KP – I don’t know if your post was facetious, but just in case you weren’t just taking a shot at your NSW cousins, I thought I’d also clarify some matters.
Firstly and on the subject of Owners renovating their Lots, whilst the NSW Strata Schemes Management Act (which is under review by the way) 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.
It possible and indeed usual for an O/C to create and register Generic Special By-Laws (SBL) allowing its Executive Committee (E/C) to grant Consent to the specific types of works with each having generic conditions, which in the case of our Plan applies to the installation of split-system air conditioners, replacing existing hotwater heaters with heatpumps, LPG systems, and/or solar systems, installing solar PV systems, and installing pay-tv.
Similarly and using one of your examples, where a proposed renovation involves a new kitchen or a new bathroom, and that involves an addition or alteration to, or the erecting of a new structure on the Common Property, then our SBL sets out the terms of a Generic Consent and some Generic Conditions applicable to that including the use of licensed persons, liability insurance, days/hours of work, storage of materials, disposal of debris, parking, and noise.
Clearly, where a proposed renovation doesn’t involve the Common Property, then the Owners seeks the O/C’s Consent in the normal way and only the Generic Conditions (above) apply as applicable.
So as you’ll see there aren’t 20 SBL’s for each of 20 kitchen renos, just a Generic one covering all renovations of that type, and finally in the case of our Plan, a “catch-all” SBL accompanied by a Register of Changes and Additions to the Common Property to cover the situation where a renovating Owner doesn’t seek the Consent of the O/C, and where that SBL says (in legal jargon) “if whatever you’ve done isn’t in the Register, then in terms of ongoing maintenance, repairs, and replacements to that, it’s all yours and that of every subsequent owner of your lot”.
That’s the real world, NSW edition (where it’s 2013 by the way; Ay).