no notice to comply

I suggest you take some photos, make a clear diagram, or whatever else makes the situation easy to describe to someone who has never been there. What are the dimensions of the remaining space for turning? There are Australian Standards that describe how much turning space is required to get into a parking space. Reference to an objective standard could help since one persons very tight space is fine for someone else.

(We marked parking spaces at 2.6m in one parking area so we could accommodate 8 cars rather than the 7 that habitually parked there using 3m each. 2.6m wide exceeds the minimum in the standard. There were some grumbles but people seem to manage now.)

In the ACT an individual can apply to the tribunal for “a declaration … that a resolution of a general meeting or executive committee meeting is void for irregularity”

If the motion was not on an agenda distributed to all owners you would have a good case, or decided at a meeting for which insufficient notice was given, or the class of resolution was insufficient to grant an exclusive use (perhaps in NSW a by-law adopted by special resolution-fewer than 25% opposed I believe).  

Additionally or instead you could argue that use of that space by anyone as a parking space interferes with your reasonable use and enjoyment of the common property (I assume NSW by-laws use that formula or similar). The resolution above could be irregular for its inconsistency with the by-law. In this case your use and enjoyment of the common property would be the reasonable use of gaining access your garage.

There is simpler solution:

Send a letter or submit a motion to your Chairman, demanding the he resolve the situation immediately or you will take him to Fair Trading and/or NCAT under section 138 which relates to the “General power of (an) Adjudicator to make orders to settle disputes or rectify complaints”.

In this case, you have two complaints.  One, that someone is parking illegally on common property and secondly that the Owners Corp (i.e. the chairman) is doing nothing about it. (See previous posts about gathering evidence).

Subsection 1 says this:

(1)  An Adjudicator may make an order to settle a dispute or complaint about:

(a)  an exercise of, or a failure to exercise, a function conferred or imposed by or under this Act or the by-laws in relation to a strata scheme, or

(b)  the operation, administration or management of a strata scheme under this Act.

Ans subsection 2 says this:

(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), an owners corporation or building management committee is taken to have failed to exercise a function if:

(a) it decides not to exercise the function, or

(b) application is made to it to exercise the function and it fails for 2 months after the making of the application to exercise the function in accordance with the application or to inform the applicant that it has decided not to exercise the function in accordance with the application.

The “functions” you are asking them to exercise are the proper implementation of the by-laws relating to parking vehicles on common property, the holding of meetings and the passage of motions at those meetings.

So basically you have to lots of grounds for having a go at your chairman via the tribunal.

I would also threaten an application for the statutory appointment of a strata manager to take over the running of the scheme which will be more expense for everyone – but will mean that at least everything will be done fairly and correctly under the Act.

Now, having said all that, all it may take is a letter to the chairman saying that they are:

a) in breach of the by-laws by parking the car illegally and

b) in breach of strata law by refusing to do anything about it and

c) also in breach claiming permission was granted via a meeting that was not properly conducted under the Act.

If they don’t cease and desist, you will seek redress through Fair Trading and NCAT and you are considering a further application for the statutory appointment of a strata manager – which means all powers of the owners to run their own affairs will be removed – under Section 183B of the Act (see below).

Just a word of caution on the latter – it’s a real case of be careful what you which for as a strata manager has a fiduciary duty to do things by the book and that could turn out not only to remove some of the little allowances you and your neighbours have enjoyed to but would be at an expense you may not be prepared for.

Better to get your other neighbours on board and vote your chairman out at the next AGM.