- This topic has 1 reply, 2 voices, and was last updated 5 years ago by .
-
Topic
-
I’ve found a great townhouse in a block of only four, but it’s over four floors – garage in the basement, ground floor with living areas, first floor with bedrooms, and a private roof terrace. All the principal rooms and outdoor areas face due North, so it’s quite a find, despite having dated finishes. However, my creaky knees are only going to get worse, so a chair lift is definitely in my future. It would be contained wholly within my property, and attached either to the stair treads, or the walls of the stairwell.
Would there be any issues for me in terms of getting approval to have this installed? I realise (per a recent post re stair lifts on common property) that it will potentially impede ease of access to someone using the stairs on foot, and this could be critical in case of a fire, and also that it will make moving furniture in and out more difficult. However, I expect to move all my furniture in at the outset, and live out my days there.
Is it necessary to get this approved? If I choose to attached the rail of the stair lift to the walls (which may be preferable because the treads are some kind of polished stone which might not take well to drilling), then is it an issue that the wall at the rear of the stairwell is a common wall with the neighbour at the rear?
Anything else I’ve overlooked? Thanks for the advice.
-
Replies
-
If the chair lift will not be installed on common property and will be installed totally within your private Lot boundary then you have a very good chance of this installation being approved.
You may have an issue with drilling into the boundary wall that is common with your neighbour particularly if the wall is acting as a support for the weight of the chair lift and the occupant of the chair lift, however if you were to obtain a structural engineer’s report stating that the stair lift will not cause structural damage then this report should assist your approval application. Installing a chair lift on a common wall would be different from installing a picture hook!
This work could be classified as a Minor Renovation as you would not be making structural changes (i.e. not removing walls), you would not be changing the external appearance, you would not be impacting the waterproofing, and you would probably not need a DA.
A [s110] SSMA Minor renovation can be done with the approval of Owners Corporation by Ordinary Resolution of a Motion at a General Meeting. No by-law is needed.
In some instances Minor Renovations can be decided by a Strata Committee meeting if power has been delegated by the Owners Corporation to the Committee. Check your By-laws.
The approval process may need the owner to give details of the work. This may include:
- any plans of the work
- when the work will be carried out (times and dates)
- qualifications and details of the tradespeople who will do the work.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.