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I’m hoping to get some from someone with a bit of experience with Strata disputes and approving/dis-approving renovation applications. I’m hoping for some information on what is fair and reasonable for a Strata Committee to say no to.
I added planter boxes onto my courtyard fence which I didn’t have permission to do (I know, a little bit naughty). The Strata Committee wants me to remove them due to cracking of the fence BUT I have an engineers report that states that the cracking in the fence isn’t caused be the planter boxes. The report does say that it needs to be replaced, but for other reasons.
My frustration is that the committee have said no to my request, but the request doesn’t affect the look of the property from the street (in fact, it now looks MORE like other courtyards not less), it isn’t costing the Strata any money, engineers have proven it does no damage and it isn’t against any by-laws.
Give this, what right do they have to say no to this request? Are there any guidelines or precedences that I can refer to that show they don’t have the right to say no?
Any advise would be great!!
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Alissa – If you believe that you are right then you have an option to do nothing about removing the planter boxes.
The onus will then be on the Strata Committee to take this matter further through the dispute resolution process should they believe that you are wrong and they are right.
If and when the Strata Committee seek a Tribunal Order for you to remove the planter boxes then you will have an opportunity to present to the Adjudicator all of the Reports that you have obtained. The Adjudicator will make a decision based on all of the facts and arguments raised on both sides.
Alissa – You could try reading through a few Tribunal cases that deal with the subject matter of renovations and strata. You may find something that will assist you in one of the decisions here:
As far as I know, NCAT does not use other Tribunal cases as precedents (although this may have changed) but they will refer to rulings from a superior court.
Your engineer reports plus photographs of your courtyard from various angles showing their consistency with the look of the building will do more good than quoting other cases.
However, be careful that your planters don’t constitute a climb risk for small children by lowering the effective height of the fence.
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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