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Well, it’s that time of year again – will there be Christmas Cheer or Tears?

 

It is the time of year where we put aside our differences and disputes over dogs barking or the neighbouring apartment smoking. Instead, we take the opportunity to argue about Christmas lights on balconies, parties that run until the early hours of the morning, that same unit taking up all the visitor car parks, and hordes of those visitors taking over the pool area during the day.

 

Whilst obviously the above is an extreme example, it is unfortunate that these types of disputes do regularly occur, both between individual occupiers and the Body Corporate, as well as between one occupier and another.

 

Read on for our tips for getting through the holidays with more Christmas cheer than tears.. .

In recent years, it has been suggested by some in the industry that caretaking agreements can only be extended ("topped up") once and never for a term exceeding the maximum allowed in aggregate.

 
While Mahoneys did not consider there to be any merit to the "one-time top-up" myth, there had not previously been an opportunity to obtain a ruling on this issue from an Adjudicator.

 

Read more to find out the Adjudicator's descision...

Too often we see the attitude of apartment owners of “I’ve bought into an apartment block and there should be nothing to do insofar as maintenance”. Do owners of houses have the same perception? I think house owners understand they will have to undertake continual maintenance on their house to ensure it stays in good condition.

 

So why do apartment owners, in many cases, have their head in the sand that a unit complex won’t require maintenance?

In most cases, it is a lack of education when owners buy into a strata scheme. In many cases, there are issues that affect only one, two or three owners with the remaining unit owners thinking “well it’s not my issue” and “why should I have to pay for them?”.

 

The reality is that common property issues may have to be paid for by all owners, (generally speaking and ignoring things like the benefit principle).

 

Read on for the 5 costly mistakes to avoid...

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