March Newsletter 2022
CHANGES TO THE KEEPING
OF PETS WITHIN YOUR LOT
Hi Members,
Our pets are our family!
Having survived 2 years of Covid-19 and lockdowns our pets have been by our side through it all. They have kept us company working from home, been a constant for the kids through homeschooling and kept us active on local walks.
When it comes to pets in apartments Owners Corporations often seek to impose weight or size restrictions on dogs within the apartment building. Some restrictions could be imposed for example; a small dog or dog not exceeding 10kg when fully grown, or try to restrict the breed eg no Huskies, German Shepherds, Great Danes etc. However, it now appears that such restrictions cannot be imposed unless the dog also “unreasonably” interferes with another occupant.
Section 137B (Keeping of Animals amendment introduced in August last year) of the Strata Scheme Management Regulation, 2016 (NSW) legislated that “it is taken to be reasonable to keep an animal on a lot unless the keeping of the animal unreasonably interferes with another occupant’s use and enjoyment of the occupant’s lot or the common property”.
For more information on the amended Regulation 36A, please click here.
Stay Safe and Informed!
Regards,
Leanne Habib
CEO
DEFT Cash Payments are changing
Recent changes have been made to cash DEFT payments made at Australia Post.
Do these changes affect me?
These changes will impact you if you pay your rent, strata levies, insurance premiums or other DEFT bills via cash at Australia Post.
What alternate payment options are there?
The payment methods available are determined by your DEFT reference number (DRN) and depend on what your biller accepts:
- Credit, debit card or bank account
- BPAY®
- In person via EFTPOS or cheque at an Australia Post outlet
- By mail
How can you continue to pay at Australia Post?
You can continue to visit Australia Post outlets to make DEFT payments via EFTPOS or cheque.
Please note that this article is provided for information purposes only and is not a substitute for professional legal advice.
This information has been prepared by, and DEFT is issued by, Macquarie Bank Limited ABN 46 008 583 542 AFSL 237502.
Please consider your own objectives, financial situation and needs, and read the DEFT Payer Product Disclosure Statement, before making any decision about DEFT.
‘Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation’.
NSW HEALTH COVID SAFE UPDATE
As we still live with Covid-19 in our community, NSW Health has updated the Covid Safe behaviours for all shared spaces in apartment living.
Your building can still be at risk for the transmission of Covid-19.
If you follow these simple steps, you can keep your family and friends safe.
- Wear a face mask in communal areas
- Maintain 1.5m distance between you and others
- Wash your hands and sanitise regularly
- Don’t overcrowd lifts, stairways or hallways
- Stay home if you are unwell and take a COVID-19 test.
NSW: Q&A Disabled Parking Rules in Apartments
Question: My lot has a huge disabled parking spot for my adaptable unit. It’s big enough for 2 small cars. Is there a regulation or law that restricts me from parking 2 cars in this space?
My lot has a huge disabled parking spot for my adaptable unit. It’s big enough to park 2 small cars easily within the boundary without encroaching onto the common property.
Is this legal? Is there a regulation or law that restrict the disable parking spot is only for 1 car?
Answer: We do not recommend you park 2 small vehicles in the disabled car space.
Given that the adaptable car space is to provide for additional parking space for the disabled (for safe entry and egress from such car spaces), we do not recommend you park 2 small vehicles. Further, 2 small vehicles may breach the parking density limits within your building and the building’s development consent and strata may pass a by-law prohibiting you from so parking.
NSW: Q&A Can I Display a ‘For Sale’ Sign On My Apartment?
Question: Without a specific bylaw referring to this, can an Owners Corporation or the Strata Committee insist that a Real Estate Office erect their signs only on a Particular Area of the Common Property?
We have one owner in our small
I live in a block of 12 units in Sydney NSW.
We do not have a specific By-Law regarding “For Sale” and “For Lease” signs or whether they are permitted to be erected by real estate offices on our Common Property at the front of the building.
Without a specific bylaw referring to this, can an Owners Corporation or the Strata Committee insist that a Real Estate Office erect their signs only on a Particular Area of the Common Property?
Can the owners corporation also insist that the Sign be removed within seven (7) days of a sale or lease of a lot?
Answer: Even if you do not have a specific by-law for signage, the erection of signage is not permitted without the approval in writing of the owners corporation (or strata committee). That approval may involve conditions.
Even if you do not have a specific by-law for signage, the erection of signage, of necessity, involves the use of nails, screws and other “damage” to the common property which is not permitted without the approval in writing of the owners corporation (or strata committee). See for example a standard by-law no. 5 reproduced below. Part of that approval may involve the imposition of reasonable conditions such as designation of particular area for use and removal of the sign within a certain period of time.
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