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The property I bought into has breaches of non compliance to the property’s council approvals in relation to parking entitlements, no visitor parking as well as driveways with no DA apporvals. The property is also not set out as in the strata plan with a main entry/exit driveway having been created over owner’s car space entitlements rendering them unusable.
Council does not want to know and has avoided the issue, the NSW state government department of local government responce from the minister’s office was that they have no control over council’s funding for investigation and action into matters so we are at a stalemate.
The NSW strata management act does not cover any details of responsibility of an owners corporation to follow council approvals or registered strata plans and tribunal hearings have steered owners to lawyers to sort out.
Is there an easier solution to force an owners corporation to address adherence to the strata plan?
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33tony – After a Development Consent (DA), and I think even after a Certificate of Occupancy has been issued, the original Applicant (e.g. the Developer) can apply to Council for approval to modify any past Consent under the provisions of S.96 of the NSW Environmental Planning and Assessment Act (1979).
Requested modifications have to leave the development “substantially the same” as in the original DA, and even though that criteria is subjective the changes you mention in your post would be permissible under S.96(2).
So check that possibility with Council in the first instance, but if there have been no S.96 Modifications approved, and the Construction Certificate which was likely provided by a Private Certifier engaged by the Applicant is inconsistent with what’s on-site, then it’s Council’s responsibility to ensure that the Owners Corporation (O/C) complies; assuming it’s the one who has left matters in a inconsistent state.
I’d recommend an approach to your local Councillor / Alderperson to stir Council’s Officers along, followed by a letter to the NSW Department of Planning, and if all else fails an Application to the NSW Land & Environment Court.
Surely if the Strata have appropriated owners parking spaces that are assigned to individual lots to use as access to the Strata then the strata must have passed a Special Resolution bylaw to obtain these parking spaces AND obtained the lot owners written permission from those who lost their parking spaces.
If this was not done surely the lot owners who have lost their parking spaces can go to adjudication to have them re-instated which is well within the power of an adjudicator.
Strata CANNOT seize lot property without the written permission of the lot owner affected.