Our AGM agenda has arrived. It has a proposed motion for our Villa renovations only complete with Special Bylaw, our plans and engineer’s report.
The agenda also has another motion for a Generic Renovation Bylaw which states that the owners of Lot X (me) requested a generic renovation by law be draft and presented at the AGM. (I had actually followed Whale’s suggestion and asked for a bylaw with a moratorium of 6 months so that anyone who needed to could seek the OC’s retrospective consent). The motion explains that the EC got legal advice and bylaws authorising renovation works generally are problematic in light of recent Tribunal decisions.
The motion lists some confusing options all with their own restrictions as follows;
- a bylaw under section 52. This will confer maintenance and repair obligations, but it requires the written consent of all owners (if rights are being given to all owners) and it must specify the relevant area of common property (which is not known for all lots),
- a bylaw under section 47, which contains a pro-forma bylaw under section 52 which owners will complete and send to the strata manager each time they wish to conduct renovation works. This ensures compliance with the ACT and lot owners are saved the expense of arranging their own by-law, however it does not circumvent the need for general meetings each time an owner proposes work,
- a bylaw under section 47 which does confer maintenance and repair obligations or a bylaw under section 52 which is not specific about the affected common property). This was the norm prior to the current interpretations, but it is not certain that bylaws drafted in this way will survive a challenge.
Can anyone see a way forward?