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ALEXANDER APARTMENTS BY-LAWS
BODY CORPORATE
STRUCTURE
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There must be a Chairperson, Secretary
and Treasurer. One person may hold the positions of
Chairperson, Secretary and Treasurer or any two of the
positions in conjunction.
In addition to the officers there are
four ordinary members on the committee.
The term of office for committee members
is 12 months and election results are announced at the
Annual General Meeting each year. Owners will receive a
notice of this meeting with a ballot paper at least 6
weeks prior to the AGM
COMMITTEE MEETINGS
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Annual General Meeting December
Regular Meeting March
Regular Meeting June
Budget Meeting October.
Extra Ordinary Meetings are held when
necessary
CONTRIBUTION FUNDS
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What is the difference between the administration
fund and sinking fund?
Administrative Fund
The Administrative Fund covers expenditure required for
the daily running and general maintenance of the Body
Corporate. This includes all repairs and maintenance
that would occur to buildings, plant and equipment,
electrical, gardens and grounds, lifts etc. It would
also include caretaking fees which are for the Building
Manager to clean and maintain parts of the common
property as per our Management Agreement. It also
includes community power for the running of pumps,
lights, lifts, pool/spa heaters etc.
Sinking Fund
This is a separate fund to the Administrative Fund. The
amount owners contribute is based on a sinking fund
forecast. Our Sinking Fund Analysis was prepared
by Solutions IE. It is a 10 year forecast of major
expenditure which covers such items as – painting the
common property (including the exterior of the
building), major repairs and refurbishment to lift cars,
and upgrading common property. These items are
considered as capital, or non-recurring major
expenditure, and therefore need to be contributed to by
all owners over a period of time. The purpose of this
fund is that if you owned your Lot for 5 years and the
re-painting of the exterior of the building is due in
year 10, your Lot has contributed for 5 years towards
the painting of the building.
Your individual contribution to the Administrative Fund and
Sinking fund is based on your lot’s “contribution
entitlement”. There are 331 lot entitlements at
Alexander Apartments. One bedroom units have 5 lot
entitlements and two bedroom units have 7 lot
entitlements
LEVY NOTICES
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What is a levy notice for?
Levy notices are sent to each owner four times a
year. The body corporate levies paid by the owners,
give the body corporate the funds to operate.
How
are our levies calculated?
Levies are set and based on the financial situation and
commitments. Budgets are prepared in October by the Body
Corporate Committee. All Owners are sent a voting paper
to vote on these motions prior to the Annual General
meeting in December each year.
CONTRIBUTIONS IN ARREARS?
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What happens if my account is in arrears?
Without contribution payments Alexander Apartments can
not meet its financial commitments for essential
maintenance and services.
Your
Body Corporate Committee is entitled to institute
recovery action and after a certain period of time, is
required by the Act to institute action to recover any
payment in arrears, including interest accrued and costs
involved in recovery of the overdue contributions.
What
is an “Arrears Notice” for?
An arrears notice is forwarded when your body corporate
has not received payment for your Body Corporate Levies
from the previous period/s by the due date. This arrears
notice is sent out by Body Corporate Services under
authorisation of your committee. Dates for payment of
contributions are set out in the minutes of your annual
general meeting forwarded to you each year.
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BODY CORPORATE LEGISLATION
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 Here are some links to
documents relating to Body Corporate legislation and
by-laws and the
Government Body Corporate web site.
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The BCCM Act 1997 and as amended 2003 -
The Act
[2661Kb]
[.pdf]
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INSURANCE FOR BUILDING, COMMON PROPERTY, PUBLIC
LIABILITY, MACHINERY
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The
Body Corporate is responsible for the insurance of the
building and the common property and the cost is
included in our Administrative Fund.
Our
underwriter is CHU/QBE Insurance and an owner can claim
on this policy under certain circumstances i.e.
damage to fixtures, water damage to a carpet or ceiling
resulting from a common area. (See Body Corporate
Services web page for more details)
The
Body Corporate's policy does not cover personal contents,
such as carpets and curtains, stereos etc.
The
excess on our insurance policy is $100.00. The
regulations referring to insurance excess provides that,
if there is an excess, then the Lot owner is to meet
that amount, unless certain circumstances dictate that
it is a Body Corporate responsibility.
BODY CORPORATE
LEVIES
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What do our Body Corporate levies cover (where do our
payments go)?
Your contribution is pooled with other owners’
payments to maintain your community and common areas to
meet regular expenses such as:
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Electricity
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Building Manager's remuneration
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Insurance, including public liability
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Gardens and pools/spa
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General maintenance and repairs
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Fire equipment
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Security CCTV
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2
Lifts
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Administration Agreement with Body Corporate
Services
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Sinking Fund for items of a capital nature
Where does my money go?
Your money is deposited with Macquarie Bank into
Alexander Apartments' own bank account controlled by your
committee and spent in accordance with the budget
approved by your Committee and adopted by all owners at
our annual general meeting.
Why do my levies vary over 12 months?
The first and second levies for the year are adopted at
the December AGM and levied on the current year's budget
The third levy of the year for October to December is a notional
amount based on the October budget estimates for the
following year.
Why
does Body Corporate Services collect our money?
Your Committee has appointed BCS to help manage your
community’s administration, including collection of the
contributions.
Why
have I been charged legal fees/interest etc?
If your levy notice was not paid by the due date stated
in the notice, BCS would have been requested by your
committee to instigate legal action to recover
outstanding contributions, interest, solicitors fees
etc.
Who
is Body Corporate Services?
Owners are the members of the Body Corporate. Body
Corporate Services are under contract to the owners and
their role is to work with your Body Corporate Committee
to ensure that your community runs smoothly in
accordance with the Act and regulation that applies to
your scheme.
IMPROVEMENTS TO A UNIT
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I want to install an air conditioner or I am making
renovations. Do I need approval?
Applications are required in writing addressed to
the committee and posted to Body Corporate Services.
You must submit with your applications, all plans and
specifications. The application will be tabled at the
next committee meeting. You should also read your
by-laws for particular requirements to Alexander
Apartments. This application may need approval via a
general meeting by a special resolution
Every
owner at Alexander Apartments must abide by the by-laws
and rules of the body corporate. The rules are made for
a reason and they are legally binding.
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