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Q & A: Problems and Solutions

  1. Our building is having a problem with a tenant who is noisy, abusive and leaves his rubbish outside his front door until he can be bothered to take it to the bins. Who do we call and what can we do?
  2. Our EC is about to ask the Owners Corporation to take the developers of our building to court to get them to fix defects we estimate are worth $1 million dollars. If we do so, what can we expect?
  3. I rent in a small strata block and my car space is frequently occupied by illegally parked cars. Apparently you can't get cars towed from common property and the owners' corporation won't do anything, probably because I'm a tenant. What can I do?
  4. We are very unhappy with our Strata Manager and want to get a new one. What's the best way to do this?
  5. I have just moved into a new apartment and my bedroom backs on to my neighbours'. They watch TV (loud) late at night and often finish off with extremely noisy sex. Is there anything I can do?
  6. I live in a low-rise building without lifts that's part of a larger development. Why should I have to pay for all the other buildings' lifts?
  7. I'm planning a serious makeover of my bathroom. Do I need the permission of the Owners Corporation?
  8. We keep getting complaints from our neighbours downstairs about the noise from our sliding doors on to our balcony. We have had them serviced but the complaints continue. We can also hear the noise from doors upstairs. Any suggestions?
  9. My neighbour has loud parties most weekends, refuses to turn the music down, even after midnight, and will spend hours saying goodnight to his guests in the lobby outside our door. He is very aggressive when we complain and, when we approached the body corporate about it, we were appalled to discover he is the chairman. Is there anything we can do?
  10. My building is beginning to look really tatty and I want to paint my own balcony and front door so people can see that I, at least, take some pride in my home. But the building is dominated by old dears who don't want to spend any money. Can I just go ahead and do it at my own expense?
  11. As the Owners Corporation did not have adequate sinking funds at the time of my shop renovation, I was forced to pay for essential common property repairs myself. Our OC has little money and simply stonewall on all important repairs. What can I do as I fear the problems in our building will get worse, including having active termites?
  12. I have moved into new apartments twice in the past four years and both times I suffered headaches and tiredness. I thought it was the stress of moving but someone told me I was suffering from “off-gassing”. What is it and should I be worried?
  13. The fluorescent lighting in the lifts makes us look green and ill. Is there a simple solution?
  14. We've been suffering loud music from roof parties at night times in the block of units next to ours. We contacted their strata manager but not much is happening and the Office of Fair Trading say, since we're not residents of that building, the only option left would be a civil action. What would you advise?
  15. We live in a complex of townhouses where the secretary of the EC runs the place to suit himself, vetoing decisions he doesn't like and excluding legitimate items from the agenda of the AGM. Most of the other residents are retired and just want a quiet life – what can we do?
  16. The owners of one unit in our small block want to install air conditioning but all the other owners are against this, owing to the noise. The owners making the request are solicitors and they threatened us with legal action, said they would refuse to attend arbitration and would take their case directly to the Land & Environment Court where we would lose (because they are lawyers) and it would cost us a fortune. Can they do this? Do we have to give in to their demands?
  17. Our Building Management and Strata Management contracts are both up for renewal. Our existing Strata Manager wants to do both jobs. Is there any reason to say no.
  18. We are a reasonably quiet block with a lot of professional people and early retirees living here but there is one apartment that is constantly being let out to anti-social misfits who make noise and cause trouble before they are eventually evicted. Is there anything we can do to make the Estate Agent more accountable?
  19. I live in an apartment which receives road and rail noise, and I'd like to reduce the noise coming in through the bedroom windows. I can't use double glazing because the body corporate won't agree to a change in the external appearance to the building. Are secondary windows the solution? Or are there other, better solutions?
  20. How I would find information about pet-friendly apartment buildings in my area, so I could narrow down my search for my first apartment/home to buy.
  21. Recently the new owner of the unit above me renovated it without body corporate approval. Now that they have moved in incredible noise resonates through my unit and I am sure they have installed uninsulated wooden floors. The Executive Committee has written to them but they refuse to co-operate. What can I do? If legal action is necessary should I or the body corporate instigate it?
  22. New owners in our apartment block come home late at night and play loud music. They say they are allowed by law to make as much noise as they want until midnight and there's nothing we can do to stop them. Is this true?
  23. Who is responsible for repairs to the automatic opening/closing arm of fire rated entry doors to apartments? I am being told by the OC that it is the owner's responsibility as it is within the 'inside skin' of the apartment.
  24. I have a partially deaf elderly neighbour whose bedroom is next to mine. Recently she's developed insomnia and has taken to playing the radio and TV full blast at two or three in the morning. She's a dear old thing and I'm reluctant to complain. On the other hand, I wouldn't mind a few nights' sleep.

