All Strata doesn’t add up

Attendance to an EGM by AAA for a Midland complex managed by All Strata Management Services has discovered that the four residential owners were subsidising the cleaning of the 14 commercial lots by $18,300 over the last three years.

The discrepancy was raised by an owner two months prior to the EGM and what became apparent during the meeting was that the cleaner, appointed by the developer, had not been breaking down the costs to separate the commercial from residential.

Ms Reece queried the financial due diligence by the senior strata manager, who has been in the strata sector for 35 years.

“This strata manager saw that the commercial cleaning was being charged at a flat rate of $19,000 per annum whereas the residential cleaning had doubled in that time,” Ms Reece said.

“The strata manager has a fiduciary responsibility to all owners and it is quite apparent that in this instance the strata manager has shown favouritism to the developer at the expense of the four residential owners.

“Furthermore, the insurance coverage had a component for $2 million for lost rental income which is not a strata company cost but rather a landlords and quite frankly this underhand behaviour is appalling.

“All Strata Management Services is a member of the Strata Community Association and once again this demonstrates that this relationship has no bearing on professionalism with AAA naming and shaming other member companies such as B Strata, Oakfield and Apogee Strata for breaches against the Strata Act.”

Minister John Carey who was meant to release recommendations for the Strata Act review in May has stayed silent on consumer protection.

“If the State Government wants to champion apartment living they have to ensure that consumer protection is on par and at the moment that is not the case,” Ms Reece said.

The AAA 2025 research demonstrated for the first time in eight years that consumer confidence in apartments was waning with only 51% of the 1100 respondents indicating they would purchase an apartment next time, down from 66% in 2023.