- This topic has 5 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 1 year, 8 months ago by .
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My NSW strata plan (6 units) was incorporated in 1971 and we’re still running with the original by-laws.
I know that these by-laws should have been revisited a while ago when the legislation changed but nobody has ever gotten around to doing anything and our strata managers haven’t pushed for it either. I’m not on the strata committee but I’d like to get this sorted out. I know/think that this requires a special resolution of the owners corporation.
I know that there are some model by-laws and I’m aware of the standard by-laws around smoking, pets & short term rentals. I’d also like to add something about air conditioners as only 1 of 6 units currently has air conditioning. I’m sure that there are other things we should be thinking of too. Feel free to give me your thoughts/advice on other useful by-laws that we should consider.
I’d like to call a motion for our next EGM to modernise our by-laws. I’d like to include something in the explanatory notes about what this will entail and approximately how much this might cost.
I presume that we should engage a strata lawyer for this. I’m just wondering if anyone knows approximately how much it might cost for a strata of 6 units (very basic – no lifts, pools, etc.) to modernise their by-laws.
Any advice on the wording of my motion to modernise the by-laws would also be appreciated.
- This topic was modified 1 year, 9 months ago by .
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I presume that we should engage a strata lawyer for this.
You presume right, when it comes to additional by-laws. There are two top-class strata lawyers advertising at the top of this page. Call them up and ask for quotes.
Getting this done through lawyers should reassure your neighbours that it’s necessary and that what you end up with will stand the test of time (and recalcitrant owners).
However, the size of the scheme probably won’t affect the fee. By-laws apply equally to everyone so the numbers don’t make much difference.
Otherwise, your existing by-laws will have been automatically updated under Schedule 2 of the strata Regulations, so your basic by-laws are up-to-date, regardless.
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.
- This reply was modified 1 year, 9 months ago by .
Do you have anything from 1971 that was specific to your site? If so, they might be no longer relevant or they might be worth keeping. They could be as minor as ‘bins must be housed in the enclosure to the right of the main entrance’ but worth keeping if they cover particular issues relevant only to you.
There might be some exclusive use bylaws that you should keep. Eg. Unit 3 has permission to have … extend 1m onto common property along the eastern side of the unit subject to maintaining … in a state of good repair.
Are there other things that have been perennial issues that have relied on the old ‘We have always done it like that’ as the justification. If there are actually very good reasons to have ‘always done it like that’, putting it in a custom bylaw might avoid having to re-explain it every few years. A lawyer might either draft appropriate bylaws to cover such matters or they might point out where that issue is covered in the Act making a bylaw unnecessary.
So, prepare a good brief for the lawyer explaining what you would like to get out of an update.
We don’t appear to have any site specific by-laws. They all look pretty standard except for this one: “That the decision of the officers in the council would be executed only if unanimous, if they were not unanimous, and Extraordinary General Meeting would be held to resolve the matter“.
That by-law isn’t only redundant, it’s invalid. Schedule 2, Section 9 of the Act says this:
Voting at meetings
A motion put to a meeting is to be decided according to a majority of the number of the votes cast for and against the motion by the members present (other than any tenant member) …
You can’t have a by-law that supersedes the law, and the unanimity by-law gives a veto to any member of the committee.
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.
Updated by-laws are good, but does your committee actually enforce the ones they have now? Many don’t. They are required to know them and intend to apply them when a breach is bought to their attention (once satisfied it is a breach). Many just seem to just go with whatever a dominant committee member says is or isn’t a breach – which is often plain wrong or ignored, generally due to it being a committee member at fault or a difficult tenant they care not to deal with. And sometimes even the committee don’t even know, or want to know, it is their duty to uphold them.
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