#27552
Lady Penelope
Strataguru

    pema – The answer to your question depends upon what your by-laws say (or don’t say) about timber floors? Both scenarios are covered below.

    If the by-laws say that timber flooring is not permitted in the bedrooms then you have a couple of options. They are:

    1. Accept the by-law and keep the carpet. There are some carpet types that are better than others for allergy sufferers such as the Brease carpet range and Dunlop Comfort CHOICE underlay. OR

    2. Put a Motion on the Agenda of the next General Meeting requesting that a relaxation of the by-law be permitted in your circumstances and asking permission be granted for you to install timber flooring in your bedroom. You would need to guarantee that the highest quality acoustic underlay was to be used. OR

    3. Put a Motion on the Agenda of the next General Meeting to totally change the ‘no timber flooring in the bedroom’ by-law to one that is accepting of timber floors in bedrooms based on certain conditions being met i.e. acceptable acoustic underlay etc. OR

    4. Challenge the ‘no timber in bedroom’ by-law through the proper channels (i.e. NCAT) by claiming that the by-law is unreasonable.

    NB: Whether you are quiet in the bedroom is immaterial. The next owners or tenants may not be as quiet as you are. 

    If there is no by-law about timber floors then the installation of timber flooring is considered to be a minor renovation. 

    Here is an extract from the Strataman site reagarding timber flooring: 

    ‘In the absence of a by-law already registered relating to this issue, installing floorboards is considered a “minor renovation” under Section 110: Minor renovations by owners AND Section 109: Cosmetic work by owners of the SSMA 2015.

    Prior consent is required from the Owners Corporation.  The biggest issue is noise transmission and a lot owner MUST ensure that this doesn’t impact other owners.  If, after the installation, it IS found that any noise transmitting from your lot (due to the floorboards) disturbs your neighbours, you could easily find yourself at NCAT and you may be forced (by an NCAT order) to remove or cover the floorboards to stop the noise affecting others living in your Strata Scheme.  Therefore, the wisest course of action would be to make sure the right acoustic measures are taken BEFORE the installation and, through the use of the highest grade, sound proofing underlay possible, avoid any conflict after the installation.’