Committee Operating Procedures

Lot Owners Work Approvals - Save Time and Increase Profitability

Streamline lot owner work approvals with our SOP! Save time, reduce errors, and increase profitability with clear processes for renovation and maintenance requests. Learn about common roadblocks and solutions. Book a free call to discover more!

By
Michael Teys
on
December 20, 2024
Category:
Governance

Nothing motivates an owner or tenant to take an interest in strata more than wanting to start work on renovations to their lot… tomorrow. This might be the first time they encounter the inner workings of an owners corporation. 

A good Standard Operating Procedure for processing lot owner work approvals will anticipate this. It will provide plenty of information on how to make a request. You can save a lot of time processing applications by creating a form with required information. If you insist this is completed before you start the preapproval process, it will reduce email traffic and save time. 

This preview is an extract from our SOP for processing renovation requests from lot owners. It features two of the eight sections of the SOP – a description of the task, and common roadblocks and solutions. 

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1. What is the task?

This is an operating procedure for processing applications from lot owners to undertake work to their lot property. This covers both maintenance work and renovations, including new fit outs.

8. What are the common roadblocks in performing this task?
  • Owners and tenants are not aware of the owners corporation’s rules and laws relating to approvals for this work.
    Solution: Alert new owners and tenants to these rules when you welcome them to the building. We also include a form for lot work approvals on our website and the owner’s portal. We do not begin processing the lot work approval request until all the required information has been supplied.
  • Misunderstandings about what work needs development approval by the local authority.
    Solution: Provide our fact sheet for owners and occupiers. It explains when approvals are necessary.
  • Tenants do not have the consent of the owners to carry out the work.
    Solution: We need the owner's consent submitted with the approval request form. We do not process the application without the owner’s prior written consent.

Some of these roadblocks, and the solutions, might seem obvious. But, in the busy day-to-day running of a strata management business, it can be easy to put off the work around solutions…. until tomorrow. Then you are under pressure, working late to get them done at the last minute, and you are more likely to make a mistake. 

If you would like to learn more about our Complete Standard Operating Procedures System, book a free 30-minute call with me to discuss your needs. 

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Michael Teys

Michael Teys is the Founder and Chairman of The Strata Professionals Australia. He brings together more than 30 years of specialist strata law practice, a decade of strata business ownership, and an active programme of academic research into multi-owned property governance.