@Whale said:
… on the subject of Owners renovating their Lots, … the NSW Strata Schemes Management Act … requires those Owners to seek the Consent of their Owners Corporation O/C) in advance of those renovations commencing, a Consent made by way of a Special Resolution at a General Meeting is only necessary where the proposed works involves an addition or alteration to, or the erecting of a new structure on the Common Property, and a Special By-Law is subsequently necessary only where the O/C wants to make those Owners responsible for the on-going maintenance, repair, and replacement of whatever it is that they’re adding, altering, or erecting and they agree to that.
I’mm 100 percent with Whale on this but, just to clarify, in the majority of examples such as those cited by KiwiPaul, such as a kitchen renovation, the lot owner only has to ‘inform’ the EC 24 days before they commence work, provided they aren’t making changes to common property.
Many kitchen do-ups use existing piping etc so there is no need for a special resolution by-law. If there is a more extensive renovation going on, I want to know what effect that will have on common property and I want legally binding guarantees that the lot owner and any subsequent purchasers will be liable for any stuff ups.
Yes, the system could (and probably will) be streamlined. But KP’s fears of a new by-law every year are not borne out by the “real world” experience here in NSW. I my duilding i can hear work going on and know that it will either be pre-approved by the EC, via a catch-all by-law, or the miscreants will be dragged off to the CTTT for ignoring the by-laws.