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We have had 2 cages put up in a garage of 27 alotted car spaces, I don’t want one either side of my car space as I couldn’t open either side door if it happened, what can I do.
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@Cagey said:
We have had 2 cages put up in a garage of 27 alotted car spaces, I don’t want one either side of my car space as I couldn’t open either side door if it happened, what can I do.There has been a long-running case where an owner insisted on her ‘right’ to enclose her space despite it preventing her neighbour’s car doors from opening and the owners corp refusing her permission to do so. The deciding factor was the agreement at the CTTT that the use of a car space requires access to adjoining spaces. After appeals and re-appeals failed, the woman came home one day to find the cage dismantled and ‘parked’ in her spot.
What you need to do is write to your EC and strata manager and ask them what by-laws they have in place to prevent the construction of cages that intrude on other owners’ ability to use their car spaces as designed.
They may decide that car spaces are for cars (not storage) or they could limit cages to spaces that don’t impact on other owners. But it sounds like you have chosen the right time to raise this issue.
Meanwhile, until they have a by-law in place, the EC does have the ability to prevent cages being constructed as they almost certainly require drilling into common property (floors, walls and garage roof). I would suggest they issue a moratorium on any new cages until such times as they have a policy that can be put to a general meeting and agreed upon by the majority of owners.
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.
@Cagey said:
We have had 2 cages put up in a garage of 27 alotted car spaces, I don’t want one either side of my car space as I couldn’t open either side door if it happened, what can I do.Are the “alotted car spaces” part of the Lot or exclusive use common property?
If the purpose of the cages is for storage of goods, it already sounds like an inappropriate use.
In granting building approval for your block the local council would have considered the number of car spaces required for the number of units built. If the car spaces are being subsequently reduced by enclosing some of them as storage cages, then cars from the units concerned will be parked elsewhere, adding to the problems of visitor parking and the availability of parking in the street nearby. Additionally I would be concerned about the materials stored there as commonly they attract vermin and pests, and can be a fire hazard.
So it would also be worthwhile to approach your local council to get their views on the matter, and see whether they will take action to prevent the enclosures taking place.
Without more detailed information from the OP, I’ll take a guess and say that the parking spaces are not being replaced by cages, rather that cages are being allowed to be installed in parts of existing parking spaces or beside them. Eg over bonnet storage cages.
2.6m seems to be the allowed width even for free standing garages (with walls either side) these days. So if a car space is 2.6m wide it should be enough.
As for storage cages being a fire hazard, I very much doubt it. Storage cages in car parks exist all over the country and have for as long as I can remember. I’d like to see the law/rule that specifically states they are a fire hazard.
But an OC (at least in VIC) can make rules on how car spaces are used and could certainly prohibit storage cages – despite the fact that a car space is usually lot property.
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