Hi Confused – we went through this at our Plan a couple of years ago, and as we're self-managed I (as Secretary) had to read and interpret the rule books that your Strata Manager swallowed!

I concluded that as ceiling fans are fixed to Common Property (CP) in a manner such that the CP would be damaged if fans were removed (by accident or otherwise), and that the readily obtainable combination fan/light models are often installed by the Owners themselves using the existing light wiring, that the Owners Corporation (O/C) needed to know about such installations.

The result was that our Executive Committee (and later the O/C) resolved that Owners must seek the written consent of the O/C prior to any installation, that the only conditions on the O/C's consent would be that all works must be undertaken by a Licensed Electrician, and that once installed, ceiling fans would be classified as “Lot Owners Fixtures” and be added to our Plan's Register of Common Property Changes.

That classification meant that any damage to the CP or the ceiling fan that arose due to a “defined event” like the fan suddenly coming away from the ceiling (which actually occurred) is covered by the Plan's Building Insurance, and that in all other circumstances all repairs and maintenance to the fan and the involved CP is the responsibility of the present and subsequent Owner/s of the Lot.

The process of arriving at this solution was time consuming given the conflicts in those rule books, and it could have been more restrictive / prescriptive, but I believe it's been proven simple and effective in its implementation since 2009 when the O/C rubber-stamped the procedure by way of Resolution at an AGM; no Special By-Laws necessary or required!!

Alternatives could indeed be to go down the regulatory route preferred by your Strata Manager, or for the O/C to have no involvement at all and to then argue with a Lot Owner about who pays for what (including personal property / personal injury) if the sky does fall in; I guess that self-management enabled us to take the middle-ground. 

I really think you have been badly advised on this (in the past, not on this forum).

Your building has clearly been run on the basis of a nod and wink and now they are exploiting your sense of right and wrong to bring their by-laws up to date.  All the law requires you to do is to give the EC 14 days notice that you plan to change something in your lot.  This is not requesting permission – it is telling them what you plan to do.

In the absence of specific by-laws relating to ceilings etc, that's all you need.

Your concerns for what happens if everything goes pear-shaped should be covered by getting a reputable installer to do the work and provide a warranty for it.

The difference between extractor fans and your ceiling fans is that the extractor fans should be repaired or replaced at their (the OCs) cost as they are clearly installed as part of common property.

As for the other unofficially installed fans in other units, if they were there when the current owners of the lot bought them, then they will have effectively become common property even though there was no by-law allowing their installation. So those owners wouldn't have to pay if the fell out of the ceiling (although the original owners – if they still own the units –  would).

In other words, if you hadn't removed your fan, it would be common property. 

This is one of these situations where I would be tempted to just go ahead and cover my backside by using competent installers (which is all a by-law could compel you to do anyway).  A by-law isn't going to protect you if common property gets damaged – it protects the OC against shoddy work now and in the future.

There is a clear inequity in them forcing you to carry the burden of updating their by-laws.  It's time to put a stop to it.  Send them a letter telling them that you plan to install a fan and that you accept responsibility for any damage it causes to common property.  If they want a by-law, they can formulate it and pay for it.