Is your landlord planning to do strata renovations – cosmetic, minor or major?

Did you know in NSW there are different rules that your landlords must follow for the 3 types of renovations when renovating their strata apartment?

1. Cosmetic Work

Landlords can generally do cosmetic work without approval from the owners corporation however this will depend on the types of renovation by-laws in place. Be sure to check what by-laws apply in their strata scheme as the owners corporation could have changed what is classified as cosmetic work or have a renovation by-law requiring approval to do cosmetic work.

2. Minor Renovations

If your landlord is planning to carry out minor renovations, then approval from the owners corporation is required.

Project plans, a timeline and details of all qualified trades or contractors who will carry out the minor renovations are also required to be submitted for approval. All lot owners will then vote on the project at an Annual General Meeting or Extraordinary General Meeting – the landlord will need over 50 percent in favour for the project to proceed.

3. Major Renovations

For major renovations you must obtain approval by a special resolution (a 75% majority) at a meeting of the owners corporation, and a special renovation by-law is also required to authorise the work.

Again, project plans, a timeline and details of all qualified trades or contractors who will carry out the major renovations will need to be also provided to seek approval.

Does Your Landlord Require a Renovation By-law?

We have significant expertise developing renovation by-laws for strata, company, and community living.

• We have been developing renovation by-laws for 40+ years.
• We know whether you will require a by-law for renovations for owners corporation approval.
• We guarantee within 7 days you will receive the right renovation by-law.
• We also understand that you ‘may’ need your renovation by-law urgently for an upcoming strata meeting – just let us know, we will make it happen.

GET THE RIGHT RENOVATION BY-LAW HERE!

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Do you require a renovation by-law or any other strata or property legal advice? Contact us here now, we’re happy to help.

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It’s time for a by-law health check!

How do your by-laws stack up?

Do you rely on the model by-laws and little else?

Or do you tweak your by-laws to get the most out of them?

In this short article we explain how you can tweak some of the most common by-laws to improve them such as:

• Parking
• Pets
• Floor Coverings
• Moving In/Out
• Renovations

Most buildings rely on the model by-laws. But the model by-laws are very basic. Yet, with some tweaking, the model by-laws can be significantly improved, as the examples in this paper New Laws – Tweak Your By-laws shows.

For all NSW strata legal advice including by-laws, building defects and levy collections contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.

A recent decision by NCAT has provided guidance on what needs to be done for an owners corporation to approve renovations done by an owner.

This case involved a dispute between the owners corporation of a large mixed use building in Milsons Point and the owner of a commercial lot in the building who wanted to fit-out his lot as an office involving alterations to common property.

The case produced a surprising outcome and is likely to change the practice that is followed by owners who seek owners corporation approval to renovate.

So, does a common property rights by-law authorise an owner to carry out works affecting the common property?

Here we share the case and outcomes: Get Your Renovations Approvals Right

For all NSW strata legal including by-laws, building defect and levy collection advice contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.

Is it the right time for a cost recoveries by-law?

Times are tough. Owners don’t want to incur extra costs because of by-law breaches committed by other owners and tenants.

There is no better time than now to ensure you have a by-law in place for cost recoveries.

A cost recoveries by-law will allow you to recover those extra costs from the person responsible for them instead of paying them from the owners corporation’s funds.

Our by-law factsheet covers the following areas:

• What does it do?
• What it does not do?
• What does it cover?
• What can it cover?

Download your free cost recoveries by-Law factsheet and order your by-law here.

For NSW strata legal, building defect and levy collection advice contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.

Special Arrangements made with NSW Land Registry Services to register consolidated by-laws.

 The Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 requires every owners corporation to keep a consolidated up to date copy of the by-laws for its strata scheme.  However, there is nothing in the Act which requires an owners corporation to register the consolidated set of its by-laws.

