Whale said
I represented our Owners Corporation (O/C) at the Consumer, Trader, and Tenancy Tribunal (CTTT) on an occasion when we had issued tenants with a Notice to Comply, the Adjudicator acknowledged that the tenants had breached the By-Law (which infers a requirement to comply), but dismissed the matter as the tenants claimed that they hadn’t been provided with a copy of those By-Laws by their Property Manager.
And this exactly is why no one has any faith in the CTTT as any kind of even-handed arbiter of strata issues. I think these CTTT bozos see the word “corporation” and think they are doing the world a favour by protecting poor individuals against great heartless institutions. Try using ignorance of the law as an excuse the next time you are caught speeding or park illegally or thrash a CTTT adjudicator black and blue with a copy of Strata Living. “Oh, is that against the law? Nobody told me.”
It says on the rental agreement that the tenant has to be given a copy of the by-laws. If they’re not given a copy, they should ask for it. And surely when they received a Notice To Comply, which must stipulate the by-law that has been breached, that should have been enough of an incentive for them to go and seek out a copy of the by-laws.
There’s an idea for all you badly behaved tenants out there – just claim no one gave you a copy of the by-laws and, according to the CTTT, you can do as you please. Sigh.