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@alinka said:
I am very happy to be a member of the forum. Finally a place, where I can get clear and straight forward answers. Thank you
You’re very welcome. And, having said that, I think I have belatedly found a definitive answer with which you can counter your strata manager’s very tenuous arguments.
Earlier this year there was an Appeals Court decision which effectively said that Owners Corporations do not have to “maintain and repair” common property to the current whizzbang bells and whistles standards, just to the level that they are functioning effectively.
His Honour J.A. Barrett said in his ruling that “anything amounting to alteration or addition for the purpose of improving or enhancing the common property is beyond the concept of renewal or replacement…” and requires a special resolution.
This is now an established legal precedent and pretty much blows your strata manager and his cronies out of the water.
You’ll find the OCN Newsletter on the case (popularly known as the ‘Thoo Case’) HERE and a transcript of the ruling (which is actually about exhaust fans in a food court) HERE.
So I would send an email to the strata manager and the executive committee along these lines:
With reference to your apparently anecdotal opinion that the proposed upgrades of balconies do not require a special resolution, I draw your attention to The Owners Strata Plan 50276 v Thoo in the New South Wales Court of Appeal, 22 August, 2013.
In his ruling that Section 62 obligations to maintain and repair common property do not imply a requirement to upgrade the CP, His Honour J.A. Barrett said “anything amounting to alteration or addition for the purpose of improving or enhancing the common property is beyond the concept of renewal or replacement…” and requires a special resolution.
As required by the Division 3, Section 35 of the Strata Act, please indicate on the agenda for the upcoming General Meeting that that the motions to upgrade the balconies will require a special resolution.