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Topic
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Does Owners Corporation have any say in residents willing to start or running a business (Family Day Care, Tutoring, etc.) from their lots in NSW?
Even if the residents willing to start a business have required licensing, certification, insurance and approval from govt. bodies (council, etc.), does the OC not have any say in it at all? Some strata plans have a by-law stating that residents must ‘notify’ Owners Corporation when there is a change in use of a lot however there is nothing stated about getting approval or permission from OC. If there is any, can someone please direct me to it?
As other residents at the complex will be affected most in terms of noise, parking, damages to common property, insurance, etc. I will be surprised to know if OC cannot ask a resident to stop their business or ask for OC consent prior to commencing a business.
Any information will be helpful.
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jd2127 – in our large scheme in NSW, there are no specific by-laws preventing a resident from ‘conducting a business’ from their lot. However, the by-laws do state that a lot can only be used for ‘residential purposes’. Therefore changing a lot from ‘residential’ to ‘business’ status would require approval from OC and probably Council.
Our scheme has a number of residents who conduct businesses such as tutoring, accounting, web-site development etc from their home – but that does not change the ‘residential’ status of the lot itself.
In addition, our scheme has by-laws that cover behaviour of residents and their guests, visitor parking, children playing on common property, noise, nuisance and hazardous activities.
So, as far as our scheme is concerned, a ‘business’ that does not have an adverse affect on other residents or common property is likely to go unchallenged and would not require OC approval.
Hope this helps.
It depends on what the business is, there is a significant difference between someone running a website development business from home and someone operating a hairdressing salon.
Importantly, if the business involves people visiting the property then this can affect the scheme’s public liability insurance – it is essential that the insurer be notified.
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