Whittles assists the Corporation and Committee with their endeavours. We don’t make the decisions for the Corporation, but we do help administer its decisions. Whittles also assists with Secretarial requirements of the Corporation that include: Dealing with daily correspondence for the Corporation Responding to members’ queries and concerns Maintaining records for historical reference Taking minutes...

Whittles has a written contract with each of its managed properties that sets out what we do and what makes up the charge for the services we provide. There are standard services like bookkeeping and maintaining records, issuing meeting and levy notices, handling communications as well as routine administration. Additionally, there are one-off or variable...

Owner payments go to your Corporation (not Whittles) and are kept in the Corporation’s bank accounts to pay regular and one-off expenses. All payments are either budgeted, or approved, by the Committee. Only a small portion of your payments goes to Whittles for our management charges, as agreed in the Management Agreement between your Corporation...

Installing solar panels involves adding things to the building and so almost always needs prior approval. In most cases, the required approval cannot be given by the Corporation Manager or the Committee and will require a special resolution at a general meeting, so all eligible voters can vote on the issue. It is also important...

In multi-storey buildings the roof is usually common property, so roof leaks will be the responsibility of the Corporation. However, this is not always the case in low-rise buildings or where there are terraces on the roof. Please contact your Corporation Manager to ascertain which circumstance applies in your specific case.

In multi-storey buildings the guttering is usually common property, and therefore must be cleaned and repaired by the Corporation. But this is not always the case in low-rise buildings. Please contact your Corporation Manager to ascertain which circumstance applies in your specific case.

In a Corporation building, all owners share the costs of common property and shared expenses. So, sometimes, one or more owners will be paying for work that does not directly benefit them (e.g. ground floor owners paying for roof repairs, or lift maintenance, or upper floor owners paying for gardening of ground floor areas).

Even if the fence is your property, the Corporation may need to give approval to changes as it affects the appearance and uniformity of the complex. Often the rules about appearance issues are in the strata rules, by-laws or articles, so ensure you check them before proceeding with any works.

Votes at General Meetings are counted as one vote per lot so each owner has an equal vote. However, if an owner calls a poll, then the votes must be counted according to the unit entitlement or lot entitlements, which can change the result.

The amount of notice given prior to a General Meeting will depend on which State you are in. Most States require 14-days notice for General Meetings, or 21-days if they include special or unanimous resolutions. In Queensland, 21-days notice is required for all general meetings.

General Meetings are held at least once per year (the Annual General Meeting). However, extra meetings can be held whenever necessary, if the Committee decides to do so, or enough owners want one to be held.

This depends on which State you’re in. In Victoria, the ACT and the Northern Territory, the General Meeting can proceed without a quorum, but all decisions have interim status until they are circulated to owners and 28-days have elapsed without objections from more than 25% of owners. In South Australia, the meeting must be reconvened...

A Resolution Without Dissent is essentially when no one votes against an issue. Some of the more important decisions in General Meetings need a Resolution Without Dissent. This can vary according to State, however, generally, a Resolution Without Dissent will pass if no one votes against the decision and at least one person votes in...

Some decisions in General Meetings need to be decided by Special Resolutions. A Special Resolution is passed if more than 3/4 of votes cast are in favour of the decision.

When an issue is of great importance for a Corporation, it may require a Unanimous Resolution to pass. A Unanimous Resolution is passed if all Lot Owners vote in favour of the decision. It can be very hard to get a Unanimous Resolution.

Most decisions in General Meetings are decided by Ordinary Resolutions (sometimes called Majority Resolutions), which are simple majority votes. An Ordinary Resolution is passed if there are more votes cast in favour than against.

This depends on which State you’re in. In Victorian, Northern Territorian and South Australian Strata Corporations, a quorum of 50% of the total votes is needed. In South Australian Community Corporations, a quorum is half the owners entitled to vote. In Queensland, a quorum is a quarter of the owners entitled to vote.

The meeting notice will include: details of the time, date and place of the meeting, the agenda, relevant reports such as financial statements, budgets, insurance summaries, etc., a proxy form and/or voting papers, as well as general information about the meeting.

Owners get to participate in Corporation decisions at General Meetings, when all owners can attend, speak and vote. However, owners can also request items to be included on general meeting agendas. If you have something to bring up at your next Corporation meeting, contact your Manager to have it included in the next agenda.

The Annual General Meeting should be held around the anniversary of the first General Meeting of the owners. However, most States do allow flexibility, so that it can be up to two months (can be longer in NSW) earlier or later.

Corporation Lot Owners own the airspace within their apartment, balconies and terraces, car parking spaces and storage spaces; they also own/have exclusive control over, the internal walls, fittings and finishes. Everything else in a building is usually common property. However, the exact detail varies from building to building so you need to check specifically what...

Common property is everything in and outside your Corporation building that is not part of each owner’s lot. In most situations, that’s all the shared access areas, the main building structures (external walls, floors and roofs, the shared building services, the ground and the outside airspace). However, the exact detail varies from building to building...

The best way to find out what is and isn’t common property is by checking your Corporation plan. Unless you’re experienced in reading Corporation plans you may also need some help understanding it from your Corporation Manager.

Every State has different regulations about pets in Corporations. Some States allow pets with no (or very few) restrictions, some ban all pets, and others allow pets but only with specific approval. So, check your specific building’s by-laws, articles or rules, or ask your Corporation Manager what you can (and cannot) do.

If your Corporation doesn’t ban pets, then you should make a written application outlining details of your pet (species, breed, age, size, weight, etc), your reasons for wanting the pet, any special things you believe are important and include photos and references if possible. In some States, but not all, the Committee will decide your...

You can park in your own parking spot, or a common property parking spot if you have specific approval. Otherwise, you cannot park on common property or anyone else’s parking space. If someone else has parked in your spot, and the spot is on your property’s title, unfortunately Whittles cannot assist you, as it is...

The Corporation or its Manager can’t just remove abandoned vehicles without following correct procedures, because the vehicle owner is unknown and we don’t want to expose anyone to claims for damages.