Understanding your strata management by-laws help to create a happy and harmonious community.
A breach of by-laws notice may be issued by the Council of the Strata Company to an owner. This is typically sent by the strata management company when an owner, occupier or visitor is engaging in behavior that contravenes the registered by-laws of the complex.
If you feel that a resident or owner is acting in a manner that breaches the by-laws of the strata company, you may submit a formal complaint identifying the person(s) breaching the by-law to the strata manager, who will pass this on to the Council of the Strata Company for their consideration.
The breach notice will include details of the alleged by-law breach and details of the actions that caused the Council of the Strata Company to send you the breach notice.
One of the duties of the Council of the Strata Company is to enforce the by-laws. If a legitimate complaint has been made to the Strata Company and the Council of the Strata Company deem it necessary, a breach notice will be issued.
If an owner is seen to be willfully and consistently breaching the by-laws (or their tenants), the Council of the Strata Company may need to escalate the matter by submitting an application to the State Administrative Tribunal.
What you need to know about strata management by-laws
- By-laws are a set of duties, obligations, procedural matters and behavioral rules for owners, occupiers and visitors of a strata property.
- All strata complexes have by-laws. Some of which will be default by-laws (as seen in the Strata Titles Act), others may have been amended or added over time.
- By-laws differ from “house rules” as by-laws are enforceable.
- If owners, occupiers or visitors do not comply with the strata company by-laws, they can be issued a breach notice or be taken to the State Administrative Tribunal (SAT)
By-laws are grouped into two sections:
Schedule 1 by-laws outline duties and procedures that are required of owners and the strata company.
Schedule 2 by-laws are intended to ensure that residents within the complex can live harmoniously. Negative behaviors, such as excessive noise, littering or parking in ways that cause a nuisance to others, are all breaches of the by-laws.
Here are some other examples of by-law breaches:
- parking a vehicle incorrectly on common property
- obstructing common property by leaving a bike in a walkway (e.g. in a corridor)
- damage to the lawns/gardens
- making excessive noise late at night
- hanging washing on the balcony
What is a management statement?
You may find that the entire set of by-laws that apply to the scheme are already in one document. The default by-laws in the Act are replaced because they have their own unique set. Before the strata reforms, these were called Management Statements.
These are a set of by-laws lodged at the time the strata plan is originally lodged at Landgate, usually by the developer (Form 25). The by-laws within the Management Statement may have added, amended or repealed any default Schedule 1 or 2 by-laws.
The STAA replaced that process by introducing the lodgment of consolidated scheme by-laws, now known as Scheme Documents.
If a Strata Scheme has a Management Statement, this is usually indicated on the front page of the strata plan.
Read more about how a strata company can add, amend or repeal a by-law.
Above all, strata living is about the positive connections that are made, where small communities are built.
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