20 May 2020
I received an email from a long-time Flat-chatter the other day who attached a letter they had received from their strata committee’s lawyer. The letter demanded they withdraw a case at the NSW Tribunal. It was one of the most blatant examples of bullying I have ever seen (and I have seen a few). I can’t go into too much detail without identifying the combatants, but suffice to say that this is a typical strata conflict that should have been dealt with years ago, but has been allowed to fester and grow. The owner wanted the strata scheme to fix common property that was causing leaks into their flat, and had taken the strata scheme to the tribunal for enforcement. Several years and tens of thousands of dollars in legal bills later, the scheme has been dragged to the tribunal several times, mostly because of their failure to get the job done properly. There are enough problems in strata without disputes turning into an episode of Law & Order. Strata law should be about right and wrong, not threats and intimidation. And if there isn’t a code of conduct for strata lawyers already, there certainly should be.
> Full article on The Australian Financial Review
Jimmy Thomson