On the Office of Fair Trading website, Minister for Fair Trading Virginia Judge urged residents of strata schemes to follow 10 key tips to avoid potential problems with neighbours and to make the role of strata managers less stressful.

Requests for mediation in strata disputes rose from 1,273 in 2008 to 1,405 in 2009 – an increase of almost 10 per cent. While most disputes were about by-laws, common property alterations, managing agent relationships, and meeting procedures, some were more unusual. Examples included:

• A neighbour feud that escalated with one owner placing an “evil-looking effigy” in their courtyard facing the other’s bedroom.
• A complaint about noisy dogs and geese disturbing residents.
• High-rise residents dropping furniture, cigarettes, and rubbish from balconies onto cafés below.

Despite the rise, these disputes represent a small fraction of the State’s 65,000 strata schemes. As Ms Judge noted: “Exercising common sense and your responsibilities, as well as your rights, will help avoid frayed nerves.”

Fair Trading’s Top 10 Tips for Strata Living

1. Get involved – Decisions are made at meetings. Make your vote count. Use your proxy if you can’t attend.
2. Know the rules – Read Fair Trading’s Strata Living Guide to understand your obligations.
3. Looks are deceiving – Get approvals before altering common property. Even if it’s your courtyard, it may still be common property.
4. What will the neighbours think? – Be mindful. Keep noise down and avoid parking in visitor spots.
5. Protect your investment – Maintain common property. Raise motions at meetings to address needed works.
6. Talk first – Approach your neighbour calmly if there’s a problem. Often, they won’t realise their actions are causing an issue.
7. It’s your strata scheme – Your managing agent works for you. If you’re unhappy, raise it with your committee and vote on how they should manage the scheme.
8. If you don’t like it, change it – By-laws can be updated. Propose a motion, get 75% approval, and register the change.
9. Don’t let it fester – Enforce by-laws. If talking fails, contact your strata committee or agent to issue a Notice to Comply. Breaches can result in fines.
10. Be flexible – Sometimes compromise is the best path to harmony.

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More information can also be found in the Fair Trading Think Smart newsletter.