Owners corporations (OCs), formerly “body corporates”, are created to manage the common areas of commercial, industrial, mixed-use, residential or retail properties. “Common property” essentially involves property driveways, gardens, lifts, staircases and other elements located outside the boundaries of your apartment, flat or unit.
The OC is created to manage and maintain these elements. Therefore, if you live or own a property in a shared complex, you are likely part of your local OC. This means, among all things, that you have a right to express your concerns if you think something isn’t quite right about the complex.
Perhaps the garden needs more maintenance? Or, perhaps the staircase railing is a little wonky? Whatever the reason, you have the right to voice your concerns if something doesn’t sit right in your complex.
However, the chairperson and secretary might dismiss your concerns, creating a rift that could be hard to resolve without top brass owners corporation lawyers.
Here are four situations in which you might have tried your hardest to get through to the leaders but they just won’t budget.
If you’re experiencing any of them then you might want to call in professional legal assistance:
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Pre-dispute resolution processes
You might be part of an escalating dispute. Perhaps it’s regarding a certain section of the complex and the chairperson and secretary don’t want to hear about it. Currently, it might not be urgent, but you can see that the situation (especially something regarding complex safety) could rapidly deteriorate.
In this case, you might like to enlist legal representation to help you resolve the dispute before it has the chance to end up in mediation (or, worse, VCAT!). Your professional legal representation can provide you with time-tested advice on how to resolve the deteriorating situation before it can become a big problem.
They can provide mediation
But, you might have to further enlist your professional legal representation if the original dispute resolution process didn’t work out. If this is the case, your lawyers can provide first class mediation, helping you and the OC leaders reach a happy medium and one that, hopefully, provides the best result for you.
There are often things OC leaders choose to overlook if it doesn’t suit their personal interests. Therefore, it might be best to enlist legal representation to ensure you have the experts on your side and those who can mediate a happy outcome.
Complex problems
There can be many complex problems facing you, other lot owners and OC leaders. They can become so complex that the lines between who is right and wrong become blurred.
For example, you might have a disagreement with a neighbour about the boundaries of your respective properties. Here, it can be very difficult to resolve this situation without the help of trusted legal representation. They can help you and, consequently, your neighbour, understand your boundary requirements and settle the issue before it gets out of hand.
Transactional issues
Perhaps you want to lease out your apartment but the OC is getting in the way. Well, this is where top quality OC legal representation is required to see whether you have the right to lease out your apartment or not (which you generally should).
Obviously, this is just one example of how you might require legal representation to handle transactional matters. Regardless, if you have ended up in a situation where you the lines are blurred, then it’s always best to enlist legal help!
