CHSG – I don’t wish to pre-judge your E/C, but this may be yet another example of a too common situation where Owners become aware of activities by others that are not in compliance with By-Laws, and yet ignore them until such time as they proliferate, at which time the E/C has to play catch-up in order to address those non-compliances.
However the current non-compliances arose, if you’re in NSW and the privacy screens are as I expect attached to Common Property, then this is not one of those (limited) circumstances where an Owners Corporation can just enter a Lot or otherwise access its balcony, to in this case remove the items that are after all persons’ property, and with added complication that some of the people may not be Owners.
So…your E/C should firstly check the wording of that Special By-Law (SBL), and then check that it’s been properly Registered on the Strata Title, because if it’s not then it is unenforceable.
If Registration has occurred, then your E/C should check if its Strata Manager has been delegated to issue a Notice-to-Comply (NTC) with that SBL, and if they have been so delegated, then the Secretary can instruct them to issue it, and otherwise your E/C needs to meet and to properly resolve to have the Strata Manager issue the offenders with that document.
The issue of a NTC sets in place formal procedures that need to be strictly followed by your Owners Corporation (O/C) IF the actions required to comply with the SBL (i.e. removal or modification of the privacy screens) are not followed within the terms prescribed, where those actions include an Application to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal for a penalty of up to $550 to be issued the offenders, and if all the above fails, followed by Orders permitting access to individual Lots by the O/C under Sect.145 in order for it to have all then non-compliant privacy screens removed or modified.
Irrespective of your specific circumstances, it’s always best to nip all non compliances in the bud as opposed to having to play catch-up.