The only time an owners corporation needs to register a consolidated set of by-laws is when it resolves to make a change to its by-laws.  In those circumstances, the consolidated set of by-laws incorporating any changes to the by-laws must be lodged for registration within six months of the meeting at which the changes are approved.

The requirement for every owners corporation to keep a consolidated up to date copy of its by-laws was introduced on 30 November 2016 on the commencement of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015.  Since then, most owners corporations have not made any changes to their by-laws as a result of which they have not registered their consolidated by-laws.  This means there is no public record of a consolidated set of by-laws for most owners corporations.

Up until recently, NSW Land Registry Services was reluctant to register a consolidated set of by-laws where it did not record any changes to the by-laws.  In other words, NSW Land Registry Services often would not permit an owners corporations to register a consolidated set of by-laws unless it had made changes to those by-laws within the last six months.  This has made it more difficult for owners corporations to register consolidated by-laws to ensure there is a public record of those by-laws in a consolidated form.

We have recently made arrangements with NSW Land Registry Services to allow an owners corporation which wants to register a consolidated set of its by-laws (even though it has not made any changes to its by-laws) to do so.  This will enable many owners corporations to register their consolidated by-laws to ensure there is a public record of them even though they have not made any recent changes to their by-laws.  If you would like to know more about these special arrangements, please do not hesitate to contact us.

For NSW strata legal, building defect or levy collection advice please contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.

There are many strata managers who are preparing and registering consolidated sets of by-laws for the strata schemes they manage.

We have recently come across several by-law consolidations prepared by strata managers that contain critical and costly errors.

In many cases, the professional indemnity insurance policies held by strata managers may not cover the negligent preparation of consolidated by-laws.

Here are some examples of mistakes we have seen… By-law Consolidations – When they go Wrong?

CLICK HERE FOR HELP WITH YOUR BY-LAW CONSOLIDATIONS!

Thanks strata for attending our recent forum. In the busy and hectic world of strata, we appreciate you taking the time and effort to join us.

We hope you enjoyed the forum as much as we did presenting and sharing our knowledge.

As promised, please find below copies of all presentations and papers.

If there is anything we can assist you with please do not hesitate to contact us here or one of our lawyers below.

How have the New Laws Shaped Up?

Warwick van Ede 
The Dawn of a New Era  I  Strata Renewals  and Collective Sales  Presentation and  Paper

Daniela Terruso 
How to Avoid the Pitfalls and Correct the Mistakes  I  By-law Reviews  Presentation and Paper

Faiyaaz Shafiq
The New Procedures and Traps for Young Players  I   Levy Recovery  Presentation and Paper

Adrian Mueller
Goodbye, Thoo  I  Novel Compensation Claims Against Owners Corporations Presentation and Paper

Adrian Mueller
How to Make You Look Good  I  The 5 Most Useful By-laws Presentation and Paper

Helen Amanatiadis
The New Regime  I  Building Bonds and Inspection Reports  Presentation and Paper

Adrian Mueller
The Good, Bad and Ugly  I  The New Strata Laws Presentation and Paper

For NSW strata legal or levy collection advice please contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.

In a recent decision, NCAT has confirmed that it does not have power to impose monetary penalties on persons who breach orders made by NCAT.

This decision highlights an important flaw in the new strata legislation which needs to be fixed.

Read on to find out more – NCAT Strata Disputes Floors and By-laws.docx

For NSW strata legal or levy collection advice please contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.

The Supreme Court has decided that structural defects under the old home building legislation do not extend to cover building elements such as waterproofing membranes and tiling attached to structural components of the building.

This is bad news for owners corporations of residential buildings who made home warranty insurance claims or defect claims against builders and developers before 2015 that are still current because it will essentially limit the scope for them to argue that defects are structural defects that are covered by a six year warranty instead of the two year warranty for non-structural defects.

For owners corporations of residential buildings, this is bad news – Strata and Structural Defects.

For NSW strata legal or levy collection advice please contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.