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What is Common Property (in a Strata Scheme)? Common property is that part of a Strata Scheme that is owned by everybody, not any one individual. The boundaries of common property are defined as the upper surface of the floor, the under surface of the ceiling and all external or boundary walls. It therefore follows that anything that is not part of a lot is part of the common property.
What are 'Unit Entitlements' and what are they used for? Every strata plan contains a list of the lots in the strata scheme and a corresponding allocation of a 'unit entitlement.' The unit entitlement is a whole number and the total of the unit entitlements on the plan is called the 'aggregate unit entitlement.' The unit entitlement is used to determine the lot owner's:
What is the required notice to be given for Owners Corporations Annual General, Extraordinary General? The notice of an Annual General or Extraordinary General meeting of the owners corporation must be served on each owner at least seven clear days before the meeting. Where the agenda includes a motion requiring a special or unanimous resolution, the notice must also be served on each mortgagee and covenant chargee recorded on the strata roll.
What is the required notice to be given for Executive Committee Meetings? If the strata scheme has a notice board, then notice of the meeting of the executive committee is given by displaying the notice on the notice board. If the strata scheme does not have a notice board, then notice of the meeting must be sent to each owner and each executive committee member. The notice of the meeting must:
What is a Sinking Fund Forecast Report? A sinking fund forecast report provides the owners corporation with budget information as follows;
Most maintenance expenses accrue over time. Using a sinking fund forecast report to set the sinking fund levies ensures each owner pays a fair share of the costs attributable to their usage of the building and reduces the risk of special levies being required.
Do the New Occupational Health & Safety Requirements Apply to Strata? Yes they do if the strata scheme has direct employees, is commercial or is mixed residential and commercial. On the 1st of September 2001 the Occupational Health & Safety Act 2000 and the Occupational Health & Safety Regulation 2001 were proclaimed. This regulation sets out requirements for workplaces to put into place systems to identify, assess, control and/or eliminate health or safety risks. Because Owners have work done on common property, this legislation applies to them. This means that the owners corporation is defined as an employer under the act and that the owners corporation controls premises used by people as a place of work. The Strata Schemes Management Act requires that hazard identification and risk assessment is undertaken and risk control measures are implemented. While the Occupational Health & Safety Act 2000 has previously established duties for persons in control of premises the regulations did not fully illustrate how persons were to discharge their obligations. The new Occupational Health and Safety Regulation 2001 fully supports and more specifically defines the duties of controllers of premises where work is carried out by setting requirements relating to risk management. This means that persons, including Executive Committees and Owners Corporations in control of premises where work is carried out have specific obligations and duties to ensure that hazards that could harm a member of the public using the Common Property or a person carrying out work on the Common Property are identified. Once these hazards are identified they must be eliminated or if this is not reasonably practical, the risk the hazard represents must be controlled to the fullest extent possible. Then these control measures need to be assessed on a regular basis to ensure that they are effectively controlling the hazards and risks evident on the Common Property. It is important that the risk assessment is consistent with that suggested by Workcover NSW. We recommend that each building organise for an Occupational Health & Safety Audit Report to be conducted as soon as possible.
What is included in the Occupational Health & Safety Audit Report? The contents of the report should,
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