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Hi,
I live in a strata building in NSW. I own the apartment and it comes with a car space. The strata plan shows my car space size as 8ft x 18 ft, 144 sq.ft.
I can’t recall when did the Strata red garbage bins started to be placed at the back of my car space. I did not mind at the time as I just parked my car slightly forward. My car was also old and don’t mind if it’s scratched by the goings on the bins during garbage collection day.Now I have a new car, much bigger than the old and feeling precious about it. I wrote an email to the Strata Manager (which then passed on to the SC) asking for the red bins to be placed somewhere at the back where the green bins are stored because (a) it’s encroaching on my lot (b) it’s blocking access to my car specially if I need to get something in and out of the boot. The back of my car space is a wall. I have to double up with parking. First park the car forward and get the thing out of the boot, go back to the car and reverse and make sure there is enough space to the red bins for people to walk through and dump rubbish into the bin.
Also the line marking on my car space is not the right length. When measured from the wall to the front line, the length only measures 4.9m which is short of the 5.48m (18 ft) specified on the strata plan. As a consequence, to avoid and create access for the bins, I park my car beyond the line marking. I’m worried that if my new car gets clipped by the adjacent owner driving in and out of their car space, I would be at a disadvantage because I’m not parked properly.The Strata Manager responded that the bins are not encroaching on my car space (I don’t know why she says this even though it shows clearly on the plan and I provided photos with measurement) and that I should instead continue parking my car beyond the line marking.
Can anyone please advise on how to tackle this and get those red bins off my car space?
Is the Strata in breach of the SSMA and if yes, which clause?
The red bins are encroaching on a private property and the car space line marking with regards to length is not what is shown on the Strata Plan.
Thank you all for your response in advance.
RC11158
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Replies
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If you’re sure of your ground (otherwise engage a surveyor), move the bins out of your area to a suitable place on common property. Park your car close to the back wall so no-one can put the bins there and preferably leave the car there for a few days.
You might have to repeat all that a few times.
Also tell the manager to get lines painted in the correct locations.
Perhaps just remove the bins to somewhere on common property that does not interfere with other vehicles, and park your car at the back of your space?
You might need to write a Motion for your committee to review and vote on as to relocating the bins to a common part of the property and away from the area they currently are encroaching. This makes it a little more formal, and if they come back and say no the Motion failed, you then have something to take to the next level. In Qld if it were me I would seek adjutication to rectify your situation. Sounds a bit silly not to just shift them but folks don’t like change and therefor you need push back to make it happen. I’d also make a point of having your site boundary repainted to the correct spec also.
Is your car space actually your lot or is it an allocated area of common property?
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.
You won’t find anything in the SSMA about OC encroaching on private property. Instead, look at s.9 of the Strata Schemes Development Act which provides that the strata plan subdivides the land. You own that piece of land which your car (and some red bins) are on. By ancient law, you can decide who goes onto your land and how it can be used.
I wonder how your committee would react if you asked them to remove the bins permanently or you will charge them back rent for the proportion of your car space that they have been using without your permission.
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.
One more thing: Make copies of that part of the strata plan showing your car space. Get one laminated and fasten it to the wall behind your car. Hand the other copies round at the next committee meeting (the laminated copy will by then have been put into one of the red bins).
You certainly could speak to a lawyer but the threat of doing so may be enough initially. I don’t know your committee and how they respond to legitimate requests and implied threats but if it was my block, I would do it with an email initially. Something like:
I believe you have been wrongly advised about the status of my parking space and the owners corporation’s continued and unapproved use of it to store garbage bins. The strata plan clearly shows that this is my lot so, to bring this dispute to an amicable conclusion, I have two simple requests:
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- Immediately find somewhere else on common property to store the bins on a permanent basis.
- Have the boundary lines of the parking space repainted to reflect the correct dimensions on the strata plan.
Failure to fulfil either or both of these reasonable requests will leave me no option but to consult a strata lawyer with a view to seeking orders from NCAT and compensation for the use of my space, backdated to when the scheme first started leaving its bins there.
Needless to say, should the strata scheme choose to engage in unnecessary legal dispute, I will seek all costs as part of any judgement.
Please advise as soon as possible how you intend to proceed.
If they ignored it or refused, that’s when I would get a strata lawyer involved. I hasten to add, the committee in my block would never allow this to happen – if nothing else, they are sticklers for the rules.
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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