SuperUser posted on January 25, 2008 21:42
This could be a good year for Sydney's apartment owners
Author: Jimmy Thomson
Date: January 24, 2008
It's great to start off the new year on a positive note, despite coming across a developer on Sydney's North Shore who is demanding not only that buyers sign over their proxy votes but that they use the developer's estate agency for selling or renting their properties.
If you're in that position anywhere, just buy somewhere else where the developers are less amoral and greedy. If you've already signed away your proxy, just turn up at the next meeting and it will be rescinded.
The good news is that dodgy deals like that should be killed off in the next round of strata law reforms and you can have a say in this by making a submission to the review by the Office of Fair Trading.
Specifically (but not exclusively) the possible reforms will include:
- Stopping developers from making exclusive-use parking bylaws;
- Limiting the number of proxy votes any one person can hold;
- Banning use of proxy votes or power of attorney by developers;
- Forcing executive committee candidates to reveal any connection with the developer;
- Making it easier for the Office of Fair Trading to resolve complaints;
- Bringing building managers under the same regulations as caretakers.
They all sound good, although the limit on the number of proxies may ruin things for buildings that are perfectly well run with the aid of proxies from happy investors. It would be a shame for workable systems to be bent out of shape because a bunch of developers can't behave.
Anyway, you can submit your thoughts on this or any other strata reforms by reading chapter eight of the discussion paper available on the Department of Planning website at www.planning.nsw.gov.au/planning-reforms/index.asp. The deadline is February 8.
Meanwhile, Fair Trading has asked me to pass on any other instances of developers making unreasonable demands in sales contracts.
Let me know - anonymously, if you like - who the bad boys are and where they're doing this. And I'd love to hear how you get on if you ever have to call the Fair Trading help line. Positives as well as negatives, please.
You can email us on this or any other strata topic at mail@flat-chat.com.au.