JonH – By laws cannot be changed or amended by the SC. The by-laws of the strata scheme may only be changed by the owners corporation if a special resolution is passed at a General Meeting pursuant to section 141 of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015.
Even if the by-law is passed then it does not become enforceable until it is registered with the Land & Property Management Authority. The OC has 6 months to register the changes.
In my opinion the proposed changes to the by-laws at your scheme are authoritarian, unreasonable, unjust, harsh and oppressive. Each renovation will have its own issues and should be treated on an individual basis, both in the time that it takes to complete, and for the security bond that it may require.
Some of the proposed by-law changes are in breach of the Act.
The proposed changes to disallow more than one renovation at a time is also similarly harsh and unreasonable.
What reason is the SC offering for these proposed changes? Has the strata scheme faced a huge problem in this area that it is hoping to re-dress, or it is a random thought bubble?
As for the SC’s proposed imposition of a $1000 per week cost (“fine”) on an owner for exceeding the 5 month renovation deadline, this is in my opinion, is beyond the authority of the SC or the OC to impose. Only the Tribunal can issue a fine for a breach of a by-law.
From the Office of Fair Trading web site:
The owners corporation may apply to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (Tribunal) if a notice to comply has been issued and the conduct continues. If the Tribunal is satisfied that there has been a breach of a by-law and the notice was given validly they can issue a penalty of up to $1,100 .
If I was in your situation I would as soon as possible seek assistance through the dispute resolution process offered by the Office of Fair Trading. See here: https://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/sites/ftw/Tenants_and_home_owners/Strata_schemes/Resolving_disputes_in_a_strata_scheme/Strata_and_community_mediation.page
You may need to take further steps after you have gone through the mediation process.
Perhaps you should try and get yourself elected onto the Committee to be the ‘voice of reason’.