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Dear Flatchat,
Our by-law permits privacy shields no higher than the balcony railing height. The EC has recently notified in writing residents that do not comply, to remove or bring into line with the rules the shield within 30 days. Does the EC have the right to remove the offending shields on expiry of the 30 day notice period? If not, what other means are at the disposal of the EC to enforce the rule?
Thank you!
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If the screens are on common property, and are furthermore not in compliance with a by-law, and they have given more than adequate notice to residents to retrieve their property, I can see no impediment to the EC simply going ahead to remove the items unless access to these areas of common property is only possible via a unit area. That complicates matters since I expect the NSW legislation and/or your by-laws have other regulation about reasonable notice and purpose to enter the unit. That could be the next step on expiry of the 30 days. To save EC members some personal grief, it could be best at this point if you have a managing agent to ask the agent to engage a person to do the removal following proper notice, to the letter.
CHSG – I don’t wish to pre-judge your E/C, but this may be yet another example of a too common situation where Owners become aware of activities by others that are not in compliance with By-Laws, and yet ignore them until such time as they proliferate, at which time the E/C has to play catch-up in order to address those non-compliances.
However the current non-compliances arose, if you’re in NSW and the privacy screens are as I expect attached to Common Property, then this is not one of those (limited) circumstances where an Owners Corporation can just enter a Lot or otherwise access its balcony, to in this case remove the items that are after all persons’ property, and with added complication that some of the people may not be Owners.
So…your E/C should firstly check the wording of that Special By-Law (SBL), and then check that it’s been properly Registered on the Strata Title, because if it’s not then it is unenforceable.
If Registration has occurred, then your E/C should check if its Strata Manager has been delegated to issue a Notice-to-Comply (NTC) with that SBL, and if they have been so delegated, then the Secretary can instruct them to issue it, and otherwise your E/C needs to meet and to properly resolve to have the Strata Manager issue the offenders with that document.
The issue of a NTC sets in place formal procedures that need to be strictly followed by your Owners Corporation (O/C) IF the actions required to comply with the SBL (i.e. removal or modification of the privacy screens) are not followed within the terms prescribed, where those actions include an Application to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal for a penalty of up to $550 to be issued the offenders, and if all the above fails, followed by Orders permitting access to individual Lots by the O/C under Sect.145 in order for it to have all then non-compliant privacy screens removed or modified.
Irrespective of your specific circumstances, it’s always best to nip all non compliances in the bud as opposed to having to play catch-up.
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