- This topic has 4 replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 1 year, 4 months ago by .
-
Topic
-
Hi there
I seem to have only just come across the fact that I may have completed bathroom and kitchen renovations in 2016 without getting approval which may have been required.
I have checked the by laws at that time and there was nothing in there with respect to any renovations or the approval process – only the simple wording about approval if nails etc go through external property wall or the appearance or strutural integrity of the building has changed.
The only one protrusion that was made was to the external wall to allow the hot water overflow to go into the balcony drain – as the system at that time only had an overflow tray – which was deeemed out of date for the building code at that time.
The by laws have been re-written and agreed upon in July 2022 which outline the now approval process which allows me to understand that I do need approval.
The question stands tho – with no by law in 2016/2017 about renovations – did I need approval? – and should I look at obtaining retrospective approval as a result?
- This topic was modified 1 year, 5 months ago by .
-
Replies
-
You should probably have sought some sort of approval under that standard strata laws on renovations that were in force at that time.
Having missed that boat, the most you can do now is offer to take ongoing responsibility, for yourself and future owners of your lot, through a special resolution under terms that are mutually agreeable.
Or, if there have been no problems evident thus far, you are probably OK just to keep quiet.
However, some future potential purchaser, if they do a thorough strata search, might see there have been unapproved renovations and use that as leverage to lower the purchase price.
Your call.
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.
Might there be a chance that should you not bring this to the Bcorp attention, and it all blows up – say via a massive plumbing leak, that you might get done by those affected or chased for the fix up costs because your building insurer didn’t know, so won’t cover the situation that arises?
Unapproved renovations are quite common in smaller schemes. In talking to a number of people there is a wink and a nod between residents and even strata committee members when it comes to renovations. You do yours and I’ll be doing mine and we’ll keep it between ourselves. Again it happens on smaller schemes and also ground floor units that will have less effect on other units. Residents, understandably feel agrieved they have to fork out money even when a building has a blanket bylaw for renovation before they even start the reno and its costs.
I clarified this with our strata manager who had this reply.
“The building does have the major renovation by-law so any lot owner wanting to complete major renovations do not need to individually get one drafted.
They do still need to complete the renovation application, submit all plans and get the by-law approved at a General Meeting and then the works registered as part of special by-law 9 with LRS. This is to ensure the lot owner and any future lot owners are responsible to repair and maintain the works going forwarded rather then the owners corporation. “
People get flustered when you tell them this and it’s not surprising owners think it all too hard and cumbersome and do it on the quiet knowing the risk.
I would not risk doing it on the quiet on a second level or above unit as you have units below that could bare the brunt of a reno gone wrong.
I’m always amazed that owners have little to no idea of the rules of strata. (Here I’m not commenting on the particular circumstances of the OP which no one knows and are not necessary to know.)
While strata legislation isn’t perfect it does set out what needs to be done and is easy to read. In any case it’s the first point of call before reading the by-laws which could be considered as fine-tuning for a particular scheme. By-laws don’t replace or override legislation.
Probably the biggest issue with legislation is that it doesn’t deal with the power trips of committtees and strata managers. If the OP’s scheme is one of those clicky ones where politics overrides legislation and even commonsense then I can understand a hesitency to seek approval. The reality however is that it will come back to bite someone just maybe not today.
If you are fortunate to live in a decent and reasonable scheme then you should obtain that by-law. It’s a very easy process costing a few hundred dollars (at most) and a few hours of your time. It will buy you a lot of peace of mind. 🙂
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.