you have the money and energy.  Either way, talk to an experienced strata lawyer about your options.

According to strata lawyer and advocate Stephen Goddard, this is all about Fair Trading and the CTTT preferring to support “property rights” rather than community responsibility.

The CTTT lacks any consistency in its rulings. And far from offering low-cost, user-friendly solutions to strata problems it’s all too often a lottery:  getting a logical decision depends on the luck of the adjudicator draw.

Take a look at “Send In The Clowns” for the previous story and meanwhile send your questions to mail@flat-chat.com.au.

QUESTION: My building has just passed a new by-law that says all tenants must have the written permission of their landlords before they can have a pet.  However it also says the Executive Committee can’t unreasonably refuse to give permission.

I think it’s unreasonable of them to ask me to get permission from the landlord when I didn’t need it before. I’m on a continuing tenancy but I’m worried that the landlord could use this to get me out of the apartment so they can put the rent up. Can I use the “unreasonable” clause as a way of not having to choose between my cat and my flat? – Mr Jinks, Kings Cross.

ANSWER: Are you sure you didn’t need permission from your landlord?  Most standard leases either forbid animals or have a clause restricting the animals you can have, subject to written permission. But if there was no such restriction on your lease, you could argue that it’s the equivalent of written permission (even if it’s because there’s nothing in writing).

Meanwhile, I’d be tempted to wait and see if there’s a complaint and argue your case then.  What the eye doesn’t see the heart doesn’t grieve.

Isn’t it odd how people will queue all night for the latest i-thingy, can’t wait to reveal their personal details on antisocial networking sites and can’ t bear to spend more than a minute not tweeting or emailing the inanities of life to their friends.

Yet, when it comes to apartment living and being part of the process that makes real decisions about their lives, they are stuck in the dark ages of paper and Post-it notes. Well, it’s time to get with the programme, all you apartment living tweeters and podders. You don’t have any excuse for being kept in the dark any longer.

Many strata managers are now offering individual websites for the buildings they manage.  If they don’t then you could set one up for  your own building, basically as an electronic noticeboard up front with access to sensitive material restricted to registered owners.

Strata managers StrataChoice are involved in building a website called Stratapedia which will give access to all sorts of strata news and information.  And, of course, our own Flat Chat website (www.flat-chat.com.au) is averaging about 1,000 visitors a week who actually read stuff, ask questions and respond.

Even more switched on is a new website StratamanageIT.com that marries our addiction to being online with our need to be part of the running of our own buildings. StratamanageIT, offers different levels of service from the freebie notice-board DIY version to the full-blown on-line agendas, minutes, finance and correspondence package all with a real live strata manager you can email with questions (if you are a client).

The problem, if you can call it that, is that the website offers total transparency to owners:  as well as seeing the quotes submitted for work, for instance, you can see who has complained about what and to whom. This is based on the somewhat radical (but apparently legal) idea that there is no such thing as private correspondence within an Owners Corporation.

It’s a brave new world of strata management … if you can handle the truth.

Email your questions to mail@flat-chat.com.au