Agency Agreements Expiry Deadline - 29 May 2017
Many agency agreements are due to expire on 29 May 2017 due to the operation of Section 50(1) and clause 14(1) of Schedule 3 of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015.
Many agency agreements are due to expire on 29 May 2017 due to the operation of Section 50(1) and clause 14(1) of Schedule 3 of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015.
The majority of strata schemes across the country have builder managers, caretakers and strata managers in place to assist the owners corporation in managing and maintaining common property. Under legislation, these management companies are required to be appointed by a written instrument, normally a written agreement, which can have a maximum term of 10 years.
The new strata laws have made significant changes to the appointment and role of strata managing agents.
Lifts and escalator refurbishments and upgrades are amongst the largest items of expenditure that owners in strata schemes commission. Yet such works are excluded from the consumer protection provisions of the Home Building Act (NSW) 1989. This requires strata managers and executive committees to be particularly vigilant to protect the owners’ interests when entering into lift contracts. Because such work is inevitably expensive it is tempting to be lured into false ‘upfront’ economies at the risk of incurring more serious costs later on.
A number of legal and practical issues arise when one proposes to acquire a strata management agency business and wishes to obtain the full benefit of the business acquired.
Introduction
In a democracy, majority rules even if those decisions are bad. If you are in the minority, there is not much you can do until the next election (or annual general meeting) at which time you may try to become the majority.
Strata managing agents provide a broad range of services to their owners corporation clients, ranging from accounting and other administration to property repairs and maintenance. This frequently necessitates involvement in highly specialist areas, such as work health and safety and occupiers liability compliance, maintenance to parts of the building containing asbestos contaminated materials and building defects litigation and remedial works.
Management rights issues
There have been a lot of enquiries about community associations and strata schemes being dissatisfied with caretaking/building management rights arrangements put in place by the developer and what the association or scheme can do about these arrangements.
Building Management Agreements