      25. 1. Our building is having a problem with a tenant who is noisy, abusive and leaves his rubbish outside his front door until he can be bothered to take it to the bins. Who do we call and what can we do?

       First of all, contact the apartment's owner and ask them to do something about it. Meanwhile you need to establish at an Executive Committee meeting that there is a problem and then (and only then) you can issue a breach notice. If the tenant doesn't comply, the next step is to apply for mediation at the Office of Fair Trading (133 220). If they don't toe the line you can apply for an adjudication at the Consumer Traders and Tenancies Tribunal. And if they still won't play ball, you can apply for a full hearing after which they may be fined between $550 and $5500. Meanwhile, three or more months of your life has evaporated and you can bet this tenant hasn't become any more easy to live with during this process. You can't help thinking this system would be quicker and more efficient if more politicians lived in apartments (or even cared about those of us who do).

      2. Our EC is about to ask the Owners Corporation to take the developers of our building to court to get them to fix defects we estimate are worth $1 million dollars. If we do so, what can we expect?

       Well, you can guarantee they won't give up that kind of money without a fight. If a recent case I heard about is anything to go by, they will delay and prevaricate as much as possible, hoping that you give up in frustration or that the members of the EC change and the new ones have no stomach for a fight. This part of the process can literally take years. When you get to court and the judge orders you to attempt mediation (as they usually do) some high-powered lawyer will try to scare you with threats of how much it might cost you if you continue, pointing out quite rightly that the developer has more money than you. If you don't give up at that point, they will try to claim that the defects are in fact problems caused by you and your neighbours. And if they finally do put an offer on the table, they will take an age to put it in writing, when it comes it won't be what was agreed and when you insist on them changing it, they will try to make it look like you are the ones being unreasonable. But hang in there. If you have a strong case the courts will back you up. It's just a shame that you have to go through all that crap in the first place. You would have hoped that the government would have made it easier for owners to get what's rightfully theirs in defects cases. But no. The last changes to strata law made it more difficult for ECs to push ahead with legal action. More to the point, how this government can tolerate a situation where home owners are expected to drag multi-million dollar corporations through the courts to merely get what they have paid for shows how fundamentally corrupt the relationship between Macquarie St and the developers is. With tens of thousands of new apartments planned for Sydney in the next 10 years, the Greens will be pushing for an independent defects assessor to decide on claims in the first instance.

      3. I rent in a small strata block and my car space is frequently occupied by illegally parked cars. Apparently you can't get cars towed from common property and the owners' corporation won't do anything, probably because I'm a tenant. What can I do?

       Write to your landlords, politely saying you are being denied the full use of the garage and unless they do something, you will have to ask for a rent reduction. The easiest solution, whether you are a tenant or owner, is to install a lockable pop-up bollard (at the owners expense). Keep it polite and civil but if they refuse or delay taking action, go to the rents tribunal (Tel: 1800 451 301) or the Tenants Union (02 9251 6590). And don't be too hard on the EC members. Illegal parking is a problem all over NSW because the State Government left strata owners to fend for themselves when they couldn't tell the difference between bikie tow truck drivers running car clamping scams and apartment owners trying to maintain some order in their buildings. Incidents of “Parking Rage” are on the increase and it's only a matter of time before something horrible happens. Parking is one of the most pernicious issues that undermine a sense of community in strata buildings. If they government did their job it wouldn't be a problem so just remember who's really to blame.

