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Topic
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We have a terraced style building and the owner on the top floor has proposed (drawings and bylaw provided to owners) at an EGM that he extends his unit out on each side. At the moment there is a garden on the terrace that is common property but no owner can access. The proposed extension involves extending his living room out onto the terrace and then having a large balcony. Also on the other side of his unit is a small balcony that comes from the main bedroom and this will also be extended to make the bedroom larger.
He has employed architects to design the work and it is in keeping with the external appearance of the building.
Should the unit owner pay to have the strata scheme re-surveyed as the unit has increased in area and value therefore his entitlements and levy payment should also increase?
Thank You
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Replies
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Changing your unit entitlement is a potentially long, complicated and expensive process, especially if one or more owners isn’t onside. It’s not uncommon for the moderate benefits by evening up the UEs to be less than the cost of the resdistribution.
However, the OC might look at selling or leasing the airspace above the terrace, locked into a by-law as a condition of approval, with the latter linked to CPI in perpetuity.
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The OC could insist that the lot owner purchases the common area before proceeding with (b) but in this case, that might be mean-spirited if the owner already has exclusive use.
In NSW most balconies in relatively new blocks (post 1996) are common property but the lot owners have exclusive use. That’s not really all that significant. What is relevant is the look of the building, the maintenance of the area and the new structures, and the fact that the owner is utilising CP air space (above the balcony floor) to enhance the value of their property.
If it was easy to re-assign unit entitlements, that would be the way to go. But it isn’t and it’s expensive and that could be getting in the way of an opportunity to a) keep an owner happy and b) put some extra funds into the OC coffers.
I would be proposing a 99-year lease at a fee to be increased every year by CPI, which included a clause that the owner and all subsequent owners agreed to a by-law that said they would maintain the balcony to an acceptable standard at their own expense.
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