#25024
Sir Humphrey
Strataguru

    When our OC had purported to allocate parking spaces as exclusive use ‘special privileges’ to particular unit owners over a period of several decades but not according to the required process (unopposed resolution in the ACT), our lawyer advised that the OC could be liable to compensate a subset of owners for the loss of value to their unit.  In our case we had a policy in place to allocate only one space to smaller units and no more than two to larger units, and that was consistent with the original DA. Consequently, the solution was to now allocate according to the correct procedure and to ensure that the motion would pass by also including allocation of one or two spaces to all other units that had not yet had a space allocated, in accordance with the same policy. 

    Some unit owners opposed the motion, so it failed, but we then sought and received orders from the Tribunal to give effect to the motion on the grounds that objection to the motion was unreasonable. 

    You might have to work out what the most reasonable workable solution would be and put that up as a motion after as much consultation as you can bear. If whatever solution is the best achievable in the circumstances, you might get it up, especially in NSW where I think you need a special resolution, not unopposed. If you have the best negotiated solution and it is in accordance with legal advice and a majority support it yet the motion fails, then you might have the motion ‘given  effect’ by the tribunal, like we did.