My question is this. This lift would be for the sole benefit of 3 units, no other owner has any reason to use this lift therefore should our strata fees be used for this purpose? All other amenities are used by all owners.
That is a valid question. If the top-floor owners bought in with no lifts present and no commitment by or obligation on the scheme to provide one, then I would think this could be considered a misuse of strata funds as it only benefits a small minority of owners. It would be different if a lift had always been part of the plan but not installed or delayed for financial or other reasons.
I am not a lawyer but I would think the extent of the Owners Corp’s obligation here would be to allow the lift’s installation and operation at little or no financial cost to the rest of the scheme, while imposing conditions on its operation and maintenance on the three owners who want to have it.
As for the owner who doesn’t want to pay, the use of the lift could be restricted electronically to those who have contributed to its installation and running costs (which I realise might mean the other three couldn’t afford to install it).
It should not be forgotten that the installation of the lift will considerably increase the value of the top floor flats. If I were an owner in one of the apartments that won’t benefit from the lift’s installation, I would be digging through the legislation to find grounds for preventing the OC from paying for any of it.