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The critical factor in all this is whether or not the renovations have an impact on common property. Having said that, the Act defines renovations into three categories – cosmetic, minor and major (see sections 108-110 of the Management Act, and section 28 if the Regulations below).
In short:
- you don’t need permission for cosmetic work;
- you do need permission, but not a special resolution by-law, for minor work – and that permission can be given by the strata committee if they have been empowered to do so by a by-law passed at a general meeting.
- You need a by-law for major work that involves alteration to common property .
The definitions of cosmetic, minor and major are contained in the extracts below.
Based on your post, both your lawyer and building manager are wrong (although they may not have expressed their actual view clearly enough).
Cosmetic work doesn’t require any notification, minor work requires permission (but not a by-law) major work requires a by-law. Obviously, in granting permission or passing a by-law, there would be a record of the work planned. I don’t know of any “register” required by strata law but that might just be a gap in my knowledge.
108 Changes to common property(1) Procedure for authorising changes to common property
An owners corporation or an owner of a lot in a strata scheme may add to the common property, alter the common property or erect a new structure on common property for the purpose of improving or enhancing the common property.(2) Any such action may be taken by the owners corporation or owner only if a special resolution has first been passed by the owners corporation that specifically authorises the taking of the particular action proposed.
(3) Ongoing maintenance
A special resolution under this section that authorises action to be taken in relation to the common property by an owner of a lot may specify whether the ongoing maintenance of the common property once the action has been taken is the responsibility of the owners corporation or the owner.(4) If a special resolution under this section does not specify who has the ongoing maintenance of the common property concerned, the owners corporation has the responsibility for the ongoing maintenance.
(5) A special resolution under this section that allows an owner of a lot to take action in relation to certain common property and provides that the ongoing maintenance of that common property after the action is taken is the responsibility of the owner has no effect unless:
(a) the owners corporation obtains the written consent of the owner to the making of a by-law to provide for the maintenance of the common property by the owner, and
(b) the owners corporation makes the by-law.(6) The by-law:
(a) may require, for the maintenance of the common property, the payment of money by the owner at specified times or as determined by the owners corporation, and
(b) must not be amended or repealed unless the owners corporation has obtained the written consent of the owner concerned.(7) Sections 143 (2), 144 (2) and (3) and 145 apply to a by-law made for the purposes of this section in the same way as they apply to a common property rights by-law.
Note.A new by-law or other changes to the by-laws for a strata scheme must be approved by a special resolution of the owners corporation (see section 141)
109 Cosmetic work by owners(1) The owner of a lot in a strata scheme may carry out cosmetic work to common property in connection with the owner’s lot without the approval of the owners corporation.
(2) Cosmetic work includes but is not limited to work for the following purposes:
(a) installing or replacing hooks, nails or screws for hanging paintings and other things on walls,
(b) installing or replacing handrails,
(c) painting,
(d) filling minor holes and cracks in internal walls,
(e) laying carpet,
(f) installing or replacing built-in wardrobes,
(g) installing or replacing internal blinds and curtains,
(h) any other work prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this subsection.(3) An owner of a lot must ensure that:
(a) any damage caused to any part of the common property by the carrying out of cosmetic work by or on behalf of the owner is repaired, and
(b) the cosmetic work and any repairs are carried out in a competent and proper manner.(4) The by-laws of a strata scheme may specify additional work that is to be cosmetic work for the purposes of this section.
(5) This section does not apply to the following work:
(a) work that consists of minor renovations for the purposes of section 110,
(b) work involving structural changes,
(c) work that changes the external appearance of a lot, including the installation of an external access ramp,
(d) work that detrimentally affects the safety of a lot or common property, including fire safety systems,
(e) work involving waterproofing or the plumbing or exhaust system of a building in a strata scheme,
(f) work involving reconfiguring walls,
(g) work for which consent or another approval is required under any other Act,
(h) any other work prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this subsection.(6) Section 108 does not apply to cosmetic work carried out in accordance with this section.
110 Minor renovations by owners(1) The owner of a lot in a strata scheme may carry out work for the purposes of minor renovations to common property in connection with the owner’s lot with the approval of the owners corporation given by resolution at a general meeting. A special resolution authorising the work is not required.