      4. We are very unhappy with our Strata Manager and want to get a new one. What's the best way to do this?

       The easiest way to start is to log on to the Institute of Strata Titles Managers (www.istm.org.au) click on the "Find a Strata Manager" button and punch in your post code. You'll get a list of strata managers who are based in or cover your area. There are strata managers who aren't part of the ISTM but you probably don't want to even know them. Then you want to match the size of your building with the size of the strata management company. If you are a small building, you MIGHT be better off with a small local company operating out of an estate agents. If you are a large building, then you may want one of the bigger firms like BCS or Dynamic that understand big building issues. Then call at least three of them up and ask them if they are interested in tendering for your business. If they say yes, tell them you want to meet the actual manager who will be dealing with your building (not just the boss - it will probably be the last time you see him or her). And you want two references (with phone numbers) from buildings that have been managed by that specific person. All Strata firms have good and bad managers in them - you don't want to be fobbed off with one of the bad ones. Then compile a short list and interview them along with your other office-bearers (but probably not the full committee). Then you can take a recommendation to the full EC once you've made a decision. One other thing: their contract may have a clause that says you give them permission to sell your business to another company at some future date. Insist on having that removed. They'll tell you that it's obligatory - it's not. In fact it's a very naughty way of getting round legislation specifically introduced to prevent big firms swallowing up smaller strata companies without their clients' OK. If they won't take it out, tell them you'll take your business elsewhere. If they want to sell your contract to another firm they can ask you when the situation arises.

      5. I have just moved into a new apartment and my bedroom backs on to my neighbours'. They watch TV (loud) late at night and often finish off with extremely noisy sex. Is there anything I can do?

       If you are in a brand new apartment, the clear lack of adequate noise insulation is probably a defect that the developers have to rectify at their expense. You should get your Owners Corporation's support in taking action against the developers. If it's an older apartment that's out of the defects period (currently a derisory six years), just one layer of special sound-reducing plasterboard added to your existing wall will make a huge difference. If that's not enough, there are companies who will build a false “acoustic” wall over the top of the existing one. Given that the noise issue is a two-way thing, your neighbours may be prepared to split the cost of cutting down the sound so they can enjoy their bedroom to the full without worrying who is listening in. This is an all-too common problem. Building standards in NSW are way behind the rest of the world, including New Zealand, because the developer lobby has managed to convince their “mates” in government that they won't be able to build “affordable housing” without lowering standards. Maybe if they poured less of their massive profits into Liberal and Labor coffers they could afford to build decent apartments.

      6. I live in a low-rise building without lifts that's part of a larger development. Why should I have to pay for all the other buildings' lifts?

       You have to pay a share of all the cost of maintaining all the facilities within your strata or community plan. You may be able to cut that cost, however, by challenging how the unit entitlements in the complex have been allocated. But it's a tough process and you'll probably have to engage a strata lawyer, so make sure your low-rise neighbours are with you to share the burden.

      7. I'm planning a serious makeover of my bathroom. Do I need the permission of the Owners Corporation?

       Definitely, especially if the work involves changes to common property, knocking down walls or changing floor coverings (like tiles, for instance). And, of course, you may also need approval from the local council, especially if you're altering load-bearing walls. Even if your work doesn't affect the common property, you will probably need permission to carry building materials and rubble through common property and up and down in lifts. In exchange for their permission, your EC might restrict the times of day when tradesmen can work. Get them onside with the plan and gently remind them that some day they may be looking for your OK to do their renovations.

      8. We keep getting complaints from our neighbours downstairs about the noise from our sliding doors on to our balcony. We have had them serviced but the complaints continue. We can also hear the noise from doors upstairs. Any suggestions?

