#27693
Lady Penelope
Strataguru

    Your Chairperson should not be dictating either the actions or lack of actions that are taken by your Committee, or your OC. Perhaps the Chairperson does not deserve to keep his/her position at the next general meeting!

    Here is some information based on material provided on the Office of Fair Trading web site:

    If an owner or resident breaches a by-law, the strata committee can first contact the resident to advise of the breach, and ask that they stop the conduct that is causing the breach. Your committee appears to have complied with this step. 

    If it continues, the owners corporation can serve a ‘Notice to Comply with a By-Law’ on the person who is breaching it. This notice advises the resident of the breach and asks for the conduct to cease immediately. The notice can be a letter or email and must include the details of the by-law that has allegedly been breached. A copy of a Notice to Comply with a By-Law is linked below.

    The notice can’t be given without a majority vote at a meeting of the owners (i.e. a general meeting). However, the owners corporation can delegate their responsibility for issuing notices to comply to the strata committee or the strata managing agent. A notice must be issued before any further action can be taken to enforce the by-laws.

    https://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/biz_res/ftweb/pdfs/About_us/Forms/Notice_to_comply.pdf

    Some questions for you:

    1. Has the power to issue a Notice to Comply with a By-Law been delegated to the strata committee or the strata manager? If not then you can raise a Motion at the next general meeting proposing that a Notice to Comply be issues to the owner who is parking illegally on the common property and causing a nuisance.

    2. Is the owner parking in a visitor car space or are they parking in an area that is not designated for parking?

    The answer to these questions will determine (a) how you proceed with this issue, and (b) what reasons are written on the Notice to Comply.

    The owners corporation may apply to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (Tribunal) if a notice to comply has been issued and the conduct continues. If the Tribunal is satisfied that there has been a breach of a by-law and the notice was given validly they can issue a penalty of up to $1,100 .