special levy

Discussion in 'The Buying & Selling Process' started by Foundation, 29th Nov, 2019.

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  1. Foundation

    Foundation Member

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    Hello everyone,


    Any help or advice on this would be greatly appreciated.


    I received an invoice for a special levy for repairs (1 of 8 instalments) a couple of months after moving in to an apartment I bought this year. Here are the details:


    - The repairs are mentioned in the strata report and a sum was given for part funding.

    - An AGM was held 2 days before the contract date where it was resolved that an additional levy be determined to the Capital Works fund for repairs.

    - The special levy was not mentioned on the section 184 certificate.



    I believe that since the special levy was struck before the contract date, the special levy should have been included in the section 184 certificate. Is that right?
     
  2. Terry_w

    Terry_w Lawyer, Tax Adviser and Mortgage broker in Sydney Business Member

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    First thing I would do is to look at s184
     
  3. Foundation

    Foundation Member

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    Hi Terry,

    Thanks for your help. The s184 is not showing any amount (Nil / 0) under the "special contributions to the administrative or capital works or other fund" section.
     
  4. Terry_w

    Terry_w Lawyer, Tax Adviser and Mortgage broker in Sydney Business Member

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    I meant look at the legislation.
     
  5. Foundation

    Foundation Member

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    Okay, I understand you now. The legislation is a little bit difficult to interpret but it does look like the information regarding the special levy should have been included.
     
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  6. Rich2011

    Rich2011 Well-Known Member

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    The AGM was 2 days before the contract date. What date was the levy notice issued or how many days after the contract date?
     
  7. Foundation

    Foundation Member

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    The levy notice that we received in the mail was dated 82 days after the contract date.
     
  8. Terry_w

    Terry_w Lawyer, Tax Adviser and Mortgage broker in Sydney Business Member

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    Which subsection do you think applies? I have had a look (assuming you are referring to NSW law at STRATA SCHEMES MANAGEMENT ACT 2015 - SECT 184 Certificate by owners corporation as to financial and other matters relating to lot) and it could be
    s3
    (f) whether there is any amount recoverable from the owner of that lot for work carried out by the owners corporation,
    OR
    (g) the proposals for funding the matters set out in the 10-year capital works fund plan,

    You should probably see a strata law specialist
     
  9. Foundation

    Foundation Member

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    Thanks for looking at that. Yes, this applies to NSW. I did think those 2 subsections apply here. There is basically nothing showing in the section 184 regarding 10 year capital works fund plan and any amount recoverable.
    Also, we're working with a solicitor on this. Just wanted to get some more feedback. It's difficult to understand the complexities.
     
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  10. Scott No Mates

    Scott No Mates Well-Known Member

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    Is there any obligation to provide an updated 184 Certificate? Were the minutes of the AGM prepared prior to the S184? Should this have been something that the solicitor or your review of the strata minutes should have picked up? Is it a relevant requistion that should have been made by the solicitor as the AGM was held prior to the signing of the contract (was anyone aware that the AGM was being held at this time?)
     
  11. Foundation

    Foundation Member

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    The section 184 was created after the AGM. I don't think we were entitled to get the minutes from the meeting before signing the contract. I'll check all these details with our solicitor. Thanks for the feedback.
     
  12. bunkai

    bunkai Well-Known Member

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    What is the cost to you?

    Being practical - you had knowledge in that the levy was coming so would have budgeted to some level of accuracy.

    Thus the question is whether you are likely to recover any cash should the s184 argument hold up. Worth a go but it would have to be a large number to be worthwhile I suspect.
     
  13. qak

    qak Well-Known Member

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    How much in $ are we talking about here - is this an Opal/Mascot Towers scenario?
     
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  14. Foundation

    Foundation Member

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    This isn't something like an opal / mascot towers. It's not a new building. It's a fair amount but nothing outlandish. We will access our options. We do want a fair outcome. I think there were mistakes made with our settlement and we'll try to work it out. Thanks, all. Will update later if possible.
     
  15. SatayKing

    SatayKing Well-Known Member

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    Oh bloody dear me.

    Apartment owners face millions of dollars in re-cladding bills following landmark ruling

     
  16. Foundation

    Foundation Member

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  17. Ted Varrick

    Ted Varrick Well-Known Member

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    It sounds like, at face value, that you may have an unfortunate timing issue if the AGM was 2 days before the contract date (I assume you mean settlement date?), unless your strata search was done 2 days or less prior to the contract date, in which case the AGM minutes would have been available to you, and would indicate the Owner's Corp agreeing to a Special Levy.

    Whilst @Terry_w 's post above is, as usual spot on, regarding you consulting a strata law specialist, I'm not sure that:-

    "(f) whether there is any amount recoverable from the owner of that lot for work carried out by the owners corporation, " as the work might not be able to be carried out in such a tight 2 day time frame, and, assuming the work order would be greater than, say, $5000, then 3 quotes are likely to be required by the Owner's Corp, prior to issuing said work order,

    AND/OR

    " (g) the proposals for funding the matters set out in the 10-year capital works fund plan...", by definition a Special Levy falls outside the CWF plan, as it is a "special" levy for works that have not been budgeted for, and means that everybody has to cough up some coin, and in the short term.
     
  18. Foundation

    Foundation Member

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    Thanks for the feedback. The AGM was before the contract date (I'm not referring to the settlement date).
     
  19. Ted Varrick

    Ted Varrick Well-Known Member

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    Thanks for the clarification. Best of luck.

    It's probably worthwhile having a chat with your solicitor and strata searcher as, depending on the timing, the AGM minutes may or may not have been available to you before settlement.
     
  20. Foundation

    Foundation Member

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    Cheers. Appreciate it.
     

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