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My understanding is that the 1974 changes to the Act, for new stratas, made balconies Common Property and moved the dividing line between Lot and Common Property from the middle of common walls to the inner surface. Therefore doors leading onto balconies were Common Property for new strata plans, but remained part of the Lot for existing Stratas.
My understanding is also that the reason it wasn’t changed for existing stratas was the constitutional issue as per “The Castle” – that for existing stratas it would be “acquiring (Lot) property without just compensation” if done by a law change.
Which makes me wonder how the NSW Strata Review intends to bring pre-1974 schemes into line with post-1974 schemes. I don’t think the constitution has changed. Perhaps if existing schemes passed a unanimous resolution?
I also think that your building would look a lot nicer if all windows and balcony doors were of the same style, so it’s a matter of convincing everyone that this plan is good for them.
Balcony-owners would get “just compensation” if the OC acquired their balcony, in the form of a free new door and future maintenance by the OC, but still have exclusive use.
Non-balcony-owners probably have more windows than balcony-owners and they would get the benefit of the project going ahead and the building still having a consistent appearance, which increases their property value.
But if you get one curmudgeon balcony-owner who doesn’t want to pay for their own balcony door, or one non-balcony-owner who doesn’t want to pay for balcony doors which are not Common Property, then yoiu might be up sh*t creek.