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Just an aside comment here from the ACT:
In the ACT the EC can approve ‘minor uses’ of the common property if satisfied that the use would not ‘unreasonably interfere with the reasonable use and enjoyment of the common property by other members of the corporation’. On the other hand, non-minor exclusive uses of common property require a ‘special privilege’ which has the very high threshold of requiring an ‘unopposed resolution’. IE if someone wants to use the common property in the ACT, there is an easier way than in NSW for minor stuff and a harder way than in NSW for the major stuff.
Here, the EC can approve the minor stuff without the need of bylaws for trivial things that wouldn’t bother anyone. Since ‘minor uses’ can be dealt with formally and properly by the EC, this avoids encouraging the pragmatic ‘turning of a blind eye’ that might lead to a more general and unfortunate disregard for proper process.
What is ‘minor’ is whatever the EC feels it can comfortably defend in the circumstances. Exclusive use of a few square meters of common property could be minor in one location but not defensible as minor in an other situation. The Act gives examples such as an awning or an air conditioner. An awning that obstructs a path would not be minor in spite of the example in the Act but, in the context of a large site, a veggie garden plot that is subject to rules of a community garden could be a minor use.
For anyone considering reform of strata legislation, I recommend the ACT’s approach to this topic.