Monthly Archives: April 2013

Strata scheme up in smoke

Inner-west smokers take note – as of April 2011, the body corporate of an Ashfield block of units in Sydney implemented a no-smoking law for anyone wanting to light up inside their apartment or on their balcony.

In an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald, the chairman said, “We asked our managers if we could have a by-law to ban all smoking in units as well as on common property and two weeks later they came back with a draft of a by-law to make the building a smoke-free zone in its entirety.”

But the body corporate now faces rebuttal. Those who smoke are in the clutches of addiction – one they should have the right to carry out in the comfort of their own homes. But what about the non-smokers? Smoke tends to waft throughout buildings, potentially affecting other occupants’ health.

So the moral battle begins. Building management is well aware that there aren’t any mandatory laws that prevent residents from sparking up in their own unit. Building management is also aware that there are existing laws that prohibit smoking on common property.

According to Section 6 of The Smoke-Free Environment Act 2000, a “smoke-free area means any enclosed public place.” But at this given point in time, cigarettes are legal and there aren’t any government laws stopping smoking in one’s home. So, the issue is presented to the body corporate: What happens to the non-smokers who would rather refrain from passive smoking?

Strata management company, Netstrata, has a few words of advice. If your apartment block is permeated by cigarette fumes and affects the enjoyment of residents, you can take the following steps to ameliorate the situation.

Firstly, you should approach your smoking neighbour about the matter. You don’t need to be a part of building management to flag the issue with them. Just remember to speak calmly and rationally. More often than not, your neighbour will be cooperative to resolve the issue.

Perhaps you’re not at ease with the idea of approaching the smoker, or if your neighbour isn’t flexible – what then? Your next step is to raise the issue with the building owner’s corporation. Hopefully a solution can be reached collectively.

If you would like further advice regarding smoking in your building, we encourage you to get the advice from the strata management experts, Netstrata.

NSW strata management flooded by weather

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has recently announced that the Federal Government will invest $100 million over the next two years into flood mitigation projects. Given the recent floodings, this investment is aimed at reducing flood risk and the subsequent strata managers building insurance premium renewals.

By targeting the flood and natural disaster mitigation measures, The National Insurance Affordability Initiative will finance $50 million per annum for the next two years in hopes of establishing the National Insurance Affordability Council.

The Council will run the national coordination of flood risk management, assisting strata management services. The Council will also make suggestions to the government regarding floods mitigation projects, and will undertake other actions directed at reducing building management insurance premiums in the event of natural disasters.

Beyond reducing private insurance premiums, the government will have the potential to save expenditure on building management across all levels of NSW strata management.

Since 2009, more than $6 billion has been accounted for due to natural disaster recovery, a recent press release stated. “Rather than have taxpayers cross-subsidise insurance premiums for those in areas of high risk, this initiative will identify and supplement the funding of mitigation works that will have a real impact in terms of lowering risk and achieving sustainable reduction of insurance premiums in areas exposed to high risk,” the government adds.

CEO of the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA), Rob Whelan, labeled the move as a noteworthy step towards financially covering the sustainability of the various flood-prone communities that NSW strata management have been working toward restoring.

The investment “will ensure that at-risk Australian communities will be better protected in the future from the devastating effects of floods,” said Whelan.

The floods experienced in NSW and Queensland due to a knock-on effect from ex-tropical cyclone Oswald has resulted in over $661 million in insurance losses. Whelan has noted that over the last ten years, floods have caused around $4.5 billion in insured losses across the country.

The ICA has encouraged the Australian Government Actuary to take on additional studies concerning strata management services pricing across Australia. The aim of this is to deliver a benchmark that will accurately inform policyholders how insurance premiums are directly related to risk.

Netstrata provides high quality strata services to their client schemes across NSW. All classes of properties – from small home unit schemes to high-rise residential and commercial buildings – receive a tailored approach to ensure they’re receiving the best option possible.