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[thomas]

I’m new here and I’ve looked through the archives and can’t readily see if this topic has been covered before.

I am an owner of a Sydney strata unit and work from home part time. I’m wondering if that contravenes any strata rules. I’m pretty sure my local Council (City of Sydney) would allow it, but can my building by-laws override that?

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[Jimmy-T]

This has been touched on before (only just) but it really depends on the nature of the work that you do in your home office and the impact that has on your neighbours and common property.

For instance, if like me you sit in the corner of a spare room and tap away at a keyboard and meet “clients” in a nearby cafe, even occasionally, encouraging them to use visitor parking, it’s a case of no harm, no foul.

But if you have people coming and going both as workers and clients, constant courier delivery and pick-ups and paid staff working in your home office, then you have changed the insurance status of the building – especially in regards to Work Health & Safety-  and, many would argue, the “use” of your flat.

Just as a rule of thumb, I’d say anything that gets the antennae of your building busybody twitching (every block has one) needs to be examined to see if your home office is actually a commercial office in a home, at which point you have to tell the owners corp and see how they respond. 

By the way, generally speaking local authorities encourage people working from home becasue it means fewer cars on the roads and bodies in buses.

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