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Recently an owner of a unit in my building gained permission from the Owners Corporation and then council to have a carspace enclosed. This was approved via a special by-law. However before work had commenced it was discovered that a portion of this carspace was common property and therefore not owned by this person, (both they and the previous owner have been using this carspace for many years. The space had the markings of the lot number although it is unclear who marked the lot.
Through their legal representation the owner has now requested that,
a) They are permitted to remain using the carspace as their own.
b) The owners corporation agree to amend the by-law to redefine the actual area of current use.
c) The owner transfers the proprietary rights of this carspace to common property (at a cost to the owners corporation).
If the above is not agreed to, the owner will invoke his rights under section 158 of the Act and seek to obtain consent to amend the by-law.
The Strata manager has provide a quote to the Owners Corp with the view of engaging legal representation for costs in relation to rescinding the original resolution which allowed the carspace to be enclosed.
My questions are: should the owners corporation be responsible for legal costs given it appears to be an oversight by the strata managers for not knowing that this carspace was common property? Is there a level of accountability for the negligence of the Strata Manager?
What rights does this person have to persist with the demands listed above when they do not even own this carspace?
Can the owner declare ignorance in stating they were unaware that the car space is common property? One would have thought through the purchasing process that their legal representation would have pointed this out.
Regards Gary