Good afternoon,
Anyone who wishes not to receive this email, is welcome to ask to
be excluded. It is sent in fairness to keep everybody informed.
Repeated requests were sent to Waratah Strata Management and
maintenance staff for number of critical issues, which
were so far not responded to and owners not notified. Let's
summarize the major ones:
a) Irrefutable evidence exists that all Executive Committee and
Annual General meetings in 2019 and 2020 failed to comply with
Interpretation Act 1987 and SSMA 2015. Attachment "20200314-FOR
OFFICIAL RECORDS_ Mediation SP52948 Case 00351498 and Fair Trading
Files 9363613 and 9761719 - Persistent non-compliance with
Interpretation Act 1987 (NSW) - 14Mar2020-27250.pdf".
Lot 158 has irrefutable evidence that AGM 2017, 2018, and 2019 were
not conducted as per strata laws and could not be considered valid
(lack of quorum, unfinancial owners allowed to vote, unfinancial
owners allowed to be on the committee, strata and building managers
contracts without tenders, other contracts having issues and risks,
and much more).
Auditor's reports for FY 2017 has never been found in spite of
repeated requests, event through lawyer.
Auditor's report for FY2018 has some serious problems (read
attachment). Even a layman can find the discrepancies in allegedly
audited data for FY 2018 and 2019 (attachment
"SP52948-differences-for-income-and-expenditure-FY2018-audited-figures-provided-by-Waratah-Strata-Management-for-AGM-2018-and-FY2019.pdf").
Economos (current SP52948 auditing company) was approached several
times to comment about it - no reply from them.
At AGM 2019, it was admitted that
between $10,000.00 and $20,000.00 was owed by selective owners and
some EC members for overdue levies for second gas connection. In
spite of that, Waratah Strata Management allowed them to vote and
others in similar condition and debt, allowed Motion 14 to be voted
before Motion 4 as per Mr. Moses Levitt request (what is alleged to be unfinancial owners
from Lot 147 and Lot 181 yet again be elected on the committee), and
declined to report it in the minutes of the meeting.
b) Due to non-compliant AGM on 17 October 2019, the contract with
Waratah Strata Management expired on 1 March 2020. Attachment
"20200319-FOR OFFICIAL RECORDS_ Misleading and misconstrued strata
files including serious problems with Auditor_s reports and expired
contract with strata agency due to non-compliant AGM 2019 -
19Mar2020-27346.pdf".
c) FREE mediation at Fair Trading was rejected by Waratah Strata
Management and EC members, without notifying owners of the reasons
for the talks to avoid legal expenses. Attachments:
"SP52948-Fair-Trading-Mediation-invitiation-6Mar2020.pdf"
"SP52948-declined-mediation-17Mar2020.pdf"
"20200314-FOR OFFICIAL RECORDS_ Mediation SP52948 Case 00351498 and
Fair Trading Files 9363613 and 9761719 - Persistent non-compliance
with Interpretation Act 1987 (NSW) - 14Mar2020-27250.pdf"
d) Over 30 attempts to reason with Waratah Strata Management,
maintenance staff, and EC members in regards to alleged
"defamation" were done either directly by Lot 158 or through lawyer
in last 14 months. Each time, the respondents only offered tactics
of bullying, intimidation, and threats. Even more, Solicitor Adrian
Mueller, with his costs paid by all owners in vicinity of what is an
estimate to be $100,000.00 so far, rejected all reasonable
legally-valid offers. In addition, he rejected access to strata
files claiming that they likely "do not exist"!? Some of attachments
with evidence:
"SP52948-Lot-158-lawyer-efforts-to-reason-with-Waratah-Strata-Mamagement-EC-members-and-Adrian-Mueller.webp"
"Lot-158-legal-request-for-access-to-strata-documents-through-criminal-lawyer-to-Solicitor-Adrian-Mueller-and-SP52948-30Oct2019-page3.pdf"
"Lot-158-legal-request-for-access-to-strata-documents-through-criminal-lawyer-to-Solicitor-Adrian-Mueller-and-SP52948-30Oct2019-page4.pdf"
"Lot-158-legal-request-for-access-to-strata-documents-through-criminal-lawyer-to-Solicitor-Adrian-Mueller-and-SP52948-30Oct2019-page5.pdf"
"Lot-158-legal-request-for-access-to-strata-documents-through-criminal-lawyer-to-Solicitor-Adrian-Mueller-and-SP52948-30Oct2019-page4.pdf"
"SP52948-Lot-158-lawyer-efforts-to-reason-with-Waratah-Strata-Management-EC-members-and-Solicitor-Adrian-Mueller.webp"
e) Investigations of two data losses (one in 2018 and one in alleged
ransomware attack in 2019) generate strong suspicions. Written
confirmations from Microsoft about alleged email and strata file
losses (including invoices) in Microsoft Office 365 and Microsoft
Azure shows that Microsoft was not notified about them when the
event allegedly happened (at least that is their statement). Even
more, had anybody notified Microsoft about email losses, they had
capability to restore files within 90 days.
Sententia report on alleged ransomware attack in March 2019 did not
mention any data losses in Office 365 and Microsoft Azure.
Written statement was obtained from Rockend who confirmed that they
provide lookatmystrata.com.au domain but they do not store, hold,
access, or release any information related to that domain. All such
information is held and managed by Waratah Strata Management.
There are multiple versions of ransomware attack that Waratah Strata
Management presented to different parties (which do not match),
including other strata complexes, like SP61424.
