[Kangaroo]

Hi Whale,

 

Thanks for your reply.

I think I’ve gone so far off the topic of tweety birds that I’ll start a new thread “What Is A Special By-Law”.

You’ll find that discussion HERE – JimmyT

[Kangaroo]

Actually, that’s what the diagram on p34 of Strata Living says.

Why is it falling out of favour?

Because whenever the CTTT boss appears on TV, she implies (or actually says) you have to go through mediation first.

That’s also what you’re told if you ring CTTT for advice.

So, the answer to your question is … misdirection from the CTTT.

So you go to mediation even for a breach of By-Laws.

It goes something like this.

Complainant: I want the offender to obey the By-Laws all the time.

Respondent: I don’t ever want to obey the By-Laws.

Mediator: I think we’ve reached a compromise. You only have to obey the By-Laws half the time.

Gavel: Bang!

[Kangaroo]

JimmyT says “Ignorance of the law is no defence”.

Whale’s experience shows that at the CTTT apparently it is.

A cynic (not me) might say that at the CTTT it’s almost a job requirement.

 

Anyway, the big Strata Review is underway.

But it needs a holistic approach.

Whatever Act governs the RG’s Office needs to be changed so that By-Laws for a Strata Plan are always registered as a complete replacement set. There seems to be some impetus in this direction.

Then the Acts which govern sale or lease of Strata property need to be amended to require attachment of the latest By-Laws to the contract. Giving people the By-Laws 7 days later (if it ever happens) is too late.

Then the Residential Tenancy Agreement needs to be changed so that compliance with the Strata By-Laws is a condition of the lease.

And just in case there’s no formal lease, such as a member of the owner’s family, we do what Whale does, stick a “Welcome” document under the door.

Also, in this electronic age, the LPI (RG’s Office) could make the latest registered By-Laws for any Strata Plan available on-line just by typing in the SP number. No breach pf privacy there.

 

This may be a little off topic, but what’s the difference between By-Laws and Special By-Laws? I’ve never understood.

 

Of course, none of this helps LadyJ with her current problem.

But if DTA is the “culprit”, he sounds quite approachable.

[Kangaroo]

Clause 35 of the NSW Standard Residential Tenancy Agreement (SRTA)merely obliges the landlord to give the tenant a copy of the Strata By-Laws within 7 days of the lease being signed (and it usually doesn’t happen).

There is no obligation in Clause 35 for the tenant to obey the By-Laws.

In fact, there’s nowhere in the SRTA which requires the tenant to obey the strata By-Laws. A big failing!

The SSMA section 44(2) seems to oblige tenants to obey the By-Laws, but what tenant has ever read the SSMA?

Clause 43 of the SRTA is a “cross out whichever is inapplicable” clause which specifies whether the landlord will allow pets or not allow pets, and makes no mention that there might be an overriding By-Law concerning pets.

The Strata Manager will not know what the landlord allowed in clause 43 because a copy of the SRTA is not provided to the Strata Manager.

But I agree with your approach. If the landlord has specified no pets, then a call to the rental agent is a lot more efficaceous (because it’s a breach of the lease) than enforcing a strata By-Law via the EC and the CTTT.

[Author]

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