(2) The approval may be subject to reasonable conditions imposed by the owners corporation and cannot be unreasonably withheld by the owners corporation.
(3) Minor renovations include but are not limited to work for the purposes of the following:
(a) renovating a kitchen,
(b) changing recessed light fittings,
(c) installing or replacing wood or other hard floors,
(d) installing or replacing wiring or cabling or power or access points,
(e) work involving reconfiguring walls,
(f) any other work prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this subsection.(4) Before obtaining the approval of the owners corporation, an owner of a lot must give written notice of proposed minor renovations to the owners corporation, including the following:
(a) details of the work, including copies of any plans,
(b) duration and times of the work,
(c) details of the persons carrying out the work, including qualifications to carry out the work,
(d) arrangements to manage any resulting rubbish or debris.(5) An owner of a lot must ensure that:
(a) any damage caused to any part of the common property by the carrying out of minor renovations by or on behalf of the owner is repaired, and
(b) the minor renovations and any repairs are carried out in a competent and proper manner.(6) The by-laws of a strata scheme may provide for the following:
(a) additional work that is to be a minor renovation for the purposes of this section,
(b) permitting the owners corporation to delegate its functions under this section to the strata committee.(7) This section does not apply to the following work:
(a) work that consists of cosmetic work for the purposes of section 109,
(b) work involving structural changes,
(c) work that changes the external appearance of a lot, including the installation of an external access ramp,
(d) work involving waterproofing,
(e) work for which consent or another approval is required under any other Act,
(f) work that is authorised by a by-law made under this Part or a common property rights by-law,
(g) any other work prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this subsection.(8) Section 108 does not apply to minor renovations carried out in accordance with this section.
Note.Section 132 enables rectification orders to be made against owners of lots for damage caused by work done by owners.
Strata Schemes Management Regulations28 Minor renovations by ownersWork for the following purposes is prescribed as minor renovations for the purposes of section 110 (3) of the Act:
(a) removing carpet or other soft floor coverings to expose underlying wooden or other hard floors,
(b) installing a rainwater tank,
(c) installing a clothesline,
(d) installing a reverse cycle split system air conditioner,
(e) installing double or triple glazed windows,
(f) installing a heat pump,
(g) installing ceiling insulation.Note.The work prescribed by this clause is subject to the requirements set out in section 110 (7) of the Act, including requirements that it does not involve structural changes, changes to the external appearance of a lot or waterproofing.
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In very simple terms, you commence action through Fair Trading by asking for mediation with the committee. If that fails – and by that, I mean, if the committee doesn’t agree to start the work withing a certain time – you take the issue to NCAT seeking orders under section 232 (below).
More often than not, a threat to pursue orders and evidence of a determination to do so, by seeking mediation, will do the trick.
232 Orders to settle disputes or rectify complaints (part)(1) Orders relating to complaints and disputesThe Tribunal may, on application by an interested person, original owner or building manager, make an order to settle a complaint or dispute about any of the following:
(a) the operation, administration or management of a strata scheme under this Act,
(b) an agreement authorised or required to be entered into under this Act,
(c) an agreement appointing a strata managing agent or a building manager,
(d) an agreement between the owners corporation and an owner, mortgagee or covenant chargee of a lot in a strata scheme that relates to the scheme or a matter arising under the scheme,
(e) an exercise of, or failure to exercise, a function conferred or imposed by or under this Act or the by-laws of a strata scheme,
(f) an exercise of, or failure to exercise, a function conferred or imposed on an owners corporation under any other Act.
(2) Failure to exercise a function
For the purposes of this section, an owners corporation, strata committee or building management committee is taken not to have exercised a function if:
(a) it decides not to exercise the function, or
(b) application is made to it to exercise the function and it fails for 2 months after the making of the application to exercise the function in accordance with the application or to inform the applicant that it has decided not to exercise the function in accordance with the application.
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@Keifer said:
How does a committee deal with one owner buying 4 out of 9 units? Essentially, legally, the one owner can now direct owners corporation future decisions…Unless the existing owner is buying four additional properties, four out of nine is not a majority. In any case, major decisions that require a 75 percent vote in Victoria can be overturned if more than 25 percent of owners disagree, even after an interim decision has been made.
You only need two other owners to support you to block any major changes and laws exist to force the majority owners to, for instance, maintain and repair the building.
