Question: My application to park a Wheelie Walker in the foyer of our apartment block has been refused on the grounds that storage of the mobility scooter will be a safety hazard. Answer: Your mobility scooter may indeed constitute a fire hazard and possibly a trip hazard. Unfortunately, it appears that your walker may…
Parking Bay Allocation After reading your article on Strata News on towing parking offenders from common property, I was hoping you could give us some advice with an ongoing issue we have on parking. Parking issues take up far too much time in strata! We are in Sydney and we have a tenant residing in…
Question: If an apartment is tenanted, how many occupants are allowed in a 2 bedroom unit? I suspect overcrowding in the apartment next door to ours. Answer: You would need a by-law which stipulates occupancy limits. Subject to anything contained in the development approval for the building, you would need a by-law which stipulates occupancy limits and…
Faulty Waterproofing I live in a unit complex in Sydney and there are 76 units. My strata contracted (& paid for) a company to come fix my faulty waterproofing on my balcony. In order to access the faulty waterproofing, the company had to remove/lift the wooden deck on the balcony. During the process of repairing the faulty…
Question: What action can the Strata Committee take to impose compliance for breaches? A lot owner is amplifying her non-compliance in response to being advised to cease her hanging of washing on the balcony practices. Answer: Issue a notice to comply with the washing on the balcony bylaw and then pursue the matter through NCAT….
Question: We have a general By-law stating residents must not park on common property without written approval. Is this sufficient or should we specifically refer to visitor parking spaces? Answer: A very specific visitor parking by-law should be drafted by a strata lawyer. Technically, this by-law is adequate because visitor car parking is common property. However,…
Question: A regular visitor to our building has exhibited violent behaviour to lot owners and we are concerned about resident safety. How do we proceed to protect neighbouring lot owners? Answer: It seems your only avenue would be to apply for an APVO – not APO. Though we are not criminal lawyers, it seems your…
Centreline Rule Question: I have been reading up on your weekly posts regarding the ‘Centreline Rule’ for Strata Plans registered before 1974. I read that Bannermans Lawyers response was that the boundary between lots applies to walls, floors and ceilings etc. Do you agree? What’s your opinion, does it applies to floors? Answer: Great to hear…
Question: A lot owner has a very regular visitor who has been given a security pass to our garage and his car is regularly in our single strata visitor car parking spot. He has become quite territorial about the space. How do we handle this? Answer: The owners corporation’s strategy should be to enter…
Question: About a month ago the receiver for our automatic garage door openers on the undercover secure garage stopped working properly. While we wait for the repair of the receiver, is it permitted to lock out residents from their own garages? Answer: Permanent closure of the garage may be a violation of proprietary rights…
Question: For some reason, I have a key to the communal Fuse Box in our apartment building and I have been providing access for tenants who trip their fuse. I’m just trying to help. Why is this a problem? Answer: Fortunately, the strata manager has issued a notice to comply with the peaceful enjoyment…
It’s the law! Owners Corporations are required by law to repair & maintain the common property. The new legislation allows individual lot owners to sue the Owners Corporation and recover any damages suffered by an owner as a result of the Owners Corporation’s failure to properly repair & maintain the common property. Preserving and…
Question: Some residents in our building use the visitor parking spaces as an additional parking spot. Is it possible to increase levies for these few residents and not all lot owners? Answer: First you need to ascertain from the development consent for the building exactly how many visitor parking spaces are required by law. Before…
Question: There are a number of very vocal apartment owners in my building who are against animals of any type, including a companion animal. Answer: If you can demonstrate your animal meets the requirements of a companion animal for the specific outlined range of disabilities, the Owners Corporation cannot prohibit the keeping of your…
Question: Before I owned my apartment, another lot owner was given exclusive use of common property. The area is quite large and I’m perturbed I no longer have access. Is there anything I can do? Answer: While it is difficult, it is not unheard of that an exclusive use by-law be repealed. It is…
As we count down to the 30th of November, we wanted to test your knowledge of the new strata legislation through a number of quiz questions. Over the coming 2 weeks we will publish 5 questions and answers. Why not have a go? Today our fifth and final question: True or False? Tenants can now…
As we count down to the 30th of November, we wanted to test your knowledge of the new strata legislation through a number of quiz questions. Over the coming 2 weeks we will publish 5 questions and answers. Why not have a go? Today our second question: True or False? Small pets will be allowed in…
Leanne provided a response to another reader’s question received by LookUpStrata. The reader wanted to know what to do in order to retain her tenants, who are having apartment parking space problems, and may vacate because of this. You can read the full question, and Leanne’s response by clicking here.
The team at Bannermans Lawyers have written this article summarising the requirements and rights of tenants in strata titled buildings: A lot owner is required to lodge a tenancy notice with the owners corporation/managing agent if it leases the lot, as is the lessee if the lessee subleases. The owners corporation/managing agent must record that information in…
The Department of Fair Trading has produced a series of short videos. The first two in the series are about the simple things you can do around your home to prevent these falls. They include easy step-by-step instructions on how to install window safety devices yourself. The third video in the window safety series helps…