NSW: What to do if there are Unauthorised Lot Owner Works?

Three tips on what to immediately do when unauthorised works are being undertaken.

What to do if there are Unauthorised Lot Owner Works?

Hi, it’s Allison Benson here from Thoughts from a Strata Lawyer

Today, I’m going to be talking about what to do when you’ve got unauthorised works.

What’s sparked it?

I’ve just had a run recently of strata schemes that have been plagued by lot owners who have conducted works in one instance, conducted works to drill a core hole through a floor slab and insert plumbing pipes into the airspace of the lot below, which was an interesting way to renovate your apartment and not the only time I should add that I have had that happen.

That’s the second occasion I have seen somebody decide that they don’t want to see unsightly pipes. So they will just put it in the lot below’s airspace.

But what to do when that actually happens?

Well, first of all, if you are a lot owner, advise your strata manager quickly. Tell them exactly what’s happening.

Tell them whether you’ve heard it, say you hear noise, whether you’ve seen contractors pull up and materials go into the unit, if you are comfortable, ask the particular unit owner, what’s actually happening.

But report it to your strata manager with as many details as you can.

Strata managers or owners corporations, if you don’t have a strata committee member, then what you need to do is, you need to write to that lot owner very, very quickly, get in contact with them if you can, telephone them or text message them and say, cease all work until that work is properly authorised and please provide us with details of the works that you are doing.

And get that communication out there. Get it out there quickly.

If they don’t stop:

1. I have a couple of times now physically driven to a property and put notices up on the common property that alert tradespeople that the work is not authorised and requiring them to cease and desist. And that’s had the desired effect.
2. Interim orders are available with the tribunal if you do have a particularly obstinate lot owner that doesn’t cease the work, but those applications need to be made very, very quickly because they’re for urgent matters.

So you get them because you urgently need the Tribunal’s assistance to stop the work so that the owners corporation is not put in a position that it can’t recover from effectively.

So a stop work sort of with the Tribunal is available as an interim application.

I also suggest getting legal advice very, very quickly because it’s easy to stuff up cease work orders. And the longer the period takes where the lot owners doing the work, the more likely it is that your interim order will not get made.

Why?

Because the prejudice to the owners corporation that an interim order attempts to prevent has incurred effectively and the Tribunal can’t stop that through a work order if the work is substantially underway.

So the other thing I’d be suggesting is once you know what the work is, approach the lot owner, say, okay, you’ve done the work or attempted to do the work, give us all the full details and let’s get a proper by-law in place to authorise the works, to make sure that it’s going to be structurally safe, to make sure that the work is going to comply with all relevant safety standards, including that all the penetrations for the work are fire protected, and then the responsibility under works by laws would be put onto the lot owner for any damage caused to any other lot or to the common property by that work.

Now, lots of times lot owners don’t agree. Lots of times they say that we’re actually not conducting significant works. The owners corporation needs to get proof of that.

Sometimes that’s where you need the interim orders as well, to get access orders so that the owners corporation can go and get its experts to have a look at the work and figure out is it a minor renovation under section 110(3) of the Strata Schemes Management Act or is it major work that requires an approval?

And remember, we’ve got a three-tier system in New South Wales.

1. Cosmetic work does not require approval.
2. Minor renovations do require approval, but check your by-laws because there could be some approvals already in place. But that approval is by way of an ordinary resolution of either the Strata Committee or the Owners’ Corporation.
3. Then work that affects waterproofing, work that affects the external appearance of a lot, work that affects structures and work that requires approval under any other legislation, that’s major work and that requires a special resolution and a by-law to be passed.

So, if you’re in a situation where unauthorised works are being carried out, it’s crucial to act swiftly and follow the appropriate legal channels to ensure compliance and maintain the integrity of the strata scheme.

Allison Benson
Kerin Benson Lawyers
E: allison@kerinbensonlawyers.com.au
P: 02 4032 7990

This post appears in Strata News #751.

This article has been republished with permission from the author and first appeared on the Thoughts from a Strata Lawyer website.

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Read next:

• NSW: Unauthorised Works: Who Is Responsible For Repairing Them?
• NSW: Q&A The Right to Access Your Strata Lot
• NSW: Strata Renovations – What Approvals Are Needed?

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