Victorian strata law is very different from anywhere else in many regards. You need to acquaint yourself with it rather than making assumptions based on other states’ laws. I suggest you start HERE and then move on to THIS FACTSHEET on voting.
By the way, there is a principle in law called something like Fraud on the Minority, where a majority of (in your case) owners make decisions that seem to be legitimate but are actually materially detrimental to the minority and advantageous to the majority.
This principle has been employed many times in strata disputes to protect the minority from a majority owner seeking to force through decisions to their sole advantage.
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If as you say the other party is required to pay half the cost of the tree removal, the OC should just get on with it and then send them half the bill.
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If the cage is common property, then the door is common property. If the cage was installed by you, it probably isn’t, unless you installed it under a special resolution by-law.
If a previous owner installed it without permission, it is technically common property but if you pushed the issue, the OC might decide to just remove it.
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Before you even think about Fair Trading, what do your by-laws say about barbecues (or anything else) on balconies?
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Here it is. NB: To new readers, this is from the 1996 Act and has been superseded by the 2016 Act (although it is fundamentally the same).
The process is that the Chair calls for nominations.
The meeting then decided on the number of people they want on the committee.
If the number of nominees is the same as the number of seats, no ballot is required and they are declared elected.
If the number of nominees is greater than the number of seats on the committee, you have a ballot.
If the number of nominees is fewer than the number of agreed seats, you have vacancies which must be filled by a vote of the committee members (although you would have to be very suspicious if this was allowed to happen).
14 Election of executive committee (From strata regs 1996, now superseded by 2015 Act)(1) At a meeting of an owners corporation at which its executive committee is to be elected, the chairperson must:
(a) announce the names of the candidates already nominated in writing for election to the executive committee, and
(b) call for any oral nominations of candidates eligible for election to the executive committee.
(2) A written or oral nomination made for the purposes of such an election is ineffective if it is made by a person other than the nominee unless it is supported by the consent of the nominee given:
(a) in writing, if the nominee is not present at the meeting, or
(b) orally, if the nominee is present at the meeting.
(3) After the chairperson declares that nominations have closed, the owners corporation is to decide, in accordance with clause 2 (2) of Schedule 3 to the Act, the number of members of the executive committee.
(4) If the number of candidates:
(a) is the same as, or fewer than, the number of members of the executive committee decided on—those candidates are to be declared by the chairperson to be, and are taken to have been, elected as the executive committee, or
(b) is greater than the number so decided on—a ballot is to be held.
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Here they are:
Strata Scheme Management Act 1996: https://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/#/view/act/1996/138/whole
Strata Schemes Regulations 1997: https://legislation.nsw.gov.au/#/view/regulation/1997/279/historical2003-02-10/part4/sec15
The provisions are very similar to the current rules. Strata committees that have been providing pre-filled voting forms have been in breach of Sections 14 and 15.
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@TruleEConcerned said:
Why must I spend $ on such things? Surely if the noise producing owner is adhering to the by laws (after all the SC ticked off on his renovations), surely evidence must be presented by him or the SC that the wooden floors were appropriately treated so they comply with the by law?
This is an existential question – but you’re right. Any minute now the StrataKops will be arriving at your front door with their acoustic digital ear trumpets to ascertain if there is any excessive noise …
Or not ..
This is how strata works. People break the rules and someone complains. The people who have broken the rules rarely if ever volunteer the information. How prepared you are to complain relates directly to how upset you are.
Every building is different so there is no prescriptive assessment of what is acceptable and what isn’t .
If it’s bad enough, gather the evidence and complain. If it doesn’t seem worth the hassle, learn to live with it and don’t make your own life a misery as a result.
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The first thing to do is to establish your by-law and how it may have been breached.
Then you need to approach your committee and/or strata manager to ask them what they intend to do about it (will they issue a notice to comply with the relevant by-law or seek orders at NCAT?).
Failing that, go to Fair Trading and ask for mediation with the upstairs owner to require them to either fix the noise problem or comply with the by-laws. This may not have any effect but it is a mandatory step before you can go to NCAT.
You may have to start a “noise diary” and get an acoustic engineer report to establish that the noise from upstairs is excessive and breaches both by-laws and strata laws on your right to the peaceful enjoyment of your lot.
