Strata By-Laws Audit & Upgrade by Pobi Lawyers

Strata By-Laws Audit & Upgrade by Pobi Lawyers

The by-laws of a strata scheme are a set of laws adopted by an owners corporation which govern the behaviour and the use of common property by residents, regulate noise, parking on common property, the keeping of animals, renovations to lots and common property and a myriad of other uses beneficial to residents.  All strata schemes are subject to a set of by-laws which can range from model by-laws to developer by-laws to Strata Management Statement by-laws, while other schemes prefer to adopt or update to their own custom made by-laws to better reflect changing community attitudes and/or better reflect their individual strata scheme’s attitudes.

While the model by-laws that are set out in the strata legislation are simple to read and usually adequate, many strata schemes adopt these kinds of by-laws by default and usually without being armed with sufficient information regarding their effect on their individual strata building.  Take by-law 14 for example. Although by-law 14 regulates flooring and the transmission of noise within a unit – it does not go as far as to adequately regulate the installation, keeping and maintenance of hard surface flooring within a unit.

Some reasons why owners corporations and lot owners choose to engage Pobi Lawyers to audit and upgrade their model by-laws to Pobi Lawyers’ custom made strata by-laws include:

• Inconsistent by-laws: if there are inconsistencies with other registered by-laws, Strata Management Statement by-laws, Community Management Statement by-laws, discrimination laws, local council approval and consents and other laws.

• Out dated by-laws: the conditions of these by-law have truly past their use by date, they do not reflect today’s strata scheme’s standards or expectations, they can be one sided, or are no longer useful to the strata scheme.

• Invalid by-laws: if these by-laws contravene and/or are inconsistent with legislation, they are made beyond the owners corporation’s by-law making power, create prohibitions against an owner which are unreasonable or have been declared invalid by an Adjudicator.

In our experience, a strata by-laws audit and upgrade can significantly improve the by-laws in a strata scheme by eliminating the above types of by-laws and provide the owners corporation with a recommendation on which new custom by-laws should be adopted by the owners corporation which will provide guidance on matters within the strata scheme and improve harmony within the strata scheme.  These matters may include, renovations works by-laws, the keeping of pets, parking on common property, hard surface flooring, use of car spaces, etc.

If your owners corporation is frequently faced with issues or complaints by residents which are not adequately covered by their model strata by-laws, please feel free to contact our specialist strata lawyer Michael Pobi on (02) 8710 3430 who can walk you through our fixed priced strata by-laws audit and upgrade package options. It may just be what your strata scheme needs!

Please note that the information contained in this article is not legal advice and should not be relied upon. You should obtain legal advice before you take any action or otherwise rely upon the contents of this article.