We’ve discovered there are many people currently living or working in buildings with poor ventilation. This not only means unpleasantly-scented environments; it also means your health could be at risk.

Question: Can a special resolution be challenged? Our Committee believes they can use funds for anything they like as long as they have the votes. Why should I contribute if improvements offer me no advantage?

With a quality 10 year Capital Works fund plan budgeted properly from day dot, a scheme should now have little need to raise a special levy for capital expenditure in future years.

Question: Can our Body Corporate demand Vacant Possession to undertake waterproofing repairs to common property? With no choice to stay in the unit, shouldn’t alternative accommodation be supplied at their cost?

Question: In a three lot scheme with little or no common areas, do we need to form an owners corporation or can we agree to act independently. What is the minimum we are required to do?

The effect of this decision is that it will be more difficult for an owners corporation to replace items of common property that are old and worn but can still be maintained or repaired.

Question: What part of each balcony is common property and required to be maintained by the body corporate? Is it merely the exterior of the glass surrounds or does it extend to the tiled floor and doors leading out to the balcony?

The aim of the false fire alarm fee is to encourage owners and occupants to take appropriate steps to avoid false fire alarm activations occurring at their premises. Read our top tips to avoid being hit with fees.

Sale of strata apartments “off the plan” are common with new developments. In the current market, purchasers of apartments in unfinished buildings may be regretting their purchase and looking to a way out of the contract.

Many bodies corporate are mistaken about their rights to access lots. There is a right to access a lot only for specific purposes and in accordance with the Act.

A new Deakin University report examining the rising number of defects in apartment buildings has found they lead to significant distress in affected residents and owners.

When it came to what motivates purchasers and what residents like about their apartment, how do things like location, security and resident parking rate, both in WA and Nationally? How about maintenance and design?

Hundreds of residents in a Sydney apartment complex, the 122-unit Mascot Towers, were evacuated last Sunday when cracks began to appear due to a serious structural failure. And it isn’t clear when the residents can return.

Once you have confirmed you have a request for improvement to the common property, there are a few steps that must be met when seeking approval.

Question: I relocated bins that were blocking my parking space, was captured on CCTV and have been fined $550. I’m unable to get a reasonable response from the Owners Corporation about the matter. What do I do?

Embedded networks are becoming more and more common in strata developments and more and more new lot owners are becoming aware too late what an expensive trap these can be.

If you don’t know who your owners and residents are, is there a sense of community in your building? Take the recent example of Paradise Towers which is at the centre of a messy body corporate dispute after police officers raided the complex over illegal prostitution allegations.

Question: How can a purchaser in a Strata complex maintain oversight of the Owners Corporation and the committee’s functioning between exchange and settlement?

A recent decision of the NSW Court of Appeal means that the owners corporations of most leasehold strata schemes will need to foot the bill for the costs to repair building defects.

It must be the season for ‘interesting’ defamation proceedings. This one will be of special interest to the strata managers (and perhaps chairpersons) out there who have to declare people unfinancial at general meetings.