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Articles by Fabienne Loncar
Mitigation and Building Defects: Key Lessons for Owners Corporations
The Owners – Strata Plan No 89074 v Ceerose Pty Ltd [2024] NSWSC 1494 Since 2016, the parties have been embroiled in protracted litigation over building defects in a 16-storey residential development on Elizabeth Street, Sydney. In this latest chapter, the NSW Supreme Court considered the adoption of a referee’s report on those defects. This case note highlights a pivotal issue: the principle of mitigation and its influence on defect claims.
Appointing an Administrator to Amend a Plan - Section 34D Applications Post the 2021 Amendments
The 2021 amendments to the Subdivision Act have had the unintended consequence of making it almost impossible to get approval for altering plans of subdivision. This difficulty stems primarily from a threshold requirement that over 50% of lot owners must refuse consent. While the Rossidis case reaffirms VCAT’s authority to alter plans under section 34D, it underscores that VCAT's discretion is typically exercised only for the benefit of the entire plan, not individual interests.
Service of Fee Notices by Email Only - When is Electronic Service Effective?
This case demonstrates that email chain evidence should be included in witness statements where possible and that a cautious OC may prefer to send a copy of the fee notice to a postal address (if there is one) prior to commencing a proceeding if a response has not been received to an email. The applicant owners corporation (OC) issued a fee recovery proceeding against the lot owner company (SRC) for outstanding levies.
Owners Corporation PS 331362S v Domingo (Owners Corporations) [2023] VCAT 404
The recent case of Owners Corporation PS 331362S v Domingo (Owners Corporations) [2023] VCAT 404 (Domingo) clarifies the requirements under section 85 of the Act for notice in respect of a ballot following the enactment of the Owners Corporations and Other Acts Amendment Act 2021. This clarification is important for owners corporations as previously ballots could be open for more than 14 days (see Barintore Nominees Pty Ltd v Owners Corporation Plan PS SP 22934S [2019] VCAT 406).
VCAT Upholds Owners Corporation's Right to Levy Fees that Benefit the Community, Not Just on Common Property
A recent case in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal highlights the scope of an owners corporation's power to levy fees for the purpose of maintaining services that benefit all or part of the owners corporation. Introduction The case of Owners Corporation No 1 PS401009W v Anderton involves a dispute between an owners corporation and a lot owner who challenged the levying of an annual ‘owners corporation fee’ without a special resolution authorising the fee.
Justice Legislation Amendment Act 2023: An Insight into the New Legislation Addressing VCAT's Jurisdictional Dilemmas
In this article we outline: Why we needed legislative intervention What the VCAT related amendments were How this affects past, current and future cases in VCAT The amendments were necessitated by recent decisions in the Supreme Court of Victoria and VCAT which overturned long held assumptions about the extent of VCAT’s jurisdiction.
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