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  • #51226
    shanti123
    Flatchatter

      Hi there,

      Our OC have created their own covid lockdown by-law for our building restricting use within both out Lot, and use of the common property.

      If I understand this by-law correctly, not only are we not allowed to invite family or friends into our homes until the Pandemic is officially over but residents are not permitted to rent out their lot’s or get new tenants if leases end post the by-law date.

      I understand that a by-law can’t conflict with the SSMA or any other piece of government legislation and that they can’t override or impede upon our personal or civil rights which this By-law, seems to do.
      Is this lawful? I have included some excerpts from the by-law below.
      Definitions
      “Invitee” includes any guest, visitor, employee or contractor
      “Permitted purpose” means the purpose if the delivery of food, groceries, other goods or services for the personal needs of your household, medical services or medical supplies and any other purpose approved by the owners corporation
      “new resident” means any person who is not already an occupant of your lot on the by-law start date.
      “Recreational facilities” means any swimming pool, spa, sauna, gymnasium, playground, barbecue area, games room or other similar recreational facilities that are situated in the strata scheme.
      Rules
      You must not attend or host any party or social gathering in a lot or on the common property
      You must take all reasonable steps to ensure that your invitees are not invited to your lot and do not enter the building for any purpose other then a permitted purpose.
      You must not use, or permit any other person to use any of the recreational facilities without the prior written consent of the owners corporation.
      You must take all reasonable steps to ensure that a new resident does not occupy your lot after the by-law start date without a lawful excuse.
      You must take all responsible steps to ensure that a new resident who does not have a lawful excuse for occupying your lot after the start date is not invited to occupy your lot or make a booking to occupy your lot after the by-law start date including short term accomodation websites such as Airbnb and Stays.
      Thank you

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    • #51321
      Jimmy-T
      Keymaster

        I understand that a by-law can’t conflict with the SSMA or any other piece of government legislation and that they can’t override or impede upon our personal or civil rights which this By-law, seems to do.

        Look, there’s no doubt that this by-law over-reaches, but I’m not sure what you mean by “civil rights” as I can’t think of any legislation or area of the constitution that allows you to host or attend parties.

        If you mean that you can’t have a by-law that forbids you from doing something that isn’t against the law, then you are wrong.  By-laws can, for example, forbid people from smoking or having barbecues on their balconies, parking on common property or creating loud noise during the day. None of these things are against any laws.

        But they can’t supersede strata law or any other law and they can’t be “unjust”, meaning specifically, “harsh, unconscionable or oppressive.”  Now “harsh” doesn’t just mean something you find unacceptable – as the owners who recently challenged no-pet by-laws found.  They have to be “unjust” by some objective measure.

        So let’s look at what you’ve got:

        You must not attend or host any party or social gathering in a lot or on the common property

        Okay, I’m not a lawyer but I would says this is oppressive and harsh.  They don’t even define party.  And even if they did, there is no basis for banning you or anyone else from hosting or attending one.  This would only make sense if they restricted the number of people and set enforceable limits on noise and use of common property (quiet access and egress).

        You must take all reasonable steps to ensure that your invitees are not invited to your lot and do not enter the building for any purpose other then a permitted purpose.

        So how can you have an invitee who is not invited?  Badly worded and unenforceable.

        You must not use, or permit any other person to use any of the recreational facilities without the prior written consent of the owners corporation.

        Permission to use recreational facilities is implied in your ownership or lease of your unit.  This extends to your guests (when you are present).

        You must take all reasonable steps to ensure that a new resident does not occupy your lot after the by-law start date without a lawful excuse.

        I’m beginning to get the sense that this is a crude attempt at a “no-Airbnb” bylaw.  If so, it’s one of the worst I’ve seen.  In this form it would get tossed at NCAT for sure.

        You must take all responsible steps to ensure that a new resident who does not have a lawful excuse for occupying your lot after the start date is not invited to occupy your lot or make a booking to occupy your lot after the by-law start date including short term accomodation websites such as Airbnb and Stays.

        OK, here we go.  This is part of an ‘no short-term let’ bylaw which seems to be saying we don’t allow short-term lets but if you go ahead and continue, we will restrict access to common property facilities and your unit with these myriad Byzantine specifics.

        In fact, we may be being played here and the OP is listing a room or rooms in the flat that they allege is their permanent residence on Airbnb and the strata committee suspect they are telling the truth.

        Section 137A of the Act, the bit that allows us to establish by-laws banning short-term lets, specifically forbids restrictions on short-term lets of rooms in hosts’ principle place of residence.

        But rather than attack the initial con – this is not the short-term host’s actual home – the owners corporation has created an unworkable set of restrictions in an effort to frustrate them.

        Now, if the host is a bona fide permanent resident of the block, this is a by-law too far.

        But, if it is the case that some slimeball Airbnb host is trying to game the system, they should be exposed and driven out of the building.  However, bad by-laws ain’t gonna do it.  Proving they don’t live there will take a little effort but it will.

        And, yeah, if it is a con, lock their guests out of the facilities and let them take the owners corp to NCAT and see what happens.

        Disrupt the disruptors, by all means, but get your facts right first.

        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.
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