To be able to calculate and recommend a suitable level of remuneration for the management, caretaking, maintenance, supervision and control of the Body Corporate/Owners Corporation’s common property and assets at a particular building or complex, set out below is the procedure that is followed:
- to meet with the Representatives on-site to personally view and discuss the daily routines and duties that the Manager/Caretaker would be required to undertake at the complex;
- to carry out an on-site inspection of the Body Corporate/Owners Corporation’s common property and assets that are located at the complex;
- to conduct a review of a copy of the Manager/Caretaker’s day-to-day schedules of required duties and responsibilities as prescribed in the current Management Agreement;
- to review any other schedules or special prescribed duties associated with the Body Corporate/Owners Corporation’s common property caretaking duties and responsibilities that the Manager/Caretaker would be required to carry out at the complex ;
- to prepare a schedule of duties and responsibilities, including the frequency of performance of those duties that are necessary to be performed by the Manager at the complex;
- to assess and compare with similar strata titled complexes the times necessary to carry out the specified day-to-day management and caretaking duties and responsibilities;
- to calculate and recommend a suitable level of remuneration for the conducting of the Body Corporate/Owners Corporation’s required day-to-day duties and responsibilities at the complex; and
- to prepare a comprehensive report on the above requirements.
The On-Site Inspection
The on-site inspection of the building or complex is to view and evaluate the duties and responsibilities that the Manager/Caretaker would be required to perform. This involves viewing and photographing all common property and assets of the Body Corporate/Owners Corporation and all areas that are the responsibility of the Manager/Caretaker. The photographs enable the comparison of facilities, or areas, that may be similar in other buildings or complexes. This is not for a comparison of buildings, but a comparison of such things as swimming pools and associated areas, the size of foyers or reception areas, the rubbish disposal systems, etc.
The Meeting with a Representative
When meeting with a Representative on-site, it is normally with the entity that has commissioned the assessment. This could be the Manager/Caretaker, the Chairperson, the Body Corporate/Owners Corporation Committee Representative, the Body Corporate/Owners Corporation Manager or even an individual owner. Ideally, an assessment such as this is better if carried out in conjunction with both the Manager/Caretaker and the Body Corporate/Owners Corporation Committee, allowing both parties to have some input.
Preparing a Schedule of Duties and Responsibilities
Before determining an annual remuneration, it is firstly necessary to establish the duties that are specific to the complex and the frequency at which those duties be performed to maintain the complex at the required and expected standard. Unfortunately, many agreements are “generic” and not specific to the requirements of the particular building or complex, resulting in “grey” areas of interpretation. You cannot put a price on a job until you know what the job is.
Reviewing other Schedules
To review any other schedules or special prescribed duties associated with the Body Corporate/Owners Corporation’s responsibilities to ensure that there are no other areas of responsibility that are not specified in the Agreement. An example of this could be exclusive use areas that remain the responsibility of the Body Corporate/Owners Corporation to clean and maintain. This would be specified under the Exclusive Use By-Laws. It is not unusual to find separate gardening agreements with the Body Corporate/Owners Corporation or property areas such as embankments, creeks, lake front areas, shared roads or entrances, etc that, although not common property, are areas that become the responsibility of the Body Corporate/Owners Corporation through other arrangements, (in many cases arrangements put in place by the Developer), and thus a duty for the Manager/Caretaker. All of this has to be taken into account when conducting the assessment.
Duties and Times Schedule
The frequency of performance of duties and the times to perform these duties as set out in the duties and times schedules can then be compared to times as assessed for similar duties that are performed at other buildings or complexes. For instance, the average time to clean and test a similar size swimming pool, the average time to clean common area toilets, the average time to clean and maintain barbecues, etc.
Calculation of Remuneration
Once fair, reasonable and justifiable times are established to perform the agreed duties, a suitable level of remuneration for the conducting of the Body Corporate/Owners Corporation’s required day-to-day management and caretaking duties at the building or complex can be calculated.
A fair remuneration for a complex cannot be based on the average fee per unit per year paid at similar complexes. Our recommendations are always based on individual situation.
Please note, our on-site inspection does not assess the performance of the current manager/caretaker. Our focus is to assess the times and duties needed to maintain your complex by any competent person who may be contracted either now or in the future. The performance of the current manager/caretaker is an issue between the Body Corporate/Owners Corporation and the incumbent and is not part of our review. In other words, we are there to assess the job, not the job holder.