Apartment owners don’t have to explain or justify their decisions to accept or reject a proposed by-law when they are voting. However, they may have to do so if the renovating owner takes the matter to the Tribunal and seeks orders under section 126 (below), claiming the Owners Corp has “unreasonably refused” permission.
What is unreasonable? If the proposal is denied even when the owner has taken steps to show:
- the work will be done professionally with all insurances in place
- no by-laws will be breached
- disruption will be kept to a minimum
- other owners properties will not be affected
- they have undertaken ongoing responsibility for maintenance and repair of any common property affected
- adequate compensation for use of common property has been offered
… then refusal may well be considered unreasonable
The chair of any meeting where this is considered might point out that any personal feelings have to be set aside otherwise the OC could be facing the expensive, time consuming and disruptive process of having to defend in a Tribunal a decision they know to be wrong and unfair.
126 Orders relating to alterations and repairs to common property and other property
(1) Order requiring owners corporation to carry out work on common property
The Tribunal may, on application by a lessor of a leasehold strata scheme or an owner of a lot in a strata scheme, order the owners corporation to consent to work proposed to be carried out by an owner of a lot if the Tribunal considers that the owners corporation has unreasonably refused its consent and the work relates to any of the following:
(a) minor renovations or other alterations to common property directly affecting the owner’s lot,
(b) carrying out repairs to common property or any other property of the owners corporation directly affecting the owner’s lot.(2) Order consenting to owner’s work on owners corporation property
The Tribunal may, on application by a lessor of a leasehold strata scheme or an owner of a lot in a strata scheme, make an order (a work approval order) approving of minor renovations or alterations or repairs already made by an owner to common property or any other property of the owners corporation directly affecting the owner’s lot if the Tribunal considers that the owners corporation unreasonably refused its consent to the minor renovations or alterations or repairs.(3) A work approval order is taken to be the consent of the owners corporation to the renovations, alterations or repairs and may provide that it has effect from a day specified in the order that occurred before the order was made.
(4) In deciding whether to grant a work approval order or to provide for the order to have effect from a day that occurred before the date of the order, the Tribunal may take into account the conduct of the parties in the proceedings, for example, if an owner did not first seek the consent of the owners corporation before carrying out the renovations, alterations or repairs.
(5) Responsibility for ongoing repair and maintenance of affected property
The Tribunal may specify in an order under this section whether the owners
corporation or the owner of the lot has the ongoing responsibility for the repair and maintenance of any additional property arising out of a minor renovation or alteration or repair to common property approved under the order.(6) If an order provides for the owner of a lot to have the ongoing responsibility for the repair and maintenance of any such additional property, the order also has effect in relation to any subsequent owner of the lot.