@Peter Gray said:
I realise we can all use the common property but to leave furniture there permanently I thought a no-no … so unless there is a specific By-law prohibiting this than its okay so long as there is no obstruction.
Many schemes have by-laws about what you can and can’t do on common property. If you have, as you say the default by-laws for pre-1996 properties, and they have not been changed or rescinded by special resolution, then you already have grounds for breaches to be issued.
You also have a by-law that says people shouldn’t park on common property without written approval (see below).
Getting back to the garden land-grab, the standard by-laws say “an owner or occupier of a lot must not obstruct lawful use of common property by any person.”
They also say: “An owner or occupier of a lot must not … use for his or her own purposes as a garden any portion of the common property.”
Couldn’t be clearer. Unless the clauses below have been removed from your by-laws, the downstairs owner has been in breach for the past 10 years. And that doesn’t give them the right to continue to do so.
By the way, if your committee refuses to act, after two months of a written request, you can take THEM to NCAT, seeking orders to force them to issue a Notice To Comply … or you could just apply to Fair Trading for mediation with a view to seeking orders against the downstairs neighbour directly.
This is what the standard by-laws say (check yours – they may be different):
2 VEHICLES
An owner or occupier of a lot must not park or stand any motor or other vehicle on common property except with the written approval of the owners corporation.
Note : This by-law was previously by-law 13 in Schedule 1 to the Strata Schemes (Freehold Development) Act 1973 and by-law 14 in Schedule 3 to the Strata Schemes (Leasehold Development) Act 1986 .
3 OBSTRUCTION OF COMMON PROPERTY
An owner or occupier of a lot must not obstruct lawful use of common property by any person.
Note : This by-law was previously by-law 14 in Schedule 1 to the Strata Schemes (Freehold Development) Act 1973 and by-law 15 in Schedule 3 to the Strata Schemes (Leasehold Development) Act 1986 .
4 DAMAGE TO LAWNS AND PLANTS ON COMMON PROPERTY
An owner or occupier of a lot must not:
(a) damage any lawn, garden, tree, shrub, plant or flower being part of or situated on common property, or
(b) use for his or her own purposes as a garden any portion of the common property.
Note : This by-law was previously by-law 15 in Schedule 1 to the Strata Schemes (Freehold Development) Act 1973 and by-law 16 in Schedule 3 to the Strata Schemes (Leasehold Development) Act 1986 .