Multiple bylaws

What utter nonsense – sounds like lawyers making work for lawyers.  Talk to an experienced STRATA lawyer about creating a by-law that covers all units and allows for all possible variations to be added as riders to the permission given.  

…. and remember that a special resolution, where ≥75% of those entitled to vote do so in favour as determined from their collective units of entitlement, is all that is needed for an Owners Corporation (O/C) to at a General Meeting grant consent to renovations of the types mentioned, and that a Special By-Law (SBL) is only additionally required if the renovations involve any part of the Common Property and the O/C wants to shift its responsibility for the maintenance and repair of such areas to the Owner who’s renovating and to subsequent Owners of that Lot.

Examples of the above would be:

1) A free-standing kitchen renovation where items such as tools and materials would be moving around the common property, and where the O/C would need to be assured that contractors were licensed and insured, but where the O/C would not normally be responsible for maintaining and repairing any items comprising the renovations. In this case the O/C would specially resolve to grant its consent.

2) A bathroom renovation involving new waterproofing, and new tiles on common walls and on the floor (incl. a shower recess), where information on licenses and insurance will of course again be required, and as the Lot Owner would be disturbing the waterproof membranes, and would likely be  removing the average quality tiles etc that were fixed as part of the original construction and be replacing those with more expensive / up-market products, the O/C may wish to consent and to concurrently resolve to make a SBL to make Owner/s of the renovated Lot responsible for the maintenance and repair of all items comprising the renovations. It’s worth noting that such as SBL would need to be put before the same General Meeting, and that the renovating Owner would need to put in writing their agreement to that SBL in advance of a vote being taken; no prior agreement=no consent.

As both JimmyT and PeterC have observed, it’s quite common for O/C’s to specially resolve to Register a generic SBL covering renovations including Conditions, and thereby enable its Executive Committee to grant Consent/s on behalf of the O/C to renovations of any types that fit within the “envelope” of that SBL.

If the existing (Special) By-Laws (SBL) are specific to individual Lots, then NO you cannot use those, other than as the basis of yet another one for your Lot provided your proposed renovation is of the same type (i.e. just change the Lot number).

As a generic SBL of the type envisaged could eventually benefit all Owners, then it’s customary for the Owners Corporation to pay, and NO a Strata Manager cannot overrule an Executive Committee but they should in this case be providing some advice.

As much of any further advice would depend upon the type and extent of your proposed renovation, could you please provide some detail about that, and additionally advise if those existing three (3) SBL’s have been Registered on the Strata Title?

Oh…… so after all the good advice obtained here you’ve decided to close the door, pull down the blinds, and to retreat into a comfortable place on the basis of adding to those three (3) already identical Special By-Laws, that may not have been necessary in the first place and which may not even be Registered on your Plan’s Strata Title (and be therefore be not worth the paper their written on)!

Obviously your prerogative, so good luck with the renovations!