If implemented and structured appropriately, the Owners Corporation will have no burden of utility management complexities.
- Generally, the embedded network provider pays the installation cost and owns the infrastructure.
- Usually, the Owners Corporation must enter into an infrastructure agreement thus making it difficult readily exit an embedded network agreement.
- Owing to the fact that the Owners corporation owns and controls the common property, the decision to install an embedded network must be made by the Owners Corporation
Approval process by the Owners corporation
- In order for the services to be provided by the owners corporation, it must pass a special resolution pursuant to section 12 of the Owners Corporations Act 2006 (the OC Act)
- Granting Network provider access in the form of a license (to all the common property of the owners corporation) through a special resolution is required pursuant to section 14 of the OC Act.
Then there is this Agreement
The purpose of the Agreement is to enable the owners corporation acting as the middleman to appoint the network provider:
- To provide the utility
- To act as the agent of the owners corporation to purchase the gas, electricity and/or water etc. and on-sell the utility to occupiers and/or the lots.
The Fine Print where the experience of the manager count
The Owners corporation must read through the fine print when entering into such infrastructure agreements and get legal advice as the terms of the Agreement can impose significant responsibilities and obligations on the owners corporation.
- The Owners corporation must not provide any form of an indemnity for any losses, claims, liabilities and/or costs in respect of issues that are outside the control of the owners corporation.
- Owners corporations must not disclose any private information of the lot owners without first receiving a written authorization before providing any such information to the Network provider in breach of the Privacy Act 1988.
- Even though the owners corporation may be obligated to ensure to provide all reasonable assistance, it’s harder to get compliance from the lot owners.
- The Owners corporation must seek ways to limit the extent of the license being granted to the network operator in the use of the common property which may hinder lot owners use and quiet enjoyment rights of the common property.
- The terms of the agreement must make reference to the registered rules of the owners corporation or have the rules amended to suit from time to time.