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[bcr83]

Thanks for your reply,

To just get a little more clarity I will ask the questions floating around in my head, playing a bit of the devils advocate here..

Yes, we do have noise transmission by law – “

An owner of a lot must ensure that all floor space within the lot is covered or otherwise treated to an extent sufficient to prevent the transmission from the floor space of noise likely to disturb the peaceful enjoyment of the owner or occupier of another lot.”

I can understand that a SBL may be required however my SM has advised that it may have been approved with by law 5 – “damage to common property” So with that being said, we have an apartment completely tiled beneath me, would it not make sense to at least check what communications if any have taken place to the EC and if this particular by law was applied prior to this floor going in? Additionally if it is ok for the unit below to have it then treating everyone equally, I should be able to have it? If not, then shouldn’t the owner for the unit below be advised of the breach etc?

I have made contact with companies who can provide acoustic underlay that exceed the standard with regards to noise transmission for tiled floors. If I have a SBL created and it exceeds noise transmission requirements why would it be such a hard task to convince owners corp…I am satisfying the maintenance/upkeep requirement and adhering to noise transmission requirements, what else would someone be concerned about?

Lastly, If I have a Bylaw created and then take it to the matter to AGM and it is not passed, that’s a significant cost to wear. Does it work in the way of being approved at the AGM and then the By Law is created to save the potential loss?

Thanks in advance

 

 

@random said:
What bylaws does your building have in place regarding transfer of noise to other apartments and requiring sufficient noise insulation of flooring (excluding kitchens, laundries, bathrooms)? Not sure where you are, but in NSW it would be very strange for a strata not to have such bylaws, and I do not expect tiling could meet the requirements.

Plus, whether or not there was an approval of sorts in the long term past for another lot, I would agree with your strata manager that you would likely require a special bylaw to be drafted and registered – which will have to be voted on at a general meeting. And I feel you will struggle to get support from other owners to tile your entire apartment at a general meeting (i.e. if in my building you would need a very convincing case [in terms of both noise and maintenance/upkeep] for me to consider voting permission for this).

So in my opinion the right way to go would be to firstly consult your existing bylaws regarding noise and flooring changes. Potentially discuss with an acoustic engineer if the believe it will be possible to have sufficient noise insulation with tiling your apartment – if so arrange a report so you have something to show. And after all of that, if you want to proceed, talk to a strata lawyer about drafting a special bylaw as your strata manager suggested to table at the next EGM or AGM.

(On the balcony tiles question – it would generally be appropriate to let your OC know (via EC and/or strata manager) when you would expect to be doing this work due to the noise. Consult your bylaws as to whether there’s any additional requirements.)

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