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[Ziggy]

At a General Meeting of the owners corporation, it was approved that I can replace my old balcony doors, which can’t be seen from the street, with double glazed doors. I have all the appropriate documentation from the NSW government and there will be no structural changes.

Now I’m told that this is a major renovation and needs a bylaw. You say above Jimmy

Major renovations include:

Changes that affect the outside or structure of your apartment, duplex or strata property
Changes that require waterproofing
Changes to the ceiling
Work that needs approval under other laws (for example, council approval).

Does this include balcony doors?

You also say above the following:

An owner must not carry out work on the common property unless the owner is authorised to do so—

under a by-law made under this Part or a common property rights by-law, or
by an approval of the owners corporation given by special resolution or in any other manner authorised by the by-laws.

Does the OR mean I don’t necessarily need a bylaw to have the works approved? That is, just approval by special resolution?

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[Jimmy-T]

If the sliding doors are double glazed then you can have them considered as a minor renovation. But seriously, I think this has been going on for so long you either need to get lawyers involved – and hope you can recoup the costs – or ignore the committee and just get the work done and let them pursue you, or let it go.

You could even hire a lawyer to come to the meeting and (as our scheme did recently) scare the owners with stories of having to be cross-examined by a barrister as to why they voted against the motion.  That said, that tactic annoyed everyone so much that they turned against the committee and rejected the proposal anyway.

FYI: It is absolutely legitimate for a committee to explain what the motions are and how they think owners should vote – provided the information they are presenting is truthful and in the interests of the strata scheme.

The new strata laws require strata committees to be honest and fair and if you can prove they haven’t been than you might have grounds for having the committee or individual members of it sacked.

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.

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[Ziggy]

My strata manager refused to consider the sliding doors as a minor renovation. They said I had to get a bylaw, which I have done. But the strata committee doesn’t like the bylaw that was drafted by a highly reputable strata legal firm. Nor do they think it appropriate that I am having the doors installed through a NSW government initiative.

The reason I can’t get the works done is the company that is installing the doors needs the SP seal affix to the deed.

I have engaged the same lawyers who wrote the bylaw to assist me. By the time all this is resolved, I will have spent $10,000. That’s before going to NCAT.

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[Jimmy-T]

It’s not up to the strata manager to decide what is or isn’t a minor renovation, but your committee will be guided by them. Your only option is to take your lawyer’s advice and if that is to  push ahead and go to NCAT, make sure they have structured the claim so that your costs are covered.

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.

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[Ziggy]

Thanks Jimmy. I might be able to sleep tonight.

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