Puddn – That is useful information, and the details may be a beneficial guide to an OC’s creation of a flooring by-law.
The original question from ‘Dingo’ was regarding the installation of a floating timber floor within a ground floor apartment of a strata scheme that apparently had no by-laws regarding flooring and therefore no conditions regarding flooring.
The flooring of a ground floor apartment would generally not fit within one of the BCA compliance categories.
Deemed to Satisfy Requirements: Sound Insulation Rating of Floors
A floor in a Class 2 or 3 building must have an Rw + Ctr (airborne) of not less than 50 and an L’n,w + Cl (impact) not more than 62 if it separates
I. sole-occupancy units; or
II. a sole-occupancy unit from a plant room, lift shafts, stairway, public corridor, public lobby or
III. the like, or part of a different classification.
From memory ‘Dingo’ was being asked by the SM to satisfy several expensive and onerous conditions that were not contained within any authorising by-law. If the OC wants to impose conditions then it cannot do this retrospectively. It must do so by the passing of a reasonable authorising by-law at a General Meeting. The committee, (and the SM) do not have the authority to impose conditions arbitrarily.
In the situation where there was no authorising by-law ‘Dingo’ could reasonably raise a Motion stating:
“That in compliance with [s110] SSMA 2015 the Owner’s Corporation approves the installation, by a qualified flooring specialist, of a floating timber floor that complies with the sound insulation rating currently required by the BCA for a ground floor unit within a Class 2 buildings”.
Approval of this flooring Motion would require an Ordinary Resolution i.e. a simple majority. Approval cannot be unreasonably with held.
In addition to such a Motion, and within the Explanatory Material (or within an accompanying ‘notice’ correspondence) Dingo would need to comply with [s110(4)] of the SSMA 2015 which states:
Before obtaining the approval of the owners corporation, an owner of a lot must give written notice of proposed minor renovations to the owners corporation, including the following:
(a) details of the work, including copies of any plans,
(b) duration and times of the work,
(c) details of the persons carrying out the work, including qualifications to carry
out the work,
(d) arrangements to manage any resulting rubbish or debris.