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Hi all,
Complex of 9 in WA. Wanting to know the pro’s and cons of passing an exclusive use common property bylaw. And if it’s worth the expense of having the property surveyed, plans drawn up and the bylaw drafted etc.
It will be for our carports and back courtyards. Currently both areas are classified as common property. The carports are noted on the old plans as ” for use of adjacent lots as numbered” and the back courtyards have essentially minimal to zero access from other lots with the current fencing.
The topic came about when I mentioned at a legal meeting my past issue with a neighbour repeatedly trespassing in my carport and the discussion arose from there.
Is it a bylaw that is worth having and can we add those 2 areas to our lot size when selling ?
Thanks in advance.
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I can think of many disadvantages of incorporating car ports into your lots and not many advantages.
For a start, if the car ports become dilapidated and unsightly or dangerous, how will you compel the new owners to fix them?
The problem sounds like people parking where they aren’t entitled to do so. If that’s the case, harden up your existing by-laws about parking and pursue miscreants diligently and relentlessly, including issuing memos and erecting signs that say people parking in other residents’ spaces will be fined.
All that creating a new by-law will do is make that the individual owners’ problem and not the committee’s. If the committee is too lazy to do anything, that’s where your problem lies, not in your by-laws.
The opinions offered in these Forum posts and replies are not intended to be taken as legal advice. Readers with serious issues should consult experienced strata lawyers.
I can think of many disadvantages of incorporating car ports into your lots and not many advantages. For a start, if the car ports become dilapidated and unsightly or dangerous, how will you compel the new owners to fix them? …
We did something like this. We made it a condition of the grant of special privilege (ACT-speak for exclusive use) that the unit owners must meet the owners corporations costs.
Our rule (aka by-law) was drafted with legal advice and includes:
“The Member shall pay to the Owners Corporation such amounts as the Owners Corporation may from time to time determine are necessary for the maintenance and repair of that part of the common property over which the Member has been granted special privileges.
“Such amounts shall be paid within fourteen (14) days of the Owners Corporation requesting any such amount in writing unless a longer payment period is specified.
“In the event that an owner fails to make payment in accordance with this clause the Owners Corporation will be entitled to recover the unpaid amount as a debt owed by the Member together with any reasonable costs incurred in recovering that amount. Costs include without limitation strata management fees and legal fees.”
There is another condition like the preceding one about the carport structure for those who have a carport rather than an open space. There are other conditions such as that rules that apply in the unit also apply in the special privilege areas, not modifying without permission, not storing hazardous stuff, OC can recover costs associated with making hazards safe, OC can still do what it likes on these bits of common property so long as it does not interfere with the use of the space for housing a vehicle, and so on.
The last mentioned term allows the OC to have a communal solar electricity system on the roof of one of our common property carports. The PV system makes no difference to the utility of the spaces below for parking.
So, when the carports need painting or the gutters cleared out, the OC can get in trades people to do the work and add the cost to the bills of the relevant units.
… can we add those 2 areas to our lot size when selling ?
Exclusive use by-laws are generally attached to the lot rather than the lot owner, so they would be part of the sale, as would ongoing responsibility for their maintenance (at least, in NSW they would).
The opinions offered in these Forum posts and replies are not intended to be taken as legal advice. Readers with serious issues should consult experienced strata lawyers.
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