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I am in NSW. And a member of our strata committee. I am at loggerheads with the chairman about whether some walls are common property or lot property. Unknown to me the remainder of the committee (4 persons) had a meeting and made a decision as to classification of all walls within our townhouse complex. I was emailed with the resulting decisions made at that meeting.
Is it strataly legal to a) have this meeting and b) make that decision; without my knowledge?
As always thanks for your helpful counsel.
(I don’t know if it’s a real word or not)
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I am not a NSW person but I got the impression from other responses here that the strata plans in NSW show which walls are lot property and which are common property by thick and thin lines. Hence my impression is that it is not a committee decision but a matter that became fixed at the time the strata plan received development approval.
I am in NSW.
As Sir Humphrey said, the strata plan ( available from LPI) determines what is common property and what is lot property. Thick lines generally show common property boundaries and thin lines are just dividers.
Be aware that the date of when your strata was registered (pre 1974 and pre 1986) have an affect on interpretation of common property.
Also read the bylaws as there may be exclusive use bylaws affecting common property.
To amplify what Sir Humphrey said,, the committee under no circumstances determines what is common property and what is not. They can choose to,interpret the strata plan, but you can challenge their interpretation.
That may require a good strata lawyer to help you and a visit to the tribunal.
BTW the strata plan is attached to your contract of sale if you don’t want to pay at LPI
The strata committee can’t make a decision like that. They also can’t have a valid meeting without issuing an agenda.
If it was an extraordinary general meeting, they should also have issued an agenda and invited you to the meeting.
I’m also not sure that they can change the strata plan with even a “super majority” or special resolution. Section 17 of the Strata Schemes Development Act says that the owner of a lot has to sign off on the conversion of that lot to common property. Don’t know if that applies to lot walls.
As others have said, they can issue an opinion about what is and isn’t common property, but that doesn’t change anything. It just lets you know what side they will be on in a dispute.
“Strataly” wasn’t a word before but it is now.
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