- This topic has 4 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 12 years, 4 months ago by .
-
Topic
-
We have recently bought a Sydney City appartment with a car space on a separate title.We have failed to check in time that the body corporate has a one card access policy despite the title is on joint names.We understand that the card is only for one space and we only asking for a duplicate.It cannot be abused becuse this is a car stacker.If there is a car parked in there you can only park in another if you retreive the one parked first.
This space cost us $500 a quoter and since we work in Canberra during the week and only there on the weekend we would like to rent this space out between Monday to Friday to recover some of the costs.
Can the Body Corporate restrict the issue of a duplicate card or is there an authirity that I can take this complaint further…
-
Replies
-
A Strata Search (if you commissioned one) should have revealed that Policy, but it sounds very much like your Owners Corporation (O/C) has Registered a Special By-Law (SBL) to limit owners’ ability to turn the car park area into a short-term parking station for the commercial use of non-owners.
The best means for you to attempt a change to that Policy is to place an appropriately worded Motion on the Agenda for the next General Meeting of the Owners Corporation, and to seek the required 75% (minimum) of those in attendance to vote with you to have the SBL amended or repealed.
Until such time as that vote can be passed, I’m afraid that you’re stuck with that $500 quarterly fee!
CHSG said
Thanks for this. Just checked the by-laws, and we do not have such a clause or any reference to the 1 access key policy. As such, can we require the owners’ corp to provide an additional key? How?
The Owners Corp doesn’t need to have a one-key by-law to restrict access to the car park – they might want to do so for the simple reason that the building is less secure if there are keys available to outsiders whose names are not registered on any lease or other document that makes them subject to the by-laws of the building. I cleared a carpark of dozens of outsiders’ vehicles in a building in Kings Cross 15 years ago using exactly that argument – and we were challenged by a government department who wanted to use the spaces.
It would be much better for all concerned if you could get somone who already lives in the building and who needs the extra car space – but is prepared to vacate it at weekends – than starting a fight over your “right” earn money in a way that might undermine the security of the block
If you want to be alerted when anyone replies to your posts or responds to this topic, please register and login, then you will be able to subscribe to the topic. The opinions offered in these Forum posts and replies are not intended to be taken as legal advice. Readers with serious issues should consult experienced strata lawyers. NB: Longer threads may spill over to additional pages - look for the numbers on the bottom right, under the last post.
You might also want to check the DA lodged with council. City of Sydney council have a standard clause (part of the Local Environment Plan now I believe) which restricts the letting of car parks in apartment buildings. So depending on when your building was built, you may not be able to let your car park to anyone who isn’t already an occupant of the building.
The wording in our DA is:
“The on-site car parking spaces, exclusive of designated visitor car parking spaces, are not to be used by those other than an occupant of or person residing in the subject building and any tenant or registered proprietor of the development site or part thereof shall not enter into an agreement to lease, licence, or transfer ownership of such car parking spaces to those other than an occupant or resident of the subject building.”