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Our strata needs to pass a new by-law that will cover requests by lot owners to add items to the common property eg. external awnings. We want it to cover issues such as requesting permission from the Owners Corporation, undertaking to match other awnings on the building and to pay for maintenance of the item, and agreeing to pay for any damage done to the common property during installation or after. Does anyone have such a by-law we can consider using?
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Depending on what state you are in, there might be differences in what can be approved and by what mechanism. EG. in the ACT the Act says the EC can pass a resolution to approve ‘minor’ alterations to the common property such as an awning if it would not interfere unreasonably with the reasonable use and enjoyment of the common property by other owners. The Act gives an awning or an airconditioner as examples of minor incursions on the common property but what is minor in one OC could be major somewhere else depending on the layout of the common property. An general meeting could pass a resolution to direct the EC to only approve certain sorts of awnings, for example. On the other hand, in the ACT, an unopposed resolution is required to grant a ‘special privilege’ to use common property. Permission to have exclusive use of a particular parking space would generally be a special privilege rather than a minor use unless the OC had a great oversupply of parking, in which (unlikely) case it might be accepted as minor.
In other states, even the most trivial alteration might require a by-law and the class of resolution required to pass that by-law can vary.
A by-law could give permission to all or a class of owners to do a particular thing in a particular way (eg install awnings of a particular colour and type, but only on windows of west-facing units).
trying to – before responses proliferate, what State or Territory are you in?
Hi I live in NSW and require a by law for outdoor tiling to a courtyard.. can anyone help with a sample of what is required please?
Why do you want or require a Special By-Law?
I require a by law because I installed tiling in a courtyard in frustration after asking for repairs for 18 months. I removed pavers and replaced with tiles. No other area was touched. I supplied all of the contractors details and an engineers report stating the work met standards. Now I have been advised I am required to get a plumbers and building certification and I am required to get a solicitor to draw up the bylaw and to pay for OC solicitor to approve the by law. I am fine to produce a by law for GM however it’s a bit rich to ask one lot owner when a number of other owners have tiled their courtyards without incidence in this scheme…. Thanks for any help in advance
Ask them for a copy of the by-laws that the others used (Ha!). Or suggest that since this is a common occurrence, they create a catch-all by-law that covers all such renovations past, present and future.
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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