       Your sliding doors, serviced or not, may well have passed their use-by date. Modern sliding doors will be lighter and quieter and probably may come under common property. If so, they are an owners' corporation issue. If your building has enough money in its sinking fund, get quotes on how much it would cost to replace everyone's doors.

      9. My neighbour has loud parties most weekends, refuses to turn the music down, even after midnight, and will spend hours saying goodnight to his guests in the lobby outside our door. He is very aggressive when we complain and, when we approached the body corporate about it, we were appalled to discover he is the chairman. Is there anything we can do?

       Obviously the bylaws of your building will prohibit that kind of behaviour but that's not much use if the chairman is flouting his own rules. For a start, you should be calling the police whenever there's excessive noise after midnight. Then write to the Executive Committee, with a copy to the Office of Fair Trading, outlining each breach as it occurs. These letters must be minuted by the EC and retained for public inspection. If they're not it means your Executive Committee is in breach of Strata Law. In an extreme case a CTTT adjudicator can order that the running of the building be taken over by a manager appointed by a Consumer trades and Tenancies Tribunal. Meanwhile you could mount an aggressive campaign to have the chairman ousted at your next AGM. You will need the support of your neighbours and other owners but surely you aren't the only person suffering because of this person's behaviour. But be warned – a lot of people automatically give their proxies to the chairman of an EC so you may have to do some leg work to get their support.

      10. My building is beginning to look really tatty and I want to paint my own balcony and front door so people can see that I, at least, take some pride in my home. But the building is dominated by old dears who don't want to spend any money. Can I just go ahead and do it at my own expense?

       If your balcony is common property, not really. The same applies to the outside of your front door. But you could take a punt and make yours look better by giving them a fresh coat of the same coloured paint. One of the few smart moves the government has made in strata law recently has been to insist that buildings have a sinking fund plan to cover wear and tear just as you describe. However, they haven't insisted that these plans be assessed professionally so you're still going to get buildings that put little or nothing into their “rainy day” funds and leave the problems to the next guy. Ironically some of the buildings that do have good sinking funds are dominated by “little old ladies” who don't want to spend any of it. Gentle persuasion may be the way to get them to release a few bucks and raise the value of everyone's apartments and not just yours.

      11. As the Owners Corporation did not have adequate sinking funds at the time of my shop renovation, I was forced to pay for essential common property repairs myself. Our OC has little money and simply stonewall on all important repairs. What can I do as I fear the problems in our building will get worse, including having active termites?

       Yours sounds like a clear case for calling the NSW Office Of Fair Trading (Tel 13 32 20) and asking for a legally binding mediation on the imposition of a special levy as well as directing more money into the sinking fund. The O.C. has a legal obligation to maintain the building and they can face hefty fines if they ignore orders to do so.

      12. I have moved into new apartments twice in the past four years and both times I suffered headaches and tiredness. I thought it was the stress of moving but someone told me I was suffering from “off-gassing”. What is it and should I be worried?

       Off-gassing is the residual fumes from lacquers, paints, sealants and glues that you often get in brand new apartments. If you react badly to fresh paint on one wall, imagine what happens when every surface, joint or seal is giving off fumes at the same time. The solution is ventilation and lots of it which is why the biggest problems tend to be in air conditioned apartments where the fumes are just recycled back into the rooms. So make sure your apartment has been well ventilated before you take possession.

      13. The fluorescent lighting in the lifts makes us look green and ill. Is there a simple solution?

       Apparently, it's common to find the cheapest possible fluoros fitted in new buildings (incredible but true). And, yes, they do give everyone a greenish tinge. Get your executive committee to invest in tungsten tubes or, at least, lights with a higher colouring index of 90+. Suddenly everyone will look (and probably feel) a lot better in the morning.

      14. We've been suffering loud music from roof parties at night times in the block of units next to ours. We contacted their strata manager but not much is happening and the Office of Fair Trading say, since we're not residents of that building, the only option left would be a civil action. What would you advise?

