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Posted 22 November 2016
Category: Strata, Meetings and Records
There are a range of documents which must be provided at least 48 hours before the first annual general meeting held on or after the new strata reforms begin on 30 November 2016.
The documents which must be provided by the original owner (as prescribed under S16 of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 and clauses 6 and 29 of the Strata Schemes Management Regulation) are:
The initial maintenance schedule must also be provided, and must include maintenance and inspection schedules for:
These items also must be attached to the maintenance schedule:
If the above documents are not provided, the original owner faces a potential penalty of up to $11,000 and/or orders to produce those records.
Is there an obligation to ‘create’ a document if it is not in existence?
S16 (2) of the SSMA 2015 requires an original owner to deliver a thing ‘if that thing is in the possession or control of the original owner or lessor, or may be obtained by the lessor by taking reasonable steps to do so’.
S16 (3) of the SSMA 2015 provides that an original owner is not required to deliver any documents that ‘exclusively evidence rights or obligations of the original owner or lessor and that are not capable of being used for the benefit of the owners corporation or any of the other owners’.
If the document can be created ‘by taking reasonable steps’, the original owner should do so. In the case of a depreciation schedule, a cautionary approach would be to create the schedule with regards to both lot and common property.
Some further interesting points which arise about the Initial Maintenance Schedule, are:
Publication: Real Estate Institute NSW
Section: Online News
***The information contained in this article is general information only and not legal advice. The currency, accuracy and completeness of this article (and its contents) should be checked by obtaining independent legal advice before you take any action or otherwise rely upon its contents in any way.