@adammark said:
It seems this current EC is taking a far more dramatic approach to the EC that approved the previous enclosures.
This happens – many new owners are much more savvy about their responsibilities than previous generations. Your EC has probably discovered that if they don’t regulate what owners do to Common Property, they could end up paying for it if it all goes pear-shaped.
Are these restrictions and requests permissable. Especially (regarding the windows) that we have no visual exposure into our balcony?
Are these restrictions permissable? Yes – because you are changing common property. Are they reasonable? That’s a whole other issue. But don’t forget that the EC doesn’t have to allow you to do anything – the easiest thing is for them to say no and leave it at that. Compromise is the key.
Lastly, their requirement of obtaining a by-law by us was linked to it being through a solicitor of their choosing. Surely not?!?! Do i have the EC from hell?!
Spend a bit more time on this website and you’ll see your EC is far from the worst in the world.
They have a duty to protect all the owners (including you) and their commonly held assets against anything that might be to their collective detriment, now or in the future. They also have an example of what happens when there are no proper restrictions (the other balconies and future battles over who is responsible for maintaining the alterations).
But let’s get down to brass tacks. You have four choices here:
1. Abandon your plans
2. Prepare for a long, exhausting and expensive fight in the CTTT and possibly the courts, the outcome of which is entirely unpredictable
3. Go ahead and do the work and face the consequences (see option 2)
4. Sit down with the EC and/or strata manger and show a willingness to play by the rules and be a good neighbour. Work out some compromises and if necessary go to voluntary mediation (it’s free through the Community Justice Centre). Forget what was done in the past – that was then, this is now.
This doesn’t have to be a fight. Remember – you don’t have the right to change common property but your EC has a duty to protect it.