Alliance Owners Corporation Management | Property

Alliance Owners Corporation Management

Phone: +61 3 8539 3990

Add/Update information

Reviews

Tags

• Property
• Businesses
• Property management company

20.01.2022 What repairs are the body corporate responsible for? The Owners Corporation (Body Corporate) is legally responsible for the repair and maintenance of common property. There is only one way to determine what is common property at your body corporate and that means reading the Plan of Subdivision.... Plan of Subdivision The Plan of Subdivision establishes the boundary between common property and private property. Interior face - if your Plan is marked 'interior face' then the structure, doors, windows, ceiling, roof, gutters and ground beneath the floor is common property Median face - Everything inside the property is private while all exterior surfaces are common property. In the case of a window, the inside face of the window is private while the outside face is common property. Exterior face - the entire building is private and the responsibility of the lot owner including the roof. Costs of repairs and maintenance Even though the body corporate may be responsible for the repair and maintenance of common property, the cost of the repairs and maintenance may be passed on to the lot owner where that lot owner substantially benefits from the repairs or maintenance.

20.01.2022 Can body corporate increase fees? Your body corporate (owners corporation) is a legal entity that you - as an owner - are a member of. The body corporate has a legal obligation under the Owners Corporations Act 2006 to:... 1. Manage and administer the common property; 2. Repair and maintain the common property; 3. Insure the buildings; 4. Issue Owners Corporation certificates to purchases As you can imagine, meeting all of these obligations cost money and those costs generally increase every year. Costs incurred by the body corporate include: 1. Electricity and water bills for the common property e.g security lighting, car park lights etc 2. Essential Safety Measures - fire escapes, fire alarms, sprinkers and extinguishers 3. Gardening and caretaking 4. Insurance 5. Repairs and maintenance such as painting, broken tiles, car stackers and so on 6. Management fees 7. Maintenance fund - your body corporate should save for the future and have funds available for large forseeable expenditure. Whenever any of the cost of these or other expenses the body corporate is responsible for increase - the cost must be passed onto the members i.e. the property owners. The body corporate budget is set by the members at the Annual General Meeting. All members receive a copy of the AGM notice as well as as the financial statements. It pays to get involved so you know what is happening in your body corporate and to understand how the fees are calculated. Call Paul Simmons at Alliance Owners Corporation Management on (03) 8539 3990 for further help and assistance with your body corporate questions.

16.01.2022 Can your body corporate (owners corporation) ban smoking? A body corporate cannot ban smoking inside your home. However, it may be a different story if you smoke outside on common property.... The Model Rules published in the Owners Corporations Regulations 2008 require owners, occupiers and their guests to behave in a way that does not unreasonably interfere with the peaceful enjoyment of any other person entitled to use the common property. It may be argued that the well known risks presented by second hand smoke certainly do unreasonably interfere with the peaceful enjoyment of the common property by other people entitled to use it. It is important to keep in mind that balconies are more often than not classified as common property so standing outside on your balcony to smoke may be a breach of the rules. In addition, the body corporate may also make specific rules banning smoking on common property as the Owners Corporations Act 2006 gives body corporates the power to make rules concerning the health and safety of lot owners, occupiers or lots and invitees; as well as the use of common property. Call Paul Simmons at Alliance Owners Corporation Management on (03) 8539 3990 for advice and assistance.

05.01.2022 When is a Special Resolution Required? The Victorian Owners Corporations Act 2006 sets out the ocassions when a special resolution is required before an owners corporation (body corporate) can proceed with whatever it is that the body corporate would like to do. Body corporate committees cannot pass special resolutions.... A special resolution requires 75% of all votes to pass. Special resolutions are required to: 1. Make or repeal body corporate rule 2. Provide services to lot owners 3. Lease or licence land 4. Bring legal proceedings (other than for unpaid fees) 5. Raise more than twice the amount of annual fees for extraordinary expenses 6. Borrow money 7. Make extraordinary payments from the maintenance fund 8. Make significant alterations to the common property 9. Upgrade common property Contact Paul at Alliance Owners Corporation Management - GK Simmons for advice on special resolutions (03) 8539 3990

02.01.2022 Can the body corporate charge extra if I pay my fees late? This question is asked a lot because body corporates and managers sometimes try to recover the cost of fee recovery work from lot owners who have not paid their fees on time. The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) says:... 1. Neither the owners corporation (body corporate) or the manager are entitled to recover their costs for fee recovery work from a lot owner 2. There is no power under the Owners Corporations Act 2006, Regulations or Rules which enables an owners corporation to require a lot owner to pay an administrative or legal cost on a user pays basis. Likewise, the owners corporation cannot pass a special rule or a resolution requiring a lot owner to pay the owners corporation's administrative and legal costs of debt collection against that lot owner. 3. The costs of the debt recovery are actually paid by all lot owners in accordance with lot liability. 4. The owners corporation is entitled to charge interest on late fees. Owners Corporation RP002044 v Finch (Owners Corporations) [2016] VCAT 2166 (20 December 2016) Call Paul Simmons at Alliance Owners Corporation Management on (03) 8539 3990 if you need advice or assistance with your owners corporation.