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If it was in 2106, unless it was held in December it would have been under the 1996 Act, so none of the above applies. Didn’t you have an AGM last year?
Not at all unusual for a strata manager to attend – especially when the committee is a bit shaky on the rules.
FYI: With 71 lots, each proxy holder is limited to three proxy votes.
Just to put the cat among the pigeons, send your secretary a copy of Section 10 (2) as provided by Lady P with a note saying that, in order to avoid conflict, you trust the election for the committee will be held according to current strata law.
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I think it’s pretty clear that this election has not been conducted properly under the terms of the Act.
Section 10, 2(b) says: “If a ballot for membership of the strata committee of an owners corporation is required, the person presiding … must provide each person present and entitled to vote at the meeting with a blank ballot paper for each vote the person is entitled to cast.”
Section 3 (a) says: “For a vote to be valid, a ballot paper must be signed by the voter and completed by the voter’s writing on it … the names of the candidates (without repeating a name) for whom the voter desires to vote.”
These conditions – taking the pre-printed voting paper out of the process – were introduced specifically to rule out the “donkey votes” or anyone being disadvantaged by being listed alphabetically or otherwise.
I also wonder how many proxies your chairman had. You’d need to have more than 40 units for them to have held more than one.
You can challenge this by seeking mediation at Fair Trading, demanding a fresh election then, failing that, via orders at NCAT under Section 24 (below). Bear in mind, however, the Tribunal has the option not to issue the order if they feel the result would not have been any different even if the rules had been followed.
24 ORDER INVALIDATING RESOLUTION OF OWNERS CORPORATION
(1) The Tribunal may, on application by an owner or first mortgagee of a lot in a strata scheme, make an order invalidating any resolution of, or election held by, the persons present at a meeting of the owners corporation if the Tribunal considers that the provisions of this Act or the regulations have not been complied with in relation to the meeting.
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You’d be in a better position if the standing orders had been adopted as a by-law. Perhaps you should put that on the agenda for the next meeting.
If I were your strata manager, I would say this:
The standing orders are merely a framework to allow for the efficient running of meetings. As a concept they are widely accepted across the world, for businesses, clubs, societies and political institutions.
The standing orders for this strata scheme have been designed based on those in place elsewhere, including other strata schemes in this and other states.
A need to enhance them was perceived due to past disruptive behaviour by owners and non-owners who either didn’t understand that there has to be a reasonable basis for civilised discussion, or chose to ignore it.
The Strata Scheme Management Act 2015 does not mention who may or may not speak at meetings.
It is left to the chair of the committee to decide how we should proceed and in this scheme, it has been decided that these standing orders provide a structure based on fairness, transparency and common sense.
These standing orders provide a clear set of sensible ground rules that allow all owners OR their representatives, to participate without fear or favour.
They specifically preclude owners and their proxies from working together to multiply their influence over the meeting, by haranguing, harassing or bullying other owners who wish to speak.
Technically speaking, they would also permit only one co-owner to speak at a time (since the other has to provide a proxy vote). In this way, you can see that these standing orders are neither discriminatory nor oppressive.
Finally I would invite the complaining owner to explain what it is that she wants to do that the standing orders don’t permit.
Hope this helps
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If you have been bullied and abused, and can prove it, your better recourse might be to pursue this through mediation and then through orders at NCAT.
The committee can’t tell you who to employ as your lawyer but, that said, an experienced strata lawyer would have a better idea of the most effective avenues open to you.
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Queensland strata law is very different from NSW and Victorian strata law and much more complicated (I’ve been told their section on secret ballots is bigger than the entire Victorian Act).
I would not make any assumptions about any other strata law from any other state having any relevance to the one you’re in.
I don’t know that any such provision exists in NSW strata law and it doesn’t make much sense to me anyway. Levies are based on what your treasurer and committee think you will need to spend in the next year. If you are going to cut that by 10 percent, where are you going to make the saving? You would have to come to the AGM with a plans, say to close your swimming pool, or cut back on cleaning for a reduction in the budget to make sense.
There is another post on here where the Owners Corp is about to run out of money and, as a result, have to pay a special levy demanded by their strata manager. You can save on levies, for sure, but it has to be done in a more considered manner.
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