       Firstly, NSW State law forbids anyone using any musical instrument or amplifier that “emits noise that can be heard within a habitable room in any other residential premises between midnight and 8 am on any day ...” The penalty (in NSW) is a maximum fine of $5,500. Your local council may have even more stringent noise restrictions in place. So call them and your nearest police station and ask for their advice. And there must be residents in the offending building who are suffering too. Get them on board and the problem could disappear very quickly.

      15. We live in a complex of townhouses where the secretary of the EC runs the place to suit himself, vetoing decisions he doesn't like and excluding legitimate items from the agenda of the AGM. Most of the other residents are retired and just want a quiet life – what can we do?

       The NSW Consumers Traders and Tenancy Tribunal can suspend the Owners Corporation and appoint a manager in cases where an OC is not functioning properly. Log into www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/realestaterenting/strata.html or call 13 32 20 and ask them what the first step should be.

      16. The owners of one unit in our small block want to install air conditioning but all the other owners are against this, owing to the noise. The owners making the request are solicitors and they threatened us with legal action, said they would refuse to attend arbitration and would take their case directly to the Land & Environment Court where we would lose (because they are lawyers) and it would cost us a fortune. Can they do this? Do we have to give in to their demands?

       Jeez – Lawyers! You can't live with them and you can't string them up from lamp posts. This is out and out bullying, and you have to fight it. More often than not people who threaten legal action are bluffing and lawyers who indulge in this sort of tactic should be reported to their employers and to the Law Society – see how they react to that threat. Meanwhile document all correspondence. Then ask for mediation of your own through the government department. If they refuse to go, it looks bad for them in court. If they do go, demand to know what steps they will take to eradicate all noise and/or visual intrusion. Make sure that any decision is binding on them (as it will be on yourselves) so that they can't renege on their commitments. If they refuse mediation, tell them that you will be employing hot-shot strata lawyers to defend your position and that you will also be pursuing them for all costs. There are many good and decent lawyers around – get them on your side because this kind of tactics annoys them even more than it annoys the rest of us.

      17. Our Building Management and Strata Management contracts are both up for renewal. Our existing Strata Manager wants to do both jobs. Is there any reason to say no.

       I would keep the two separate, especially in a large building where you need all the checks and balances you can muster. While you may sign a dual contract with a firm that's efficient and friendly now, you can't guarantee that will always be the case, especially if the company is taken over by one of the bigger players and one or other of the services is not provided properly.

      18. We are a reasonably quiet block with a lot of professional people and early retirees living here but there is one apartment that is constantly being let out to anti-social misfits who make noise and cause trouble before they are eventually evicted. Is there anything we can do to make the Estate Agent more accountable?

       The short answer is no (well, not easily, anyway). But I would get the secretary of the Owners Corporation to write to the agent concerned and ask them why it hasn't yet dawned on them that your block will not tolerate bad behaviour by their tenants. I would also make it clear to the agent that every time there is a problem with this apartment their name and address is minuted at an executive committee meeting and those minutes are sent to all owners. Meanwhile, I'd be pursuing the owner vigorously through the Office of Fair Trading in the hope that it might persuade them to change agents. In the longer term, I would send every estate agent in your area a letter saying you welcome tenants who respect the bylaws and the general “vibe” of the building, you will act quickly and decisively to remove tenants who break the rules and interfere with other residents peaceful enjoyment of their property.

      19. I live in an apartment which receives road and rail noise, and I'd like to reduce the noise coming in through the bedroom windows. I can't use double glazing because the body corporate won't agree to a change in the external appearance to the building. Are secondary windows the solution? Or are there other, better solutions?

       You have three basic options. Firstly you may be able to find a window manufacturer who will fit windows that perform better acoustically (they have thicker glass in a three layer 'sandwich', plus better seals) but still look exactly like your existing windows. It works although not as well as double glazing would have. Alternatively, as you mentioned, a very effective method is to install a secondary window inside the existing one, creating a double glazed effect (although you pretty much lose your window sills). Check out www.soundbarrier.com.au. Another compromise solution is to get windows that fit over your existing frames and are attached by magnets. This is effective although it's more of a hassle, as the whole insulating window has to be unclipped and removed to open the existing windows. Have a look on www.magnetite.com.au. for more information.

