Whale & Oystercove,
the phone line issue is a fantastic opportunity for the EC and or strata manager to invoke the OC’s rights under s65 of the Strata Schemes Management Act 1996, being the right to access a lot to inspect common property to work out if it needs to be maintained. In doing so, this provides the chance to inspect the space and talk directly with the tenants about what exactly they are using the apartment for.
To be able to take any action against the owner or occupants for conducting a business (if they are), the EC needs evidence that they are in fact running a business. This is not dissimilar to residents using the apartment as a brothel, unfortunately you need to have proof that this is the case (find the details of the company, copies of adds or any material that reflects business is operating in the apartment, go undercover etc). You will need this to be able to pass on to correct authority to take action (worst case scenario), but also to communicate with the apartment owner about the issues. Also remember there is a fine line between home office and a business.
The next issue is to establish what actual works are required regarding the phone line. Get a detailed quote, meet with the owner and occupier, establish what needs to be done. It’s pretty easy to establish where the original phone line to an apartment ran and any new lines that have been installed. The OC is only really responsible for the original phone line between the MDF and the Apartment. It is very unlikely that there will be a problem with these cables.
If the owner promised the tenants something that wasn’t already there, the OC has no responsibility to provide this, but could if the right offer we’re made to the OC, permit passing a exclusive use by-law to the owner, to permit the installation at the owner’s cost and ongoing responsibility to maintain.