‘This Land is My Land’ can Cause Heartache for Strata Owners 20/01/2007 There are approximately two million property owners who live under strata title. A large proportion live in Sydney. For many such people there is one issue that causes more trouble than any other. This issue concerns who owns what proportion of the building.
In general terms strata titled living, so popular in townhouses and apartment blocks, sees an owner control the ‘space’ in which they live. This usually means the space from the ceiling to the floor and from one wall to another.
As the director of Sydney’s largest Strata Management Company, Mr Richard Tooker says this is where one idea can start to rub up against another.
New South Wales Strata Management has thousands of properties under its wing. Mr Tooker’s many managers schedule and attend meetings of owners corporations – the new name for what was previously known as the body corporate – and provide an oversight role for their executive committee, assuring that all aspects of the Strata Title act are met.
Familiarity with all aspects of the Strata Titles Act can make light work of matters faced by what is often unexperienced people who have volunteered to site on an owners corporation executive committee.
“We can stand in the middle between protagonists as unaligned professionals. This can help in dispute over who might own a specific problem. Money is often the issue as one or more owners might dispute who is financially responsible for any given dilemma.”
Mr Tooker says the answer usually lies within the strata plan itself, which may or may not subdivide specific responsibilities.
Such areas as balconies and courtyards can fall into dispute, with one owner claiming the responsibility for maintenance and repair lays with the owners corporation and another feeling that this is a specific responsibility rests with individual owners.
“If the building is a collection of townhouses, for example, the upkeep of courtyards can be a group responsibility. But in other buildings, this may not be the case. Each problem area needs to be reviewed in light of the specifics of the strata plan. And yes, sometime it takes Eddy the expert to clear the air.”
With dozens of trained managers on hand to assist with such cloudy issues, Mr Tooker says his company can usually assist to help owners corporations in resolving problems.
“Sometimes the difficulties can be very complex. And we do then have to go back to the books and the statutes and dig through the details, so our job isn’t for the faint hearted, believe me.”
Nevertheless, strata titled properties are growing in popularity. The ability to live near a lively melee of amenities whilst sharing the cost of the building’s pool, spa, sauna, gym, rooftop sundeck and ground floor coffee lounge can prove very enticing.
New South Wales Strata Management (formerly Gilmour Strata Management) commenced business in early 1991, as a member of the highly respected J A Gilmour & Sons group of companies. Licensed solely and specialising only in strata management services, the company has steadily grown to become one of the largest such organisations in New South Wales.
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