Governing Authorities

A routine response from strata owners we receive is that all and most complaints to NSW Fair Trading about serious or other complaints about strata management companies are not addressed adequately or at all by this government department.

NSW Fair Trading stated publicly “Our role is to make doing business in NSW simple, accessible, and fair for employees, consumers, and industry while providing the best value for the government.”  

We have ample evidence in many complaints over the years for several strata schemes that NSW Fair Trading ignores and do not act on serious ongoing illegal conduct and claims of serious fraud by strata management companies. The evidence is overwhelming, NSW FT allows strata companies to defraud lot owners without investigating and reporting to the consumer.

Same can be stated about Strata Community Association and their response when lot owners make complaints about the same serious claims of fraud and ongoing illegal conduct by strata managers.

It is no surprise that the rise of illegal conduct in schemes and fraudulent court claims have risen in the last few years costing some owners many tens of thousands of dollars.

The public is being lied to that they have legal protections to stop fraud and theft when purchasing in NSW strata schemes.

What exactly is the OFT trying to do to strata owners, prospective purchasers, etc?

To sell owners down a river of financial ruin, ambush, and bamboozlement-not to mention safety issues, harmony, etc?

This cannot be what the OFT intended by its public statement and routine announcements.

Strata managers and their respective companies are allowed to stop owners from searching and obtaining documents despite a paid search by the owner under s. 182 of the SSMA 2015.

Does the strata manager have the option/power to decide in what form he/she produces dox to any interested person attempting to make a legitimate search of the public files?  What about the elderly/not tech-savvy-blind people entitled to access public files under strata laws, regulations, accounts, and public documents?

Currently, this is all at the mercy of dysfunctional/fraudulent strata managers.

NSW Owners in strata schemes are currently dupped many thousands of dollars by unscrupulous and unethical conduct by strata managers.  Basic requests for documents they are entitled to are ignored.

The NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal does not help.  NCAT even has been noted as refusing to enforce the few Orders it did make regarding Strata Roll and legal fees for owners.  The NCAT Appeal Panel declared that its Order was not an Order, not need compliance. Refusing to give accounts and basic documents during paid searches by Owners is not something heard in isolated cases. It’s a common pattern used now by strata companies.

Owners have been dupped and strata law has robbed strata owners of all their important consumer rights/laws.  Many reports of owner’s accounts and searches are “not fit for purpose/not of merchantable quality.” Yet consumers are still forced to pay for them.  Owners are advised by the large investigative firm of accountants, specialising in big bank activities, advises owners they will NEVER be allowed to get an independent audit for the past three years of public records/accounts.

As consumers in a rising apartment market where most people will be forced to buy in strata, we need to ask why?

The issue of non-transparency regarding the access to strata public files/accounts merits a Public Enquiry and a proper investigation by authorities.

Another critical and serious matter is Strata Insurance cover for payment of Legal fees. This is absurd if not open to widespread fraud as many owners have seen and experienced.  How can it be rational for strata insurance to reimburse/pay for these unconscionable legal fees -especially when the shonky solicitor, mostly never appointed by the owners corporation or virtually unbeknownst to the owners corporation/payer -is ticking up huge bills to fight/defeat strata law and the owners corporation legal obligations/duties?

It is worth noting these legal fees incurred to fight to defeat strata law and so many owner’s corporation’s statutory duties and obligations, to fight cases which have NO owners corporation Defence!