What are my Options for Outstanding Levies?
Recovering outstanding levies from difficult lot owners in the most cost and time effective matter is a constant battle for owners corporations.
Levy Recovery
Our Two Cents - Creditor fails to Obtain Bankruptcy Orders for Non-Payment of One Cent
In a Nutshell
His Honour Justice Street in the case of The Owners – Strata Plan No 18027 v Clarke [2015] FCCA 2185 (23 September 2015) has refused to make orders bankrupting an individual, Ms Clarke, for short payment of a bankruptcy notice by one cent. The creditor’s petition was dismissed with no order as to costs.
Not Their First Home: Investors Are Obtaining First Homebuyer Grants Through Complex Ownership Arrangements
Owners of multiple properties may be getting NSW’s first homeowner grant and stamp duty concession despite not qualifying for it, cheating the government out of taxpayer revenue.
"Going, going, gone?" Levies, Charges and Bankruptcy
An owners corporation needs money to run its affairs. It raises this money by levies imposed on lot owners in accordance with their respective lots’ unit entitlements. Common misconceptions are that a levy forms a charge on the lot and it gives the owners corporation priority over other creditors in the bankruptcy of a lot owner.
Levy Notices for Levy Recovery Actions
The NSW Court of Appeal’s decision in Chua v The Owners – Strata Plan No 40301 [2014] NSWCA 306 (27 August 2014) highlights the importance to a successful levy recovery of being able to prove that a strata manager sent a levy notice for a special levy to the lot owner.
Timing is Everything - Count the days to an AGM or you won't be Counting the Levies
In the decision The Owners - Strata Plan No 62022 v Sahade [2013] NSWSC 2002the Supreme Court agreed with the Local Court that a levy was not validly raised because the meeting was invalid as the notice period was one day short of what it should have been.