Following the landmark Court of Appeal decision in Cooper v The Owners – Strata Plan No. 58068 [2020] NSWCA 250 (“Cooper”) that held that by-laws containing blanket bans on pets were harsh, unconscionable or oppressive, the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (“Act”) is now being amended to enshrine these provisions into legislation.
In order to obtain development consent conditions from a development application the Local Council needs the consent of the owner of the land.
If an owners application involves the common property the owners corporation’s consent to the lodgement of that development application is required to enable development consent conditions to issue.
From 22 March 2021, Consolidation/Change of By-Laws dealings must be lodged electronically through Property Exchange Australia (“PEXA”), unless a waiver applies. This means that the majority of Consolidation/Change of By-Laws forms can no longer be lodged by paper.
It is common for owners or owners corporations to have disagreements about how to deal with a hedge on a neighbour’s property that is obstructing views (such as water views) or sunlight.
These issues are primarily addressed under the Tree (Disputes Between Neighbours) Act 2006 (NSW) (“TDA”), though there are circumstances where the TDA may not be applicable.
Issues
Proper management of smoke alarms within strata buildings, including initial installation and ongoing maintenance, is an important safety concern, generally taken seriously by all concerned. However, depending on the equipment used, costs can be significant and issues can arise as to who is responsible for those costs.
It is extremely important for any prospective purchaser to undertake enquiries and due diligence prior to purchasing a property. Pre-purchase inspection reports are crucial to ascertain the condition of a property and can usually be commissioned at a low cost. It is frustrating for any purchaser to find out that the property they have just bought has defects present which were not noted in the pre-purchase inspection report.
In order to obtain development consent conditions from a development application the Local Council needs the consent of the owner of the land.
If an owners application involves the common property the owners corporation’s consent to the lodgement of that development application is required to enable development consent conditions to issue.
A Major Management Issue of all Strata Owners
In 2012, a major study by the University of New South Wales found that 85% of strata owners had to address costly building defects. Since then the problem seems to have grown even worse, with some notorious major developments and a state-wide fire safety issue with external cladding materials.
A Response to Notoriously Defective Buildings
The Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020 (NSW) is the major legislative response to public concerns regarding defective buildings in New South Wales. Major developments at Mascot Towers and Opal Towers have received notorious media attention, and residential owners have been exposed to eye-watering rectification costs.
There has been a widespread practice of extending caretaking or building management agreements to get around the 10 year cap in the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (SSMA 2015). However, in the recent case of Australia City Properties Management Pty Ltd v The Owners – Strata Plan No 65111 [2020] NSWSC 1505, Justice Darke held that deeds of variation used to extend the term of the agreement for a period of greater than 10 years by adding option periods were, in fact, capped at a term of 10 years.
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