Time called on balcony boozer

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To purchase your own print of this cartoon, email Cathy Wilcox (cwilcox@fairfaxmedia.com.au)



Our piece last week about the CTTT’s nitpicking over the case of a noisy and threatening owner piqued the interest of a strata lawyer.

“I am dealing with another matter relating to an alcoholic who sits on his balcony and screams obscenities to other residents as they pass by,” says Tom Bacon of Teys.

“This is a small strata scheme and the owners are intimidated by this man, who also turns up drunk to AGMs and nominates himself as chair of the Executive Committee.

“He has caused several female tenants to move out of the complex due to his inappropriate behaviour, and this pattern of conduct has continued for several years.”

Rather than play Strata Roulette at the CTTT (my words, not his), Tom has advised the owners  to apply to the courts for an injunction to restrain this obnoxious drunk from continuing to be a nuisance.

Unlike actions through the CTTT, the owners may be able to get damages for rental losses and reduction of the value of their property – provided it can be proved that potential buyers have been deterred when they read about this reprobate in the strata minutes –  plus the legal costs of the proceedings.

“For these types of extreme circumstances, we caution against going to the CTTT for a range of reasons; predominantly the penalties that can be awarded by the CTTT are not a sufficient deterrent to regulate behaviour,” says Tom.

He points out that the court option really only applies to extreme cases but says the owners are relieved that there are legal options for dealing with this nasty neighbour.  Even better, if he can’t pay the damages then he may have to sell his unit to move away, which would be the ultimate outcome for his neighbours.

With the CTTT increasingly using the District Court as its “too hard” basket, is this the beginning of the end for an institution that,  in many opinions, is becoming part of the problem rather than the solution?

Join the debate, relate your own horror stories or ask a question on the Flat Chat Forum.

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