Waratah Strata Management was repeatedly asked for evidence of
their statements - they silently declined.
f) In spite of all efforts by Waratah Strata Management and
maintenance staff, smoke detectors are common property and will have
to stay that way, like it was for 22 years before. Attachments:
"20200318-PROBLEM REPORT_ Case FRN16_829 BFS20_252 and Fair Trading
Files 9363613 and 9761719 - SP52948 persistent fire safety issues
and lack of actions - 18Mar2020-27305.pdf"
"20200318-UNPLANNED AND UNANNOUNCED EMERGENCY LIGHTS TESTING Case
FRN16_829 BFS20_252 and Fair Trading Files 9363613 and 9761719 -
SP52948 persistent fire safety issues and lack of actions -
18Mar2020-27312.pdf"
There are lot of fire safety issues plaguing this complex for many
years.
g) In regards to Covid-19, maintenance staff provided
misleading and misconstrued statements about swimming pool safety,
which in spite of warnings below, have been ignored so far. In fact,
swimming pool is still open for use even though government asked for
the opposite last night (enforceable from tomorrow but common sense
dictates it should have been closed long ago). In addition,
questions about how well swimming pool is maintained are unanswered.
h) We had six elevator breakdowns (Block A and D, it is possible
other buildings also had them) in period of just two months after
alleged major upgrades. Owners were not informed. One of the
breakdowns (in Block D) lasted EIGHT DAYS.
Many repairs to patch up painting and cracks (two years after major
works) are not seemingly covered by any warranties. Lot 158 provided
voluminous evidence of poor status of garden beds, fences, BBQ area,
and so on.
More of a concern are what appears to be missing warranties Lot 158
asked for during two document searches but Waratah Strata Management
failed to provide:
31 May 2019
20 September 2019
On 1 March 2020, Waratah Strata Management was asked again to
IMMEDIATELY provide the following:
Warranty of Workmanship from Townview Painting Services
Dulux Warranty
Liftronic Warranty
Townview email discussed the painting warranties on 23 August 2017.
Waratah Strata Management ignored the request.
i) Short-term letting in the complex. Number of properties in
SP52948 are short-term leased for tourists and businesses.
Lack of proper safety (an example, lot of smoke detectors have not
been replaced for more than 10 years - one in Lot 158 was
manufactured in 1994 and does not operate safely) can create a
disaster for tenants.
In addition, some councils have now been sending letters to owners
corporations asking to sign off statements about compliance with the
Residential Tenancy Act 1987. For example, request sent to SP57348
from Council of the City of Sydney in February 2020
("Compliance-with-Residential-Tenancy-Act-1987-sent-to-strata-complex-in-City-17Feb2020.webp").
In it, it states:
The Body Corporate has been advised by the Council of the City of
Sydney that Development
Approval condition 5{c} for the Aston Strata building states
that
“All units approved for permanent residential accommodation
must be either owner occupied,
or occupied by a tenant with a residential lease under the
Residential Tenancy Act 1987. A
certificate signed by the owner or the Body Corporate (if the
development is strata
subdivided) or a Solicitor (holding a current certificate to
practice), must be forwarded to
Council within 12 months of the completion of the
development, and every 12 months
thereafter, certifying that all units approved for
Residential Development are either owner
occupied or are subject to residential leases under the
Residential Tenancy Act,1987.”
The Aston Body Corporate is required under the terms of this
Development Approval to provide
the above Certificate to Sydney City Council.
Verification of SP52948 Development Approval Conditions and Building
and Development Advisory Service at Ryde Council confirms that this
applies to SP52948:
* Short-term tenants are allowed if owner stays and lives in
property and shares it with visitors. In that case they still have
to get Ryde Council approval.
* Large-scale services like AirBnB, StayZ, and similar are not
allowed in strata complexes by law as yet.
Regards,
On 24/3/20 5:53 pm, SP52948 owner wrote:
At these difficult times, it is of utmost importance to maintain high
levels of cleanliness in the complex and around it. Not to m1ention
safety due to expired smoke detectors as most of people are now
constantly at home and risk of fire is increased.
Here are three examples of risks with Covid-19.
a) Maintenance staff put on
notice boards personal opinion (backed by a comment from Dr. Norman
Swan, Scottish Australian physician, journalist and broadcaster)
about safety of swimming pool in regards to Covid-19 (attachment
"SP52948-providing-personal-opinion-to-owners-on-notice-boards-about-swimming-pools-and-covid-19-risks-without-medical-background-23Mar2020.webp").
It is very dangerous to provide such advice without strong
evidence:
* World Health Organization (WHO) recommends level of 15mg.min/liter
of chlorination in the pools. It said it is enough to kill all
enveloped and non-enveloped viruses in the swimming pool.
* Who is assigned duty to keep the register of DAILY levels of
chlorination in our pool? Where is such register displayed? How does
maintenance staff monitor it?
* Before dipping in the pool proper personal hygiene is required,
especially when everyone is at risk from just touching various
surfaces like the changing benches, doors, and handles. How does
maintenance staff monitor it?
* Swimmers should be reminded to regularly shower before and after
swimming in the pool and never forget to disinfect their hands after
touching door handles in the area. How does maintenance staff
monitor it?
* Handwashing is also critical. Properly and thoroughly washing hands
for at least 20 seconds with soap and water. How does
maintenance staff monitor it
monitor it?
* Until recently, swimming lessons with visitors outside of complex
were silently allowed. How does maintenance staff monitor
it?
b) Lot 158 quietly monitors cleanliness of common areas in the
complex. One example is just seven meters away from the building
manager's office, and about three meters away from EC members Mr.
Moses Levitt and Mrs. Maureen MacDonald. Three photos from 21, 22,
and 24 March 2020 show that dirty paper napkin has not been removed
for four days so far.
c) Attachment
"SP52948-dirty-railing-near-Block-A-and-townhouses-not-cleaned-for-three-days.webp"
shows railing between Block A and townhouses not been cleaned for
three days so far.
Please, take safety seriously.
