Jimmy
Yes, you should always check the bylaws that apply to your strata scheme, and I should have made that more clear. Sorry. The flooring by-law 14 that I quoted is not new; it is applied by s42 of the SSMA to 'old' schemes – that is, pre-january 1997. It appears as by-law 15 in the 'model by-laws' that appear in the strata schemes management reg 2010.
Both those sets of by-laws can, of course, be adopted, modified, supplemented or what ever.
So yes, I have come across other flooring by-laws in various strata plans, but the one most often applied in the 12 years I have been involved in strata law is the one I have quoted above.
In passing, the great advantage of the 2010 'model' by-laws is that they contain a compulsory notice provision, which is the new number 14:
“14 Changes to floor coverings and surfaces
(1) An owner or occupier of a lot must notify the owners corporation at least 21 days before changing any of the floor coverings or surfaces of the lot if the change is likely to result in an increase in noise transmitted from that lot to any other lot. The notice must specify the type of the proposed floor covering or surface.
(2) This by-law does not affect any requirement under any law to obtain a consent to, approval for or any other authorisation for the changing of the floor covering or surface concerned.”
This is an idea which should, probably, be adopted by every strata scheme – that is, the by-laws should be amended to include a notice provision. The idea that by-laws should retain their numbers when the legislation changes is, I fear, beyond hope in this universe.