      20. How I would find information about pet-friendly apartment buildings in my area, so I could narrow down my search for my first apartment/home to buy.

       Contact estate agents in the area in which you want to live. They will (or should) know which buildings are pet friendly and which aren't. Also, some buildings have their own websites so if there's one you particularly fancy, see if they're on the internet. But double check with the Owners Corporation or Strata manager before you buy or rent. Once you move in, it's too late to discover the estate agent has sold you a pup.

      21. Recently the new owner of the unit above me renovated it without body corporate approval. Now that they have moved in incredible noise resonates through my unit and I am sure they have installed uninsulated wooden floors. The Executive Committee has written to them but they refuse to co-operate. What can I do? If legal action is necessary should I or the body corporate instigate it?

       Basically, the Executive Committee should pursue this vigorously through the Office of Fair Trading. They need to fill in a form which you can get through their website www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/realestaterenting/strata.html and then seek a mediation with the owner concerned. There are basic by-laws that pertain to strata units in NSW which state that new or renovated floors must be properly insulated. Floor boards must have either approved insulation underneath or carpet on top. There will also almost certainly be by-laws for your building that don't allow this owner to go ahead and make changes without Executive Committee approval. So you have the law and by-laws firmly on your side but it may shorten your agony to let the upstairs neighbour know – possibly through a well-worded letter from the Strata Manager – that they should check their obligations under strata laws before they get involved in a lengthy and, for them, expensive campaign which will have the same end result anyway.

      22. New owners in our apartment block come home late at night and play loud music. They say they are allowed by law to make as much noise as they want until midnight and there's nothing we can do to stop them. Is this true?

       One of the great myths of apartment living is that there is a State law that supersedes strata laws and allows people to make their neighbours' lives Hell with their stupid music up till midnight. Not so. In fact, the State Law only applies even stricter penalties to those that are almost certainly already there in your by-laws, forbidding anyone from interfering with the “peaceful enjoyment” of another resident's lot. That means that all day, every day, a reasonable amount of peace and quiet is yours by right and noisy neighbours can be reported to your building's Executive Committee, with persistent offenders facing fines of up to $5500 from the CTTT (in NSW). The “midnight” myth stems from State laws, additional to your by-laws, that says people in NSW can't annoy their neighbours with excessively loud music between midnight and 7am on weeknights (or 8am on weekends and public holidays). In Victoria it's midnight to 8am every day. That's when Police and/or Council officers get involved with penalties ranging from $200 on-the spot fines to “failure to comply” charges that could cost up to $3300 as well as lead to the confiscation of equipment.

      23. Who is responsible for repairs to the automatic opening/closing arm of fire rated entry doors to apartments? I am being told by the OC that it is the owner's responsibility as it is within the 'inside skin' of the apartment.

      When it comes to external doors the strata laws are unequivocal and your Executive Committee is wrong. The Office of Fair Trading's Strata Living document says external walls which “includes any door, window or other structure within the wall and their working parts” are included as part of common property. The strata laws also state that the Owners Corporation must look after and do all repairs including “replacing and renewing common property when needed”.

      24. I have a partially deaf elderly neighbour whose bedroom is next to mine. Recently she's developed insomnia and has taken to playing the radio and TV full blast at two or three in the morning. She's a dear old thing and I'm reluctant to complain. On the other hand, I wouldn't mind a few nights' sleep.

       I could quote chapter and verse about laws, by-laws and mediation services but sometimes these things come down to just being a good neighbour. Invest in a pair of headphones that can be used just as easily with her radio or TV and present them to her as a gift to you both. That way she gets to listen as long and as loud as she wants and you get to sleep with a clear conscience.