#28762
Jimmy-T
Keymaster
Chat-starter

    Here’s a response from Adrian Mueller, the strata lawyer from JS Mueller who first brought this to our attention:

    There is a loophole in the legislation. The loophole was accurately exposed by NCAT and reported in the press.

    The loophole is quite simple. If a person is breaching a by-law, an owners corporation can apply to NCAT for an order to require the person to stop breaching the by-law.

    If NCAT makes an order to require the person to stop breaching the by-law, and the person ignores the order, an owners corporation is not able to ask NCAT to impose a monetary penalty on the person for breaching its order (whereas previously, under the old strata laws, the owners corporation could do so).

    As Fair Trading has stated, an owners corporation can apply to NCAT to impose a monetary penalty on a person for breaching a notice to comply with a by-law issued by the owners corporation.

    However the penalties that can be imposed by NCAT in those circumstances are modest, and those penalties do not require the person to stop breaching the by-law.

    To conclude, the loophole does exist and it should be closed by legislative amendment. I hope that my explanation of the loophole has been helpful.

    The opinions offered in these Forum posts and replies are not intended to be taken as legal advice. Readers with serious issues should consult experienced strata lawyers.