22 March 2023
A statement from The Knight’s Managing Director, Gregor Evans.
Many will have seen the media reporting over the past 24 hours regarding some of the unscrupulous practices which can unfortunately exist within the Owners Corporation (Strata) management industry.
Reporting of this nature is a blow to many in the industry, the overwhelming majority of whom are hardworking, honest professionals, proud of the work that they do to protect and better the communities under their care.
Firstly, to alleviate any concerns our clients may be feeling, I’d like to share a few reminders (all of which we outline clearly on our website and in our proposals and are proud to claim as true since our inception):
- With integrity one of our core pillars, we have never engaged in unconscionable conduct with Owners Corporation service providers
- We have never received any commission or kickback from Owners Corporation service providers except at times for the receipt of a fair amount of remuneration upon placement of an Owners Corporation’s insurance premium, which is fully disclosed to our client. Whilst receipt of remuneration by strata managers from the OC insurance premium is common practice and legal, we provide our clients the choice whether they wish for this to occur.
- We have never provided a financial incentive to property developers for them to appoint us as the manager for their projects and we have called out this dishonourable (and now illegal) practice for years. The Knight is appointed by property developers based upon our merit of providing a professional Owners Corporation management service.
- We have no affiliation with a company that provides onsite services to Owners Corporations such as maintenance, fire compliance or cleaning. While The Knight previously had a financial association in a building management company, we have long since separated ourselves from any such affiliation.
The Knight is proud to work in this industry, and we are proud of the work that we do.
We too want to stamp out dodgy behaviour and we have long been advocating for greater government intervention, greater transparency, greater ethics and greater protection for consumers. We want strata living to be considered a lifestyle of choice.
Equally, we want strata management to be a career of choice. We have long been advocating for greater protection and respect for strata professionals.
Owners Corporation (Strata) management is already an understaffed and overworked industry. Managers and support staff can often end up bearing the brunt of owner hostility and frustration which ultimately stems from misconception and distrust.
As this story continues to evolve, let’s remember not to tar all Owners Corporation (strata) professionals with the same brush. Together, we can turn this narrative around, and at The Knight, we will